By John Suehiro
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Things were looking good for the No. 3 UCLA softball team
Friday. As sophomore Amanda Freed tossed a two-hit shutout against
No. 5 Arizona State (39-14, 7-9 Pac-10) for a 2-0 victory, the
Bruins were picking up right where they left off the previous
Sunday with a two-game sweep of California.
Then UCLA (39-10-1, 11-6) skidded off course the next two days
against No. 2 Arizona (50-7, 13-4), losing in nine innings 12-9 on
Saturday after blowing a 9-1 lead, and then losing again on Sunday
9-1 in a game that was shortened by the eight-run rule.
Coming off the Friday night victory, the Bruins quickly put five
runs on the board in the first inning on Saturday. Senior Lyndsey
Klein provided four of those runs with a grand slam while freshman
Tairia Mims added a solo home run that cleared the left field
bleachers.
After UCLA batted in its half of the fourth, the team added four
more runs to give them an eight run lead.
“We went in with an offensive plan and exploded at the
plate,” head coach Sue Enquist said.
Then the Wildcats mounted a comeback starting in the bottom of
the fourth and tied the game in the sixth at 9-9. Meanwhile, the
Bruins’ hot bats went cold.
“In the beginning of the game we had good plate
discipline, but when we got a big lead we started swinging for the
fences and got sloppy,” Enquist said.
Arizona’s Lauren Bauer ended the game in the bottom of the
ninth with a three-run home run to give the Wildcats a 12-9
victory.
Bauer finished the evening with a six-for-six performance at the
plate, including a grand slam in the fourth. The next day she
didn’t miss a beat, leading off with a single in the bottom
of the first. After stealing second, Bauer scored on a single by
Katie Swan.
The Wildcats then continued their offensive barrage with a
three-run home run by Lindsey Collins later in the first and a
grand slam by Toni Mascarenas in the second.
With plenty of run support, Jennie Finch held the Bruins to just
one run on two hits, with that only tally coming off a home run by
Mims in the fifth inning.
“Sunday was a real test and we came out ready to
play,” Enquist said. “We just didn’t adjust to
Finch”
In the end, Arizona completed a season sweep of the Bruins as
they won, 9-1.
UCLA starter Courtney Dale, who held Arizona to one run on four
hits in two and two-thirds innings of work Saturday, lasted only
one and two-thirds innings on Sunday as she surrendered eight runs
(four unearned) on eight hits.
It was Dale’s roughest outing since her return to the
pitching circle on April 16. Enquist believes, however, that this
minor setback should help get the junior All-American ready for
post-season play. Especially since Dale is still readjusting to
pitching on a weekly basis.
“Because she wants to come in and get the job done so
badly, it’s hard to see her have a bad outing,” Enquist
said. “But it’s better than having her go through the
motions in the bullpen.”
The Bruins fell to 11-6 in Pac-10 play, three games behind first
place Washington and two behind second place Arizona. Next they
will play No. 1 Washington Wednesday at Easton Stadium.