Krista Colburn’s philosophy is simple.

Work the count. Lay off the bad pitches. Hit the good pitches up the middle of the field. In short, as the team’s leadoff hitter, Colburn looks to do anything she can to create RBI opportunities for the big bats that wait behind her in the Bruin lineup.

“All I try to do is get on base,” Colburn said. “I just focus on seeing strikes.”

The junior outfielder has accomplished her stated mission throughout the regular season. Colburn leads the team with a .398 batting average and is second on the team in walks (31) and on-base percentage (.490).

What is even more impressive for Colburn is that she has had even more success getting on base in Pac-10 play, when offensive numbers take a traditional step down for players across the conference. Fifteen of Colburn’s 31 walks this season have come in the past 12 games, and she has reached base safely in 19 consecutive games (all conference games). In fact, Colburn has reached base in every conference game except one: a 2-0 Bruin win over Arizona back in March.

“Lately people have been pitching around me a little bit, which is perfect because my job is to get on base,” Colburn said. “I know if I get on base, it sets the table for the rest of the offense.”

But when the situation calls for it, Colburn has shown she is capable of doing a lot more than simply getting on base. Last weekend proved to be a perfect example of her ability to be a run-producer as well as a run-creator.

With UCLA down 4-0 in the third inning against Arizona, the Pac-10 champion and the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, Colburn launched a three-run home run to put the Bruins right back in the game. UCLA went on to complete a stunning come-from-behind victory, with freshman pitcher Megan Langenfeld shutting down the Wildcats the rest of the way and hitting the go-ahead home run in the top of the fifth inning.

The very next day, Colburn was at it again. With the Bruins trailing 3-2 in the fifth inning against No. 9 Arizona State, Colburn delivered a two-run blast to give the Bruins a 4-3 lead that they kept throughout the rest of the game.

“It felt really great to come through,” Colburn said. “I had misplayed a fly ball that cost us two runs (in the bottom of the second inning against Arizona) and I told Langenfeld I’d pick us up. Then against Arizona State the next day ... I was seeing the ball really well.”

THEY’RE ALL IN: For the third time in the last five years, all eight of the Pac-10 softball teams were selected for the NCAA Championships.

“I was very proud to see that all eight teams made it into the regional tournament,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said.

“It speaks volumes about the road we just traveled in the Pac-10. It shows and reflects in our record. We all have several losses against each other and that can work against us sometimes.”

Indeed, there was a great deal of parity within the conference this season. No Pac-10 team finished with less than seven conference wins and no team had more than 15 conference wins in the 21 conference games played by each team.

Four of the eight teams selected – No. 1 Arizona, No. 6 Washington, No. 7 Arizona State and No. 12 UCLA – earned one of the top 16 seeds in the tournament.

However, only UCLA, Arizona and unseeded Stanford will host first-round regional play.