NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Senior Lupe Brambila
runs to second base in a game against Cal State Fullerton earlier
this year.
By Andrew Borders
Daily Bruin Reporter
It happens in every NCAA sport that has a tournament of 48 or 64
teams. Some little school from Anytown, U.S.A., gets fed to the
wolves in a first-round appetizer while the favored team romps
on.
The national No. 2 UCLA Bruins (55-5) hope that this year is no
different. The team starts off its run to Oklahoma City with a
first-round game against the sixth-seeded Lady Chanticleers of
Coastal Carolina (27-21) today at 2 p.m. at Easton Stadium.
“We don’t know a lot about them, so it’s a
matter of making sure that we stick to our offensive plan and be
aggressive. That first game is always a little
unpredictable,” said UCLA Head Coach Sue Enquist. “I
always have great excitement for that first game to see how quickly
we find our flow.”
There are eight regional sites across the country, each with six
teams, comprising the total of 48. The Bruins are hosting the No. 2
regional, so whichever team emerges from this group of six will be
the second seed at the Women’s College World Series in
Oklahoma City May 24-28.
The UCLA/Coastal Carolina game will be the third of four in the
day. At 9 a.m., second-seeded Fresno State takes on fifth-seeded
Wisconsin, followed by third-seeded Cal State Northridge against
fourth-seeded San Diego State at 11:30 a.m. The Bruins and Lady
Chanticleers follow, and the first game of the consolation bracket
begins at 4:30 p.m., with the UCLA/Coastal Carolina loser against
the Fresno State/Wisconsin loser.
After the Bruins eye the other four teams in their regional, the
Chants, as they are known in South Carolina, bring a credible
challenge to the Bruins’ vaunted attack.
Senior Sarah Lockett leads the Chants’ offensive charge,
hitting .351 with 14 home runs. Close behind is sophomore Holly
Lee, hitting .333 with 12 homers.
By the numbers, Coastal Carolina looks like it could make a game
of it with the Bruins in the circle. CCU’s two main pitchers,
juniors Danielle Jenkins and Stephanie Belden, are 12-7 and 10-10,
respectively, with ERAs in the twos.
Though CCU Head Coach Jess Dannelly says that the teams
don’t match up on paper, Belden and Jenkins know that they
must have a balanced attack, both pitching and hitting, to pull off
the upset.
Dannelly and both of his prospective starting pitchers for today
cite UCLA’s No. 2 national ranking, plus the presence of
Olympic gold medalist Stacey Nuveman and fellow junior and pitching
phenom Amtoanda Freed, as evidence of the Bruins’ wealth of
talent.
UCLA certainly has the firepower to win. Nuveman is hitting .450
with 17 home runs, and sophomore Natasha Watley, who hits more for
average than power, is batting .425.
Though Freed (17-3, 0.51 ERA) has practiced in the circle
lately, she is still a question mark for this weekend. Fortunately,
senior Courtney Dale has regained her 1999 form with two solid
outings while filling in for Freed. In doing so, Dale improved her
record to 7-0 with a 0.80 ERA. Freshman Keira Goerl, the
team’s ace since Freed’s injury, is 25-2 with a 1.22
ERA.
But numbers aside, Enquist understands the mind-set of the
visiting Lady Chanticleers.
“If I’m Coastal Carolina, we’re the underdog,
we have nothing to lose. Let’s go out there and be the
spoiler.
“I’m sure that’s going to be the mentality
they have.”
NCAA REGIONAL SCOUTING REPORT 1st seed:
UCLA Bruins Head Coach:Sue Enquist(13th
year) 2001 Record:55-5 Regular
Season:UCLA blazed through its non-conference schedule,
going 39-0 against evryone outside of the Pac-10. The undefeated
non-conference run includes victories against 2nd seed Fresno State
(8-2), 3rd seed CSUN (13-0,7-0,8-0,12-1) and 5th seed Wisconsin
(9-2,12-1). Strengths:Balance is the key, with a
team batting average of .340 that includes eight batters hitting
over .300 and two over .400. Pitching wise, the Bruins had a team
ERA of 0.92, while opponents sported 5.29 ERA
Weaknesses:If the Bruins come in overconfident, a
lack of concentration could lead to another school stealing a game
and putting UCLA’s back against the wall. Key
Player:The newly annointed Pac-10 player of the year,
junior catcher Stacey Nuveman, led the Bruins with a .450 batting
average, 17 home runs and 69 RBI’s. 2nd seed:Fresno State
Bulldogs Head Coach:Margie Wright(15th
year) 2001 Record:38-17 Regular
season:Started strong with a five-game winning streak and
ended the same way with a seven-game winning streak. Won their
fourth consecutive WAC title and fifth in the last six years.
