Softball entertains Pac-10 bottom dweller

Softball entertains Pac-10 bottom dweller

Top-ranked Bruins hoping not to look past lowly Stanford

By Rick Pal

The Stanford Cardinal will play UCLA softball today with nothing
to lose.

After last week’s massacre against Arizona in which the final
score read more like a score from a UCLA-USC football game, 25-0,
the Cardinal is eager to put last week’s crushing losses to Arizona
and Arizona State behind them and get back on the winning track
against top-ranked UCLA (31-2 overall, 14-1 Pac-10) at Easton
Stadium today at 1 p.m.

However, this may be too much to ask from Stanford (10-24,
1-15), which remains entrenched in the Pac-10 cellar. Its lone
Pac-10 victory came against basement cohabitant Oregon State, which
has just two Pac-10 wins itself.

Softball became a varsity program last year for Stanford, and in
its first year it went 5-30 overall with a team of 10 walk-ons.
This year’s team resembles an all-star Pee-Wee League team, as 11
of the 15 players are underclassmen.

Nevertheless, Stanford head coach Sandy Pearce likes the role of
underdog and hopes to catch Pac-10 clubs off guard.

"The season last year, even though our record didn’t indicate
it, was very successful because everyone on the team improved a
tremendous amount and the team wasn’t discouraged by losses,"
Pearce said. "This year we feel like we have the depth to
compete."

The Cardinal offense relies primarily on the hitting of
shortstop Summer Lee. Lee is hitting a solid .436 ­ good for
fourth in the conference in batting average.

Stanford will send sophomore Angela Webb to the mound. Webb was
the victim of Arizona’s 25-run onslaught last week. Sporting a 4-17
record and 5.73 ERA, Webb will take the place of normal starting
pitcher Jessica Schulman, who has a stress fracture in her
back.

The Bruins hope Stanford can provide enough of a challenge so
they will be in top shape for Saturday’s important series against
California, currently second in the Pac-10 standings and ranked
10th in the nation.

"This will be a good opportunity for us to sharpen our skills.
We have a big game on Saturday and it will be tough not to look
ahead," said UCLA co-head coach Sue Enquist,"but if we stay focused
we should be OK against Stanford."