UCLA softball finishes long stretch of road games by winning four of five games at Long Beach Marriott Invitational
Junior left fielder Andrea Harrison went 12-for-16 at the plate with 10 runs batted in over the weekend.
Long Beach Marriott Invitational
UCLA 12
Saint Mary’s 1
Brigham Young 6
UCLA 4
UCLA 11
Cal State Fullerton 2
UCLA 7
Long Beach State 3
UCLA 5
Sacramento State 3
By Min Kang
March 14, 2011 9:36 p.m.
The last time the Bruins swept a five-game tournament series, they were busy inaugurating the 2011 season at Easton Stadium.
As it turns out, the UCLA softball team will have to wait another turn to take another crack at a perfect weekend, as it won four of its five games at the Long Beach Marriott Invitational held in Lakewood Friday through Sunday bringing to an end a 21-game stretch in which all of the Bruins’ contests have been on the road.
“We are a new team, and it’s a new year, so we have to be patient,” coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “It’s not something that you just pick up from 2010 and keep on going; it’s a dynamic. We do have time to be patient now, but I also want (the players) to be quick learners. We have to apply ourselves as quickly as possible.”
No. 9 UCLA (20-5) kicked things off by notching Inouye-Perez’s 200th career coaching win Friday against Sacramento State (6-10), defeating the Hornets 5-3 with a pair of clutch runs manufactured in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The Bruins followed suit with a 7-3 victory against host Long Beach State (16-8) in the nightcap. Redshirt junior center fielder Katie Schroeder launched a pair of home runs and junior left fielder Andrea Harrison added a long ball of her own, while senior pitcher Donna Kerr held her ground in the circle, throwing seven innings and giving up two hits and three runs, all of which were unearned.
UCLA then returned to Mayfair Park on Saturday and recorded its first mercy-rule win since Feb. 23, shelling Cal State Fullerton (7-11) 11-2 through just five innings. After a previously scheduled game between the two teams was canceled earlier in the season because of chances of rain, Harrison led the Bruins in their emphatic season’s greeting to the Titans, going 4-for-4 at the plate with four runs batted in.
“I had been becoming a little too obsessed with outcomes, so I finally stepped back and just told myself to hit the ball and keep it really simple,” Harrison said. “I didn’t even realize I was 4-for-4 until a teammate told me later.”
But the win streak in Long Beach came to a halt later that day, as BYU (9-13) avenged its March 4 loss to the Bruins by upsetting UCLA 6-4. The Bruins had their chance, with a runner on second and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, but senior third baseman GiOnna DiSalvatore grounded out to third base to end the game.
“(The loss) sticks in your gut a little bit and lets us know that we fell short and didn’t make adjustments quick enough,” Harrison said. “As a group, we need to figure out how we can make adjustments off certain pitchers quicker, and that’s basically the name of the game. It was disappointing, but I know that this team is going to be able to bounce back.”
And bounce back UCLA certainly did on Sunday. Whether it was a venting of frustration from the loss to BYU, or simply an attempt to close out the weekend with gusto, the UCLA throttled Saint Mary’s (3-5) 12-1 in its last game of the invitational, thanks in part to a five-RBI performance from Harrison.
But Harrison, who hit 12-for-16 over the five games, wasn’t the only stellar Bruin during the three-day stretch. Sophomore B.B. Bates also keyed the UCLA offense, batting 10-for-20 with five RBI of her own, a microcosm of the significant strides she has made since her freshman season.
“I’m just trying to be relaxed now ““ just breathe and wait for my pitches,” Bates said of her approach this season. “I know last year, I was tense as a freshman and thinking too much. Just being able to take everything slow and relaxing is all.”