Strengths:Pitching and defense are their
strengths. Their team ERA was 1.12, led by Leslie Poole (20-6, 1.23
ERA) and Lori Hoffman (11-9, 1.13 ERA).
Weaknesses:The Bulldogs team batting average was a
mere .265, and only two regular starters had .300 plus averages.
They are lacking power with only four homeruns as a team for the
entire season. Key Player:The main offensive
threat was senior center fielder Becky Witt who ended the season
with a .398 average, was a perfect 17 for 17 in stolen base
attemts, and only made 2 errors while starting in all 55 games.
3rd seed: Cal State Northridge Matadors
Head Coach:Janet Sherman(5th year) 2001
Record:31-22 Regular Season:After being
swept by UCLA in a doubleheader on April 4 and falling to 19-19,
the Matadors exploded to win their next seven and finished by
winning 12 of their last 15. The four blowout losses to the Bruins
have to be of concern though. Strengths:CSUN has
one main strength and her name is Sarah Farnworth. The senior
pitcher was in the circle for 274 2/3 of the teams 376 innings with
a 1.48 ERA. Weaknesses:Not a single hitter batted
over .300 and Farnworth led the team with 24 RBI, meaning the
Matadors will fight for every run. Key
Player:Farnworth, Farnworth and more Farnworth. If CSUN is
to advance, Farnworth will need to dominate from the circle.
4th seed: San Diego State Aztecs Head
Coach:Kathy Van Wyk(5th year) 2001
Record:38-23 Regular Season:The Aztecs
had a very up and down season. Their longest winning streak was
only five games, but they also never lost more than three in a row.
They are making their first NCAA tournament appearance.
Strengths:Led by Sandra Durazo, the pitching staff
had a respectable 2.74 ERA with a solid but not spectacular
defense. Weaknesses:As a team, they only hit .248
with only three players hitting above .300. They also lack power
with only 11 homeruns, and were shutout eight times. Key
Player:They relied heavily on senior pitcher Sandra
Durazo. She appeared in 42 of the 61 total games played, including
35 starts. She had 31 complete games with seven shutouts ad ended
the season with a 27-12 record and a 1.75 ERA. 5th
seed:Wisconsin Badgers Head Coach:Karen
Gallagher(6th season) 2001 Record:32-35
Regular Season:It has been an inconsistent season
for the Badgers, who lost seven out of eight Big-Ten conference
games after peaking with a 24-15 record. Wisconsin also lost to
UCLA 9-2 in Feb.17, putting into question their ability to advance
past the NCAA Regional. Strengths:Pitching is of
the utmost importance, with a staff that compiled a 1.57 ERA during
the season, although the stat is a bit deceiving because the team
allowed 52 unearned runs. Weaknesses:No one on the
team had more than 25 RBI for the season and only one hitter
(redshirt freshman Meghann Reiss) hit over .300. Key
Player:Sophomore right-hander Andrea Kirchberg will
shoulder a lot of responsibility, as she’ll bring her 21-11 record
in he circle and 1.20 ERA to Easton Stadium. 6th
seed:Coastal Carolina Lady Chanticleers Head
Coach:Jess Dannelly(14th year) 2001
Record:27-21 Regular season:The Lady
Chants have not consistently played the caliber team that they will
face Thursday against the Bruins, making the first-round game a
tough task. The highest ranked team they have played this year was
current-No.3 Louisiana State, which beat them in a doubleheader
12-2 and 4-0. Strengths:Coastal Carolina has 12
players hitting at or above .200, but more importantly four of them
are over .300 to provide some balance at the plate.
Weaknesses:The pitching is adequate, but not
impressive considering their competition, with top pitcher junior
Danielle Jenkins at 12-7, 2.05. Key Player:Senior
Sarah Lockett is .351 with a team-high 14 HRs and 11 doubles.
She’ll have to produce if the Chants are to outhit the powerful
Bruin attack. SOURCE: Universities’ Sports Info Original graphic by
VICTOR CHEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Web adaptation by JUSTIN
HONG