Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

I know many of you are wondering how the most successful softball program in history could bow out in Super Regionals.  Well, it all came down to execution.  They executed in the 2nd game, but something was different in the 3rd game.  Perhaps they were overconfident after an emotional win.  I don't know what was going on inside those girls' heads, but here are some factors from the outside looking in:

It all started with the umpire.  The home plate umpire had a very, very tight strike zone.  A pitcher should be able to get a strike called by placing only a piece of the ball over the plate-- this guy wanted the whole thing.  This forces pitchers to bring the ball over the middle of the plate and makes them easier to hit.  For pitchers, especially pitchers like Megan Langenfeld, this is a nightmare.  She relies so heavily on hitting the corner edges of the plate that when she isn't getting the call, she turns into a mere mortal and becomes very hittable.  I've heard grumblings that Kelly should not have started Lang because Missouri had seen her twice already, but I disagree.  Langenfeld gave them the best chance of winning that game, things just didn't go her way.

So while the umpiring may have taken away our pitching, it should have meant good things for our hitters.  The umpire gave more or less the same strike zone to Mizzou pitcher Stacy Delaney, the Bruin hitters just didn't capitalize like the Tigers did.  Missouri got 3 quick runs on the board and the Bruins started to panic and try to force things to happen.   They had opportunities to get a rally going, like Monica Harrison's 1 out homerun in the third, but it ended right there.  There were a lot of popups and ground outs with only a handful of well-hit balls.  To manage only 2 hits with an umpire like the one they had is pretty pathetic. 

In my opinion the seeding by the NCAA was flawed.  As I mentioned in my super regional preview, Missouri was seeded unfairly.  I also feel like the Bruins had it a bit too rough for being the #2 seed in the country.  The #3, #4, #5, and #10 seeds destoyed their super regional opponents with combined scores of 14-1, 18-0, 15-2, and 14-0.  How does UCLA, a higher seed, get stuck with a team like Missouri?  I'm not making excuses, the Bruins flat out lost, but they could have had it a little easier considering our high seeding. 

Only 4 players on this year's roster were there 2 years ago when UCLA was eliminated in regional play.  Now the rest know what it's like not to make it to the end, and I can only assume it will motivate them for next year.  They lost, they feel terrible about it, and now they have to make sure it never happens again.  Losing 2 of 3 to a very good Missouri team is not the end of the world.

From the Daily Bruin

“I had a blast,” [Amanda] Kamekona said. “It was a great experience, both academically and softball-wise. It was nice to be on a team where everybody is on the same page and is on a mission to accomplish what you want to do.”

For the rest of the Bruins, they’ll have no other choice but to look to next season and go at it again.

But according to Inouye-Perez, the team won’t have to start from scratch. Rather, the pieces are in place for another title run.

“This weekend was a very frustrating one,” she said. “But I wouldn’t change a thing. We’re on the right track, we have great experience ... and we’re shooting for a championship every year."

I'll be rooting for Missouri when the Women's College World Series kicks off tomorrow.