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Softball looks to stretch streak with Nor-Cal visit

By Daily Bruin Staff

May 2, 1996 9:00 p.m.

Friday, May 3, 1996

No. 4 Bruins face tough test with Cal, but should cruise by
CardinalBy Brent Boyd

Daily Bruin Contributor

Playing some of their best softball of the season, the Bruins
will travel to the Bay Area this weekend to try and match their
longest winning streak of the year. Currently on an eight-game run,
UCLA will play consecutive doubleheaders at Stanford and
California.

After losing losing five of six games in a stretch that included
four games against second-ranked Arizona, as well as a doubleheader
versus top-ranked Washington, UCLA has rebounded by winning four
consecutive doubleheaders on the road.

However, this weekend should pit the Bruins (36-8 overall, 15-7
Pacific 10) against the stiffest competition thus far into their
season-ending 14-game road swing as 11th-ranked California comes
off a sweep of Arizona and is threatening UCLA for third place in
the conference.

California (34-18, 13-9) has won five of its last six, and as a
result, has pulled to within two games of UCLA in the Pac-10
standings. A doubleheader sweep would deadlock the two teams
entering the final weekend of the regular season. The Golden Bears
demonstrated earlier in the season that they can compete with UCLA,
splitting a doubleheader in Westwood.

"We are a different ball club then we were at that time," UCLA
co-head coach Sue Enquist said. "I look at that game as a good
message to us that Cal is a good team and we need to respect
them."

Last weekend, the Bears reinforced this in the mind of UCLA with
their sweep of the Wildcats. The Bruins will have to stop Melanie
McCart, who en route to hitting two home runs against Arizona,
broke the all-time California record with nine round-trippers. The
remainder of the Bear lineup should not provide too many problems,
as the Bears are seventh in hitting in the conference, but UCLA
will have its hands full with starting pitcher Whitney Floyd.
Ranked fourth in the Pac-10 with a 1.55 ERA, she has a record of
17-9.

But before the Bruins travel to Berkeley, they will first have
to take on the Cardinal. Stanford (23-24, 6-14) is currently on a
five-game tailspin and has dropped to seventh in the conference
standings. The Cardinal hitters rank last in the conference with a
.242 batting average, hitting only one home run on the season.

However, pitcher Becky Blevins should be able to keep Stanford
competitive, bringing to the mound a 12-9 record with 1.54 ERA.
These two clubs met earlier in the season, with the Bruins sweeping
the doubleheader, 2-1 and 11-1, extending their overall series
domination to 16-0.

Knowing that they can not afford too many more losses, the Bruin
coaching staff is expecting a great performance this weekend.

"The team is playing with lots of confidence right now," Enquist
said. "We feel confident that we’ll be prepared and focused."

With an impending season finale against top-ranked Washington,
the Bruins ideally need a four-game sweep in the Bay Area to
improve their stock for the NCAA regional pairings that will be
announced May 12.

PATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin

Kim Wuest and the UCLA softball team take on rivals Cal and
Stanford.

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