COURTNEY STEWART Sophomore Monique Mejia
fields the ball during a 7-0 win over Long Beach State.
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Contributor
So far this season, the top-ranked UCLA softball program has won
the Spartan Early Bird Tournament at San Jose State, the UNLV
Classic and the Texas Invitational.
But for the Bruins (21-0), the regular season tournament they
will enjoy playing the most will be this weekend’s Easton
Classic. Why? Because when a team hosts their own tournament, they
can prove that they are the host with the most ““ not to
mention they get to sleep in their own beds.
“I know that my players are looking forward to playing at
home,” UCLA Head Coach Sue Enquist said. “It’s
good to be around the same atmosphere after living in hotels and
eating in restaurants on the road.”
With the help of Cal State Northridge (6-4), who will provide a
venue for four of the nine doubleheaders, UCLA will host the Easton
Classic; Colorado State (2-6), No. 16 Oregon State (15-4-1), South
Florida (11-9) and UNLV (9-7) round out the field.
“We know we are going to be playing some strong
teams,” UNLV Head Coach Shan McDonald said. “We know
UCLA is one of the top teams and Oregon State is as well. We are
expecting a good tournament.”
The round-robin tournament will have each team playing
doubleheaders on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The winner will be
decided based on overall record, with the tie-breakers being
head-to-head record, fewest runs allowed and most runs scored.
Pitching will be prominent in the Easton Classic, with the
Matadors’ duo of senior Sarah Farnworth (4-2 record, 2.45
ERA) and junior Tanya Ledesma (2-1, 2.67); the Beaver’s 1-2
punch of junior Crystal Draper (10-1, 1.17) and Monica Hoffman
(3-3, 1.46), the Bulls’ ace, senior Jesse Kowal (8-3, 0.55)
and the Runnin’ Rebels’ trio of Kacey Ellis (3-2,
2.28), Nicole Truax (2-1, 2.42) and Geney Orris (2-2, 2.67).
The Bruins, though, come armed with four pitchers of their own.
Junior ace Amanda Freed (9-0, 0.13) has dominated hitters, only
allowing 26 hits while striking out 62 batters in 56 innings of
work. Senior Courtney Dale (1-0, 1.24) just recently rejoined the
rotation after off-season shoulder surgery, while freshman Keira
Goerl (6-0, 1.66) and senior Stephanie Swenson (5-0, 0.75) have
done a great job.
As good as UCLA’s pitching staff is, Enquist and her
coaching staff feel there is still room for improvement. In the
Texas Invitational and the subsequent doubleheader at Southwest
Texas State, they stressed keeping walks down.
“There were certain things our pitchers had been working
to be more effective,” Enquist said. “Our goals (this
past week) were to try to limit our free passes to first base and I
think we did a good job of stepping in that direction.”
The Bruins’ prolific offense has been slowed down lately,
scoring 16 runs in their last five games, for a 3.2 average, as
opposed to the 10.3 average they enjoyed in the first 15 games.
UCLA isn’t worried, though, as Enquist attests the drop in
hitting to a drop in the level of sharpness and focus that should
be regained soon.
Hitting as a team, much like smashing home runs, is a rhythmic
task and the Bruin hitters understand that.
“Home runs are a tricky thing because when you’re
trying to hit them, you never do,” UCLA junior infielder
Stacey Nuveman said.
For the favored Bruins, winning their Easton Classic should not
be quite as tricky as hitting home runs.
“¢bull; “¢bull; “¢bull;
UCLA injury report: Sophomore C/3B Toria Auelua tore the
meniscus in her right knee and will be out a minimum of 6-8 weeks
after successfully undergoing surgery on Wednesday. The injury took
place while Auelua was preparing for game one of UCLA’s
doubleheader at Southwest Texas State on Feb. 26.
Senior P/DP Courtney Dale had eight stitches in her upper lip
and a chipped lower tooth after fouling a ball off her mouth in
that same game. Her availability for the Easton Classic will be a
game-time decision.
With contributions by Andrew Borders and Michael Sneag, Daily
Bruin Contributors.
Original graphic by ADAM BROWN/Daily Bruin Web adaptation by
CHRISTINE TAN/Daily Bruin