By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Reporter
The UCLA softball team could do no wrong before the Pac-10
season began. Prior to a trip to the Bay Area, the Bruins had a
perfect 35-0 record and the top ranking in the nation.
Then on March 30, Stanford handed UCLA its first loss of the
season.
Currently ranked second in the nation, UCLA (46-4 overall, 7-4
in the Pac-10) will play host to No. 4 California (47-8, 4-7) today
at 2 p.m. and then have their rematch versus No. 3 Stanford
(44-6-1, 9-3) on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Bruins and Cardinal will
also play on Sunday at 1 p.m. All of the games will be played at
Easton Stadium.
In the 1-0 loss at Stanford, Freed allowed only two hits. But a
key error by Bruin left fielder Erin Rahn allowed Cardinal
outfielder Jessica Mendoza to score the lone run.
“If you look at all of your losses, there’s probably
about one or two big errors in a game where you give the opposing
team an extra out in an inning,” Stanford Head Coach John
Rittman said. “There’s a lot of failure in softball and
if you let it become a distraction, it can definitely hurt
you.”
When a team faces top-notch competition, chances are an error is
going to come back to haunt you.
Since the Pac-10 currently has the top four teams in the nation
(Arizona, UCLA, Stanford, Cal), it’s important to not only be
effective on the field, but also to perform at the plate.
“What will be critically important is our team’s
ability to stay within the strike zone offensively,” Bruin
Head Coach Sue Enquist said. “We need to be clutch at the
plate.”
Offense, though, has not been too big of a problem for the three
schools playing at Easton Stadium this weekend.
The Bruins will rely on infielders Stacey Nuveman, Tairia Mims
and Claire Sua to produce offensively. The three have combined for
34 out of the team’s 48 home runs and more than half of the
RBIs this season.
The Cardinal have a dynamic duo in Mendoza and first baseman
Sarah Beeson. Mendoza leads Stanford with a .441 batting average
and 13 home runs, while Beeson is the Cardinal top run producer
with 56 RBIs ““ 21 more than the next player on the squad.
And last but not least is California. After the loss to
Stanford, UCLA rebounded with a pair of close wins at Cal. The
sweep of the Bears shouldn’t leave the Bruins overconfident,
as any team that brings with them a hitter like first baseman
Veronica Nelson (.385, 18 HRs, 46 RBI) is a force to be reckoned
with.
“(Cal) has been on the unfortunate side of a couple of
close games that could have gone either way,” Rittman said.
“They’re as tough as anybody in the country.”
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Injury note: A decision on the availability of UCLA junior ace
Amanda Freed won’t be made until Friday. She has missed the
last five games with an injury to her right arm.