In the first game of UCLA’s Pac-12 conference series with Washington, sophomore pitcher Ally Carda did it all for the Bruins, outhitting the Huskies by herself, while pitching seven innings of one-hit softball on Tuesday.
Still, it wasn’t enough for UCLA, as Carda finished the game with one of the more bizarre stat lines seen, earning the loss after throwing a complete game one-hitter.
While Carda’s two base hits totaled more than the entire Washington team, it was the one hit she gave up in the fifth inning that decided the game. Washington sophomore infielder Kylee Lahners belted an 0-1 pitch over the wall in center to give the Huskies the deciding run in a 1-0 win.
“The defense was strong that game, but one pitch will kill you and it did that game,” Carda said. “We have to come out with sticks too. We can’t let one run beat us – we’re trying to fight that right now and just pick each other up with the bats.”
The Bruins’ offensive woes in Pac-12 play continued, as they were shut out twice at the hands of the visiting Huskies, who defeated the Bruins 5-4 in nine innings in game two of Tuesday’s doubleheader before knocking off the Bruins 6-0 Wednesday to complete the three-game sweep.
UCLA (25-11, 2-7 Pac-12) has now been shut out in three of its last four games, and the team that had averaged nearly six and a half runs a game in nonconference play has managed just 20 in its first nine games against conference opponents.
While Pac-12 conference play brings a higher caliber of opponent, junior pitcher Jessica Hall believes that No. 15 UCLA’s offensive struggles have more to do with what the Bruins aren’t doing than what their opponents are.
“I don’t think it has anything to do with the opponent. I think people are making it out to be bigger than it is. I think we’re a little too focused on the wins and losses right now,” Hall said. “I feel like we’re not off mechanically; it just takes that one spark we’re just not finding.”
“Whether it’s the lead-off (batter) getting on or just a big clutch hit, things just aren’t falling into place for us,” Hall said.
Hall, like Carda before her, did not receive the necessary run support, as she gave up just one run in six and a third innings after relieving freshman pitcher Paige McDuffee in the third inning of game two.
Washington would knock back-to-back two-out doubles in the top of the ninth, scoring the deciding run.
UCLA, which scored four runs in the first inning, went scoreless over the next eight innings and managed to get a runner in scoring position just three times after the offensive eruption in the first.
“That’s where your offense takes the pressure off of your pitchers having to be perfect,” said assistant coach Kirk Walker. “Did we pitch well enough to win? Yes. Did we play well enough defense? For the most part. Our pitching and our defense were good enough to win, but unfortunately we put too much pressure on them because our offense did not produce enough runs.”
UCLA has now scored in just one of its last 30 innings and has lost its opening three conference series. In order to fix the offensive woes that plagued them throughout the series with the Huskies and much of conference play, the Bruins’ coaching staff has stressed that the team take a simpler approach at the plate.
“It’s about continuing to have quality at-bats and making sure that our athletes are not making the pressure situations bigger than they need to be,” Walker said. “What we need to focus on doing is keeping our focus simple and not necessarily trying to put more pressure on those key situations, but actually try and get them to stay with the game play and not make it bigger than it is.”
