Junior catcher Stacey Nuveman positions
herself to throw after making an out at home plate in a win over
CSU Long Beach earlier this season.
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Contributor
It’s fitting that the UCLA softball team is heading to the
gun-friendly state of Texas.
Every time the top-ranked Bruins (15-0) enter a softball
stadium, they’re wielding a lineup full of loaded
weapons.
In this past weekend’s UNLV Classic, UCLA scored 60 runs
in five games and never seemed to run out of ammo. So when the
Bruins show up in Austin for this weekend’s Texas
Invitational, they expect to continue getting production from every
part of the lineup.
“It’s kind of cool having one through nine,
everybody hitting,” sophomore shortstop Natasha Watley said.
“It’s not too often that you see that. It’s
usually just the top of the lineup or the bottom.”
Hosting the Texas Invitational, of course, is No. 22 Texas
(9-4). Rounding out the field will be two teams that have already
been soundly defeated by the Bruins, No. 14 Fullerton (12-3) and
Wisconsin (5-5).
SOFTBALL Texas Invitational Friday – Sunday All
Day Austin, TX
The potent UCLA offense dispatched of the Titans by scores of
6-0 and 18-3 in a doubleheader on Feb. 7. The Badgers lost to the
Bruins 9-2 in the UNLV Classic.
People might think that there exists a comfort zone from playing
a team again, but when the mystery of playing a team like Fullerton
or Wisconsin is gone, it becomes harder to win decisively
again.
“I would rather go into it blindly because of the element
of surprise,” said sophomore infielder/outfielder Tairia
Mims, who was just named Pac-10 Player of the Week after slugging
six home runs and driving in 19 runs. “It just makes it more
exciting not knowing what’s going to happen. And nobody wants
to get beat twice (by the same team).”
Considering that the Bruin squad continues to push offensively
throughout its games and the amount of multi-run innings the club
keeps putting on the board, the hot and humid Texas weather could
be a concern.
The players, though, have improved in their weight and aerobic
conditioning under the guidance of strength and conditioning coach
Stephanie Tracy. Head Coach Sue Enquist also doesn’t perceive
the change from the recently cold Los Angeles weather to be a
problem.
“The thing that’s been impressive with our team so
far is that our conditioning is very good,” Enquist said.
“Coach Tracy in the weight room has done a terrific job.
I’m really proud of what she’s done.”
Everything is not perfect in Bruin country though, as the team
is shooting blanks on defense and baserunning, mainly after opening
up a big lead. Practice the past couple of days has focused on
fixing those weaknesses.
Enquist, who doesn’t believe that stressing your
weaknesses is a negative, has issued an emotional/maturity
challenge for the team to go out there and pretend the game is tied
at zero at all times.
“I’m not going to go so far as to say what
they’re thinking, I just know what they’re not
thinking,” Enquist said. “I know that when they put big
numbers on the board they check out.”