Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

It's a long read... but there's a lot to say.

After last season's disappointing early exit from regionals under new head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, the UCLA Softball team started the Fall with a goal: to bring the Bruins back to dominance.  But even for the most storied softball program in history, this was to be no simple task.  With the loss of 8 seniors from the 2007 team, the Bruins essentially began the process of starting over, rebuilding the team with 9 new faces and a new attitude from the remaining returners:

From the Daily Bruin :

After the 2007 UCLA softball team saw its season cut short by consecutive home losses in the NCAA Regionals, players felt a sense of vast disappointment, shock and disbelief.

The juniors on the team decided they never wanted to experience those emotions again.

Krista Colburn, Ashley Herrera, and Anjelica Selden got together and started talking about everything they wanted to make sure would happen come 2008.

The girls were so determined to get the team back on track, they found themselves making a physical list of changes that needed to be made. The three initiated a player-run meeting with their coaches to go over their plans for a more successful 2008.

Now I can't be sure, but I'd have to assume that getting ace Anjelica Selden back to form was near the top of that list after her relatively disappointing season in 2007.   Pitching depth was one of the teams' weaknesses last year.  With Jelly's talent seemingly regressing and freshman Whitney Baker out due to injury, most of the 2007 season rested on the shoulders of Megan Langenfeld.  Heading into 2008, it was important to regain a deep pitching staff, and it all had to start with Selden:

From The Daily News:

[Jelly]'s a natural athlete who is disciplined and always superbly conditioned. But sometimes, that natural talent served as a crutch. When she would get into a jam, whether it was in an inning, a game or a part of the season where things weren't going right, she'd fall back on her talent to bail her out.

And in her first two seasons at UCLA, that was enough. Selden went 29-14 with a 1.10 ERA and 485 strikeouts as a freshman and 35-7 with a 1.06 ERA and 408 strikeouts as a sophomore.

But teams seemed to figure her out after scouting her thoroughly, and Selden went 17-11 with a 2.82 ERA and 213 strikeouts last season. Suddenly, just being talented wasn't enough.

And when things went bad for her off the field, in her personal life, it was overwhelming.

Thanks to intense mental and physical training, the changes Jelly needed to get back on track were made.  She transformed into a much stronger athlete and a fearless leader who was ready to lead her team back to where they belonged. 

In addition to Jelly's comeback and the leadership shown by all the seniors, the Bruins' return to dominance was aided by arguably the best recruiting class in the nation.  Four of UCLA's incoming freshmen (Schroeder, Harrison, DiSalvatore, and Kerr) spent their summer winning a gold medal in Europe with the U.S. Junior National Team.  So needless to say, the pressure was on for the freshmen (and junior transfer Kamekona) to perform at the highest level from day one, a task which they handled well.

With all the right pieces seeming to come together in the Fall, the Bruins headed into the 2008 season with confidence and a top 15 pre-season ranking.  However, the disappointment of 2007 was still ringing in the softball community, and it would take more than just a successful Fall campaign to prove UCLA's return.

The Bruins started early in their ascension to dominance, thanks to an eventful opening weekend.  Beginning with a 6-1 victory over 6th-ranked Oklahoma, the Bruins went on to win 4 of 5 during the opening tournament.  The team continued to climb as the season progressed, and by the time Pac-10 play started, the Bruins were ranked #1 with a 28-3 record and wins over 10 ranked opponents.

Success continued as the Bruins ended up sweeping every Pac-10 opponent except Arizona (2 of 3) and Arizona State (1 of 3).  The team was in contention for at least a share of the conference title going all the way into the final weekend series.  Unfortunately, missed opportunities kept the team from holding on to that conference championship.  With ASU's loss to Stanford during the last weekend of play, all the Bruins needed was a sweep of the Oregon schools to claim a share of the title with the Sun Devils.  However, below avererage pitching from Donna Kerr and Megan Langenfeld helped a scappy Oregon State to an 5-3 upset over the Bruins in the second-to-last game of the season, officially ending their chances of a title.  The Bruins finished 2nd with a 17-4 conference record.

 
Senior Krista Colburn

I'd like to mention that even with all of the team's success, I did notice some negative trends here and there during the season.  The most important of these trends is that 6 of the Bruins' 9 losses during the season were shutouts.  To me, this showed that when their bats weren't on, there was little chance for recovery.  It's common knowledge that scoring=winning, but in the Bruins' case it was maybe too literal.  Without the momentum of scoring runs early, the offense tended to remain stagnant, evidenced in losses to Oklahoma, Fullerton, Arizona, and ASU.  This same trend came back to bite them during the WCWS.  I'm certain the team is aware of this, so hopefully they address the issue next season.

Now on to post-season.  Thanks to televised games, a lot has already been discussed here on BN regarding the softball team's post-season.  Some good things (dominating super-regionals) and some bad (not scoring a run in the WCWS), but I'd just like to say how excited I am that the sport is even being discussed at all. 

My opinion on our performance in the WCWS is that it was a disappointment (shocker, I know).  I am disappointed that UCLA did not play like UCLA.  I don't know why... maybe they were nervous, maybe they didn't come in with the right gameplan, but ultimately it came down to the other teams capitalizing on opportunities and UCLA failing to do the same.  I am especially disappointed with our game against Florida.  Stacey Nelson was very hittable, and the Bruins were very confident going into the game.  We got the leadoff hits, but no one came through in the clutch.  It's upsetting to see that the Bruins had 2 more hits than Florida and still lost.  I am also upset that we had so much trouble with the  sacrifice bunt because I really thought that was something we excelled at all season long.  

But in all honesty, I have little complaints following a 51-9 season and a trip to the Women's College World Series.  The Bruins didn't play their game in the end, but no one can say that the season wasn't successful.  More than anything, this season proved that UCLA is back and stacked with enough young talent to make a run for the title very soon. 

To end on a positive note, I'd like to share one of my experiences while at the College World Series.  Following their elimination, the Bruins were visibly upset coming out of the dugout  and proceeded directly into a nearby tent to conclude their teary final team meeting.  As the team evetually began to collect themselves, a World Series representative came by to say that nearly a hundred girls were waiting for their autographs outside.  The representative also mentioned that the team had no obligation to sign autographs, and that the fans would understand if they just wanted to go straight to the bus, especially after suffering such an emotional loss.  Instead, senior Danielle Peterson took the initiative and told her teammates, "We're signing every last one."  And they did:

This team never ceases to amaze me.  The senior class of Anjelica Selden, Krista Colburn, Danielle Peterson, and 5th year Ashley Herrera have contributed to the success of this team in ways no one can fully understand.  Whether it's Jelly as the ace in the circle, Krista with her steady bat and rocket throwing arm, Danielle and her continuous energy, or Ashley's amazing speed and inspiring personality, this senior class will leave a lasting impact.

Things may not have worked out as planned on the big stage, but I'm proud to say that UCLA Softball is back where it belongs...

Thanks.