SOFTBALL vs. Friday 2 p.m.
Corvallis, OR vs. Saturday 2 p.m. Sunday 1
p.m. Eugene, OR
By Andrew Borders
Daily Bruin Reporter
This weekend will prove that in the Pac-10, “easy”
is a relative term.
The No. 1 UCLA Bruins (42-3, 5-3 Pac-10) visit the No. 16 Oregon
State Beavers (33-15-1, 2-4) Friday, followed by games against the
unranked Oregon Ducks (25-26, 1-7) on Saturday and Sunday.
The Oregon schools are the bottom two teams in the Pac-10
conference. But the fact that seven of the schools in the
conference are ranked no lower than 16th nationally shows that the
key word is “Pac-10,” not “bottom.”
Even Oregon, the conference’s last-place team, is only one
game below .500 overall and is 1-7 in the best softball conference
in the nation.
“Going into any game, we don’t think of records because
the Pac-10 is so competitive,” Bruin freshman first baseman
Claire Sua said. “We’re just approaching every game as
every team is equal. When you get in trouble is when you
underestimate the other team.”
Of more immediate concern to the Bruins is the loss of their ace
pitcher, junior Amanda Freed (17-3, 0.51 ERA).
“Amanda’s hurt ,” UCLA Head Coach Sue Enquist
said.
Such a short statement means so much to the Bruin pitching
attack.
The injury resulted from a quirk in Freed’s throwing
motion, in which she bumps her elbow on her hip. The repeated
effects of that resulted in muscle separating from bone in
Freed’s elbow.
Fortunately for UCLA, the Bruins aren’t short on
pitchers.
Freshman Keira Goerl is 16-0 with a 1.07 ERA. Watch for seniors
Courtney Dale (0.83, 4-0) and Stephanie Swenson (1.50, 5-0) to get
some work.
However, Oregon Coach Rick Gamez said that pitching is his
in-state rival’s strength.
“(Oregon State’s) pitching is very solid,”
Gamez said.
The Bruins will likely see junior Crystal Draper (19-8, 1.21),
with freshman Monica Hoffman (12-7, 1.45) remaining a possibility
as the starting pitcher in the first game at the Beavers’ new
stadium.
Offensively, only junior Michelle Chariton is hitting over .300
at .303. The rest of their lineup is over .200.
That compares very favorably for the Bruins. Freshman Claire Sua
has overtaken junior Stacey Nuveman for the team lead, .428 to
.424. Three more Bruins are over .400, with another three over
.300.
Gamez cites execution as a problem for his team, saying that the
Ducks have stranded close to 350 runners this year.
The statistics bear that out. While sophomores Lisa Wangler and
Alyssa Laux are batting .390 and .362, the yawning gap between that
duo and the rest of the team hasn’t helped. The next closest
Duck is sophomore Amber Hutchison at .279.
Oregon’s pitching hasn’t compensated for the
offensive dropoff. The lowest ERA on the team is freshman Anisha
Meashintubby’s at 3.25, but she has only had the decision in
four games. The Ducks’ main pitcher is junior Connie McMurren
(4.03, 8-13).
However, Enquist says, don’t expect the Bruins to pencil
in any wins before they arrive in Oregon.
“The team is smart enough know that, no matter where the
other team is in the standings, they know we have to respect them
and come in prepared.”