The UCLA women’s softball team advanced to the Division I Super Regionals this weekend when they won three games last weekend at Easton Stadium on the UCLA campus. The third ranked Bruins will have home field advantage again this week- end when they host the 47-15 Kentucky Wildcats at 5 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. on Sunday.
To reach the Super Regionals the Bruins beat Southern Utah 8-0 and Notre Dame twice, 7-0 and 1-0 in the regional final. The Bruins used the pitching of Ally Carda and Paige McDuffe and a strong defensive effort to get past a strong pitching performance by the 2013 Big East player of the year Laura Winter of Notre Dame.
“Defense wins champion- ships,” said long time UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez after their 1-0 victory on Sunday. “That’s a big part of what we focus on. Making sure we make plays we need to make. I am really proud of this team. That was a great team win and we stepped up and made some big plays on defense.”
Two players that stepped up big on defense for UCLA were shortstop Delaney Spaulding and third baseman Mysha Sataraka. Spaulding threw out a runner at home in the third inning and Sataraka made several spectacular plays from the hot corner. “Mysha is a quality athlete and I am confident in her abilities to make big plays on defense,” said Inouye-Perez.
UCLA softball program has won 12 national titles so everyone expects them to win. The Bruins are under a lot of pressure to produce. “Each team is different,” said Inouye-Perez. “We started a year ago preparing for this moment. Our pitchers and catchers do a great job and we play great defense. At the end of the day that’s what it’s going to take to be successful.”
In pro sports the WNBA Sparks are currently 3-1 and are led by 6’4, 175 pound Candace Parker. Their next home game is Sunday against San Antonio at 12:30 p.m. at the Staple Center.
The third place Dodgers continue their road trip against the Mets today and they finish against the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend. They return home for a 10 game home stand on Monday. Yasiel Puig was named the National League Player of the week for the week of May 12-18.