Former Johansen softball star Gabby Maurice helps lead UCLA back to College World Series

Fictional Cleveland Indians slugger Pedro Cerrano lit candles in his locker to cure his bat of evil spirits.

“Bats, they are sick,” said Cerrano, played by actor Dennis Haysbert, in the popular 1989 movie “Major League.” “I cannot hit curveball. Straightball, I hit it very much. Curveball, bats are very afraid. I ask Jobu to come, take fear from bats. I offer him cigar, rum. He will come.”

By all accounts, Gabrielle Maurice can hit the curve, the changeup, the fastball and the rise. There is nothing wrong with the bat she swings or her approach at the plate.

The UCLA sophomore is hitting a robust .380, but more impressively, she’s reached base 50 percent of the time for the Bruins, the most decorated Division I softball program of all time.

Her game looks to be in fine shape as the season turns toward its signature event – the College World Series in Oklahoma City. The seventh-seeded Bruins will play Pacific-12 Conference rival and second-seeded Oregon on Thursday. The game will be televised on ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m.

“It’s every little girl’s dream to go to the College World Series,” Maurice said Wednesday. “All these girls are talented and have worked hard for it, and I think it could be our year. When we won Super Regionals, I think everyone realized this is real. We’re excited. We want to get on the field and play.”

There is a connection between Maurice and Cerrano that can’t be ignored, and it has everything to do with the candles and scents they covet. All season, before Maurice and road roomie Kylee Perez settled into their hotel room, the Northern California natives would light incense.

“It’s goofy, but we do it whenever we get into a new room,” Maurice confided. “We spray our room and light incense for good spirits and for a good weekend.”

The spirits have favored the Bruins, who have won 50 of their 60 games this season and returned to the College World Series after sweeping Missouri in the Super Regional. Maurice helped clinch the series sweep of the Tigers, racing home on an error in the second inning to give UCLA a 2-1 lead.

The Bruins clubbed three home runs in a clinching 10-6 victory.

“We’ve done a really good job of taking it one game at a time,” said Maurice, UCLA’s left fielder. “We haven’t talked much about making it to the College World Series, and I think that helps out.” “We kept it simple and took every game pitch by pitch.”

That approach will be tested in Oklahoma City, where college softball becomes the focus of the national media.

The Bruins have collected more NCAA softball championships (11) than any other team, and the narrative beginning Thursday likely will focus on their pursuit of another.

UCLA has gone four seasons without the ultimate celebration. Maurice, a two-time Bee Player of the Year (2011-12) and former Outstanding Athlete Award Prep Athlete of the Year (2012) as determined by the Sportsmen of Stanislaus, has waited even longer for a major team title. She came close during a decorated career at Johansen High School, reaching the 2010 Sac-Joaquin Section Division I final as a freshman.

She insists this journey – like the others – isn’t about the trophy or the accolades. It’s about the team and living in the moment.

“That’s always the main goal in the back of my mind, but this year, we have a good group of seniors graduating. At this point, we’re trying to take in every moment, whether it’s the team breakfast or team meal. Whatever it is, we’re trying to take it in,” she said. “If we can win a national championship, all the better. We’re just trying to enjoy the experience.”

In a season broken into pitches and games, Maurice has shined at every opportunity. She has 22 extra-base hits, including nine home runs, en route to a second-team all-Pac-12 honor. She ranks among the team leaders in runs (53), hits (65) and RBIs (41). She has more walks (32) than strikeouts (29) and has been plunked 10 times.

She is listed as a utility player on the UCLA website because of her ability to play middle infield and outfield, but the grassy patches in left have become her home.

Maurice scoffs at any mention of her personal stats and fanfare. She is just one part of a whole; a role player on a team devoid of any me-first personalities.

“Everyone is their own character. Some are super high energy. Some don’t want to talk to anybody,” she said. “No matter how diverse we are, we can come together and work as one. I’d do anything for my team.”

With fragrance at the ready, she means that in a very literal “scents.”

This story was originally published May 27, 2015 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Former Johansen softball star Gabby Maurice helps lead UCLA back to College World Series."