SOFTBALL Fresno State
Tournament Fresno, Calif. Today-Sunday
By Andrew Borders
Daily Bruin Contributor
As the No. 1 Bruins (28-0) make the trip to Fresno for the
four-day Hedrick’s Hallowell Chevrolet Classic, they are
pushing the envelope. Since the Feb. 17 game against then-No. 12
Nebraska, which it defeated 6-2, UCLA’s margins of victory
have been decreasing, not only against ranked teams, but also
against sub-.500 clubs.
For example, the Bruins needed an extra inning against then-No.
22 Texas to win 4-3. That preceded a 1-0 victory against unranked
Wisconsin. Add 4-3, 3-1 doubleheaders against Southwest Texas State
as well as close second games of doubleheaders this past weekend,
and UCLA has something to watch out for.
“Winning with this team breeds a real comfort zone. They
are in a comfort zone right now and it’s very
dangerous,” UCLA Head Coach Sue Enquist said.
Fortunately for the Bruins, their pitching has held serve when
their bats have gone cold.
Freshman Keira Goerl notched a perfect game Tuesday, and junior
Amanda Freed threw UCLA’s 75th no-hitter Sunday. Beyond them,
seniors Courtney Dale and Stephanie Swenson solidify the
team’s rotation.
Freed is ready to rebound from the offensive slump.
“We’re not taking teams lightly, but we’re
starting to see how there’s a lot of teams that can play with
us, and we can never play down to anybody,” she said.
On the other hand, the Bruins do what they need to win. This
weekend’s opposition will require them to enlist their full
potential to come away with six wins, as three of their opponents
are ranked no lower than No. 15. UCLA faces No. 11 DePaul and No.
15 Oregon State in the second games of their respective days.
Colorado State (2-12) is first up for the Bruins on Thursday.
The two teams faced off last weekend in the Easton Classic, where
the Bruins swept the Rams 11-3 and 2-0.
UCLA’s opponent Friday morning, Cal Poly (7-6), is also no
stranger, as the teams played twice at San Jose State’s Early
Bird Classic last month. The Bruins took both games by scores of
10-2 and 5-0.
Later UCLA will duel No. 11 DePaul (7-1-1) in Friday’s
nightcap. Only two pitchers have recorded decisions for DePaul, and
both have astonishingly low ERAs. Sophomore Lindsay Chouinard is at
0.22, and freshman Sarah Martz is at 0.24. Four hitters are batting
.300 or better. But history bodes well for the Bruins, who are 5-0
against DePaul.
Saturday, the Bruins play their first game against New Mexico
State (9-18). Four Aggies are over .300, with freshman Heather
Nobbe hitting a team-high .395. However, the team’s
Achilles’ heel is its pitching, as the lowest ERA is
3.39.
UCLA will end Saturday dueling a familiar foe, No. 15 Oregon
State (18-7-1). The Bruins are 56-4 all time against OSU. Three
players are over .300, but the Beavers’ strength is their
pitching, as all three pitchers to record decisions have ERAs no
higher than 1.50.
Last weekend, OSU took part in the Easton Classic, though the
Bruins and Beavers did not play each other. That gave OSU Coach
Kirk Walker a chance to scope out the Bruins.
“It’s always fun to play a Pac-10 team before we go
into the Pac-10 season,” he said. “UCLA is very strong
this year. They’re scoring a lot of runs and they’ve
got a strong pitching staff.”
The Bruins end the weekend playing the host No. 7 Fresno State
Bulldogs (8-2). Four players are over .300, and the Bruins will
have to contend with another team with a deep pitching rotation.
All three Fresno State pitchers are under 1.00 in ERA, with
freshmen Jamie Southern and Lori Hoffman at 0.00, and sophomore
Leslie Poole at 0.90.
While their opponents’ statistics show that some teams are
deeper in pitching or hitting, the fact that the Bruins have five
players at or over .400 and all four pitchers at or under 1.30 ERA
show that UCLA will be the team to beat.
In the last non-conference weekend of the season, the Bruins
hope to break out of the offensive slump that has caused some
sweaty collars and nibbled nails in Westwood.