DANIEL WONG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Catcher Stacey
Nuveman tied the NCAA record for home runs in a career
Saturday. UCLA d. Cal, 3-0 UCLA d. Stanford,
13-2
By Jon Corwin
Daily Bruin Contributor
UCLA senior Stacey Nuveman tied the NCAA career mark for home
runs Saturday, while one day earlier sophomore Keira Goerl threw
her fifth no-hitter of the season.
The top-ranked Bruins extended their winning streak to 11 games
as they swept a pair of top-ten teams in Berkeley and Stanford over
the weekend.
But the focus was on Nuveman’s record-tying 85th career
home run that came in the fourth inning off Cardinal pitcher
Maureen LeCocq.
The homer was crushed to left center field on the first pitch of
the at bat.
“It was a great feeling, especially knowing I did it in
such decisive fashion,” Nuveman said. “I was excited to
get the monkey off my back and focus on helping the team win
now.”
The senior catcher from La Verne, Calif. has 15 round trippers
on the season and is hitting a team-leading .554.
“Stacey came in with such great potential that we knew she
had the ability to do something like this,” UCLA head coach
Sue Enquist said.
Nuveman’s heroics overshadowed another outstanding
pitching performance from Goerl (24-4) on Friday, who no-hit the
No. 6 Golden Bears en route to a 3-0 victory.
“I’ve been mixing up my pitches a little more
lately,” Goerl said of her dominating weekend
performances.
Nuveman’s record-tying home run was a small fraction of
the total offense that the Bruins posted Saturday in a 13-2
victory. Senior Amanda Freed and sophomore Claire Sua each tallied
three RBIs, while junior Natasha Watley picked up three hits on the
day. The game got out of hand with UCLA’s merciless 10 run
fourth inning against a stunned Cardinal team.
Sua pounded out two home runs in the drubbing, helping Freed
(18-2) pick up the win.
Nuveman has appreciated the offensive help that the Bruins have
provided, taking some pressure off the slugger.
“It’s easy to take one hitter out of the game, but
everyone is producing right now,” Nuveman said.
“We’re having a total team effort
offensively.”
In Sunday’s finale, Tairia Mims hit a solo home run as
UCLA blanked Stanford 2-0 behind a two-hitter from Goerl, who
struck out 11.
The confident Bruins head north to do battle against Oregon and
Oregon State this coming weekend, but Enquist realizes that too
much of a good thing can turn into a negative.
“We have to continue to play unselfishly, and be careful
of getting big egos,” Enquist said.