The top-ranked UCLA softball team may be loaded with offensive, defensive and pitching talent.
But against good teams in softball, it often takes the little things on top of talent to win.
UCLA had a weekend sweep against two top teams, beating rival No. 3 Arizona 8-2 on Friday and winning against No. 7 Arizona State 1-0 on Saturday and 3-1 on Sunday.
“We just did a lot of little things right,” UCLA coach Sue Enquist said. “When you get a team that buys into itself, it’s tough to beat us with our talent. They go up there offensively carrying out a plan, but they know if they don’t do it the person behind them will.”
The Bruins did show some power and make a few flashy plays over the weekend, but it was the sound fundamentals that set all those up.
Senior Andrea Duran got the big hit in Sunday’s game, with a two-out single that drove in two runs in the fourth inning to give UCLA a 3-1 lead. But earlier in the inning, UCLA executed two sacrifice bunts, one resulting in an Arizona State error.
On top of that, junior pinch hitter Kristen Dedmon got hit by a pitch to load the bases, and junior Jodie Legaspi slid into a force-out at home plate that may have helped break up a potential inning-ending double play.
“You get the bunt down, you put the runner in scoring position, Dedmon takes the hit. Those things matter,” Enquist said. “Dedmon knows she’s capable of changing the game with one swing, and she goes in there and takes the hit. Those things matter.”
The little things happened throughout the weekend, not just on Sunday.
In Friday’s win, UCLA scored its first run with the help of a sacrifice and its second run with the help of a stolen base. The lead helped UCLA break the game open later with three home runs, one by senior catcher Emily Zaplatosch and two by Duran.
Duran’s second home run of the day was a grand slam, and she ended up with six RBI over the weekend.
“I’m just trying to react to pitches,” Duran said. “I’m not trying to guess. I’m just trying to keep everything simple. Whatever happens happens.”
Saturday, UCLA scored its only run in the bottom of the sixth when senior Caitlin Benyi ran home on a wild pitch. Benyi had only reached base after a triple that went in and out of the glove of Arizona State’s right fielder. Benyi’s hustle let her go all the way to third on the play and eventually score on the wild pitch.
“You’re at a point in the season where you want to be able to sustain your consistency,” Enquist said. “I felt like we did that this weekend against two excellent clubs. Things are coming together in terms of making adjustments during the game.”
Sophomore pitcher Anjelica Selden got the win in all three games, starting Friday and Sunday and entering Saturday’s game in relief of junior Lisa Dodd. Saturday, Dodd had a no-hitter through five innings before being pulled in the sixth after allowing one hit.
The weekend sweep solidifies UCLA’s (40-5, 12-3 Pac-10) spot on top of the conference standings and the national rankings.
“Any time we can sweep the Arizona schools, it’s huge,” Zaplatosch said. “We had consistency. We’re putting the ball in play. It’s as simple as that.”
With six games to play, the Bruins are two and a half games up on Oregon State in the standings, and the two teams face each other twice this weekend in Corvallis, Ore.
Sunday’s game was UCLA’s last home game of the regular season, but the Bruins will very likely host the NCAA Regionals, which start on May 19.