The UCLA women’s softball team is returning to the College World Series for the first time in five years.
The seventh-seeded Bruins play No. 2 seed Oregon in Oklahoma City this evening at 6:30 on ESPN.
UCLA advanced after sweeping Missouri last weekend two games to none at Easton Stadium on campus.
UCLA will go as far as the Pac-12 Player of the Year, Ally Carda, will take them. Although the Bruins play well on defense and offense, their No. 1 weapon is Carda on the mound. She has a record of 31-6.
“I am super excited to make it to the College World Series,” said Carda. “It’s a bittersweet feeling to play my last game, but I am glad that we went out the way we did. I am excited to see where this team is headed.”
The team is in Oklahoma to face the seven best college softball teams.
“It is rewarding to have this team get to the World Series because they have worked so hard,” said UCLA Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez.
She is in her ninth season as head coach and 22nd overall at UCLA. “It’s an exciting time for UCLA softball,” she said. “We are playing our best softball right now. We have learned a lot about ourselves this season. Although we have outstanding individual players, we don’t rely on one person. We have a strong team culture.
“And,” Coach Inouye-Perez added, “we have each other’s backs.”
Mr. Finley may be contacted at sfinley50@aol.com
