Look who is No. 1: Softball upsets UA

Look who is No. 1: Softball upsets UA

By Melissa Anderson

and Rick Pal

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

UCLA softball found a way to tame the Wildcats Saturday
afternoon, sending the top-ranked team in the country home with its
tail between its legs.

Newcomer Tanya Harding led the Bruins in their 8-5, 4-2 sweep of
the defending National Champions, pitching a complete game in the
opener and contributing to the offense with her third home run of
the season.

But it was not as easy as it looked for No. 2 UCLA (28-2
overall, 11-1 Pac-10), which watched Arizona (38-3, 5-3) jump off
to an early lead in both games and was forced to play catch-up for
most of the afternoon.

The ‘Cats set the pace in game one with a five-run third inning.
Junior Krista Gomez started things off for UA with a home run to
right field and teammate Jenny Dalton followed suit with a
three-run dinger. Catcher Leah Braatz ended the scoring with a solo
home run which bounced off the scoreboard in left field.

The Bruins, who are in position to take over the top-spot in the
rankings this week, started a rally of their own in the bottom of
the third after Wildcat pitcher Carrie Dolan gave up a double to
first-baseman Alleah Poulson with the bases loaded.

Down 5-3 in the fourth, UCLA sealed the victory with a three-run
homer by second baseman Kelly Howard, her third of the season.
Harding, who struck out looking in her first two at-bats, added
some insurance for the Bruins with her shot to center which landed
somewhere on Sunset Boulevard.

"They were throwing right in at me, so those first two times
that I looked, I thought they were going to be inside," Harding
said. "I knew that’s what they were going to throw me the next
time, so I made sure that I got down on it and went through
it."

Sophomore B’Ann Burns took the mound for the Bruins in the
nightcap, holding the Wildcats to two runs on eight hits to record
her second win over Arizona this season.

UA opened the second inning with four consecutive base hits to
go up 2-0, but was unable to score again.

Right fielder Kari Robinette tied the game with her first home
run of the season, a towering blast which left the crowd in awe and
the Wildcats in dismay. With the bases loaded, Poulson added two
more RBIs after Kathi Evans was called safe in a controversial play
at the plate.

"The thing that I think is the most valuable about this team is
the fact that they don’t give up," UCLA co-head coach Sue Enquist
said. "The score really doesn’t indicate their intensity; it
doesn’t dictate how they play. If we can maintain that maturity,
we’re going to continue to do well."

Arizona threatened to take the lead in the top of the seventh
with a two-out rally that loaded the bases. With Wildcat slugger
Laura Espinoza (0 for 7 Saturday) at the plate, the game looked
anything but over. But with the game on the line the senior
All-American shortstop popped up to third baseman Jennifer Brundage
to end the game.

The Bruins carried over their intensity from the Arizona games
right into Sunday’s doubleheader against the seventh-ranked
Sacramento State Hornets (27-7, 18-3), sweeping them 2-0, 3-0.

With Harding on the mound in the first game, the Bruins cruised
through the Sac State offense, as Harding collected strikeout after
strikeout, finishing with eleven overall. Harding also had an
exceptional game at the plate, going three-for-three with both
RBIs

Burns didn’t miss a beat when she took the mound in the second
game, throwing a one-hit shutout. Poulson and Robinette continued
their hot-hitting, as each collected two hits and drove in a run in
the night-cap.