Soo-Jin Berry is grateful her name has inspired fans from the Korean community to connect with her.
“For me, it’s just nice that I can represent something so much bigger than softball,” Berry said with a raspy voice after cheering on her UCLA teammates during the Bruins’ NCAA regional wins.
“My name is Korean, so I have a lot of Korean fans that will walk up to me, and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, are you Korean? I am too!’”
Berry thrived at Iowa as one of the Big Ten’s most potent hitters, but she chose to end her college career at UCLA even though it meant taking on a smaller role with drastically reduced playing time. Now she is a reliable option as UCLA faces Central Florida in the super regional round, a three-game series that begins at 6 p.m. Friday at the Bruins’ Easton Stadium. The game will air on ESPNU.
UCLAs’ Soo-Jin Berry celebrates hitting a home run against California Baptist on May 15.
(John McCoy / Ap Photo/john Mccoy)
Berry said she joked with her family that UCLA called her as she considered leaving Iowa for other schools before she ever met with the Bruins. Then associate head coach Lisa Fernandez emailed Berry. Bruins head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez then called Berry and they had a two-hour conversation.
“We talked about my life experience in Iowa, and then I kind of knew from the beginning what I wanted, so I made those desires clear to her,” Berry said. “I just want to grow. I just want to have some role on this team because it would mean so much to me. I feel like growing up, everyone’s dream is to go to UCLA, especially for softball.”
When she set foot on the UCLA campus during her recruiting visit, a quarter of the team greeted her, including her former high school teammate and Bruins hitting star Jordan Woolery.
“Jordan was the main person helping me on my visit,” Berry said. “We actually flew in together.”
Since transferring to UCLA, Berry said she learned that she could raise her standard of play while having the best time doing it.
While UCLA was a dream destination, Berry was the last Hawkeye to enter the transfer portal at the end of last season.
“Iowa is a very special place to me, so I don’t have any regrets going there. I loved my time there,” Berry said. “There were just differences between administration and coaching, which I didn’t agree with.”
Berry competed against the Bruins last season, helping Iowa beat UCLA by going 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs and two home runs — the second one in the fifth to help the Hawkeyes extend their lead to 7-4.
Inouye-Perez said after UCLA’s NCAA regional win over South Carolina on Saturday she hasn’t forgotten the game last season when Berry got the best of the Bruins.
“This girl straight beat us last year — she is a pure hitter,” Inouye-Perez said, with Berry sitting next to her.
In 52 games played at Iowa, Berry led the Hawkeyes in RBIs (33), slugging percentage (.589) and extra base hits (21) while recording a .335 batting average (53-158). Her nine home runs put her 10th in Hawkeyes single-season history.
Her on-plate numbers have dropped since joining UCLA’s roster, but her confidence is higher than ever thanks to the supportive techniques provided for Bruins.
“I feel in general I am more comfortable being myself and being more open with my teammates about certain things, so the journaling definitely does help because I can write ‘I belong here,’” Berry said.
She added that she has been able to simplify the situation by trusting the process the coaching staff has implemented for the team.
“Failure is part of the game, and it’s going to happen, and you can’t do anything to avoid it,” Berry said. “So just being OK with failing and knowing if I strike out at this at-bat, what can I change at the next one?”
Berry has accepted coming off the bench and playing any position needed.
“It comes down to the process we have during practice,” Berry said of getting playing time. “Coach Lisa [Fernandez], coach Mysha [Sataraka] and coach [Rob] Schweyer all have full confidence in me.”
When her time was called during the postseason, she contributed to the Bruins advancing as they push to win a national title.
In the regional round, she brought in runs. During the Bruins’ 12-11 walk-off win over California Baptist in the regional opener, Berry hit a three-run home run that helped UCLA take a 7-1 lead.
Berry said she wasn’t getting the outcomes she wanted earlier in the season, but being there for her team when her name was called is special.