College Softball World Series : Titan Goodin’s Homer Spells UCLA’s Doom, 2-0

In the end, it just wasn’t Doom’s day.

In four years at UCLA, Debbie Doom has compiled a 71-16 record, been named an All-American three times and last year won the Broderick Award as college softball’s top player. Her most impressive accomplishment, however, may have been the fact that she had not allowed a single home run in her collegiate career.

Cal State Fullerton junior Robin Goodin hadn’t hit a home run in her career, but that all changed Friday night when Goodin slugged a Doom pitch for a solo homer to left in the sixth inning as the Titans beat the Bruins, 2-0, in the NCAA Division 1 Women’s Softball World Series at Seymour Smith Park.

Fullerton (53-8) meets Nebraska (37-9) today in winner’s bracket action of the double-elimination tournament. The Cornhuskers, getting a bases-loaded single from Stacy Sunny in the third, defeated Cal Poly Pomona, 2-0, in another battle of unbeatens Friday night. UCLA (37-9) will face Northwestern today.

“I guess I couldn’t have picked a better time to hit my first homer,” a smiling Goodin said. “I knew I got it up in the air, but I didn’t think it was going to go out.

“In fact, I was sprinting the whole way . . . I still haven’t got to try out my home run jog.”

Bruin left fielder Stacy Winsberg collided hard with the chain-link fence trying to catch Goodin’s drive and suffered facial cuts that required stitches.

Goodin, who had a career .111 batting average coming into this season, played first base for the Titans in the World Series in 1983, but did not hit. Coach Judi Garman used a designated hitter in her spot.

“Robin has spent the last 2 1/2 years trying to learn to hit fast pitching. She’s going to play anyway because I think she’s the best defensive first baseman around,” Garman said.

“You can’t imagine the hours of extra batting practice she’s taken. She’s really come on strong in the last half of the season, and she had two hits off Debbie (Doom) the last time we faced her.”

Doom didn’t seem too upset that her string was broken. She said beating the rival Titans was the only thing on her mind.

“This was a big, big game,” Doom said. “When the fences are only 190 feet away, you’re bound to give up a fly ball that far sooner or later.”

In this case, it was four years later.

Fullerton pitcher Debbie Mygind picked up her second victory of the tournament, allowing just two hits and striking out seven to better her record to 28-3. The senior from Auckland, New Zealand, used her world-class changeup to keep the Bruin hitters off balance all evening.

The Titans have now won 11 of their last 12 games against the Bruins. UCLA Coach Sharron Backus says it seems more like “years and years” since her team has beaten Fullerton.

Goodin’s homer kept this loss from being an especially painful one after the Bruins gave Fullerton a gift run in the fourth.

The Titans’ Terri Oberg bounced a two-out single up the middle and was safe at second after Bruin shortstop Leslie Rover picked up JoAnn Ferrieri’s grounder and threw to second for a force out. Second baseman Chris Olivie was nowhere in sight, however, and Oberg kept going to third. Lisa Baker lined an RBI-single to center and Fullerton led, 1-0.

“It (the error) changed the momentum of the game, though,” Backus said. “You fail to execute like that, and it takes you back a bit.”

Trailing, 1-0, Backus had her Nos. 3 and 4 hitters sacrifice in the fourth inning after Mary Ricks reached first on Goodin’s fielding error, only her seventh error in more than 600 chances this season. But Mygind got Gina Holmstrom on a comebacker to end the inning.

“We don’t have the hitters, one through nine, that we’ve had in the past,” Garman said. “But somebody always manages to come through.”

Even an unlikely somebody like Goodin.

In other action Friday, Adelphi eliminated Utah, 1-0, and Northwestern eliminated Louisiana Tech, 1-0.