Double play…

Wednesday, May 15, 1996

Since age 14, Poulson and Odom have shared life on and off
softball fieldBy Brent Boyd

Daily Bruin Contributor

They have been through a lot together. Almost too much. Alleah
Poulson and Nicole Odom, having played on the same summer softball
teams since they were 14, were good friends long before they became
roommates at UCLA two years ago.

"We have always been really, really good friends," said Odom,
UCLA’s starting shortstop. "I think I know her better than anyone
else."

But she didn’t know everything about Poulson. One November night
during their freshman year, Odom awoke to the coughing of her
roommate. After telling her friend to go back to sleep, Odom rolled
over and was horrified at what she saw.

Blood was coming out of Poulson’s mouth. Her eyes had turned
red. Her face blue.

"I thought she was dying. I didn’t really know what to do," Odom
remembers. "It was really, really scary. But, I think the
experience brought us somewhat closer together."

She called 911 and when the ambulance arrived, it was discovered
that Poulson had suffered a Granmel seizure, a symptom of epilepsy.
She recovered nicely, and in fact, the episode may have been a
blessing in disguise.

Poulson had been experiencing brief dizzy spells throughout her
life, ignorant of the cause. But since being diagnosed with
epilepsy, she has been able to take medicine and has not suffered
any other occurrences since that fateful night more than two years
ago.

Instead, Poulson has had to overcome obstacles on the softball
field. As a freshman, Poulson experienced something she never had
before, platooning. Alternating with fellow freshman Kari
Robinette, Poulson faced the bleak prospect of not seeing much
playing time throughout her four years.

"It was kind of depressing to me not to step in and play right
away and be a leader my freshman year," the junior first baseman
said.

Many of her friends from her summer ball club, "The Batbusters,"
had gone on to star at such schools as Arizona and California their
freshmen seasons, only adding to Poulson’s heartache. She felt
pressured to perform better, and that is when she is at her
best.

"I guess I did OK and won the job," Poulson said in one of the
great understatements of the year. "I kind of rise to the occasion
and work harder if someone is pushing me for my position."

She quickly won the job outright and proceeded to hit .328, good
enough to garner All-Pacific 10 second-team honors. But, that was
just the beginning. The following years she continued to improve,
hitting .364 last season and .403 this year, earning her first-team
All-Pac-10 honors.

"She has beat out anybody we have put up against her," UCLA
co-head coach Sue Enquist said. "She is such an important
individual in our offensive lineup ­ when there’s a game on
the line and she’s up, I always think in my head she is going to do
it."

Poulson hasn’t let her down, leading the team with 40 RBIs,
increasing her three-year career total to 113, fifth on the Bruin
all-time list. Combined with her hitting ability is a great glove,
as she maintains more than a .990 fielding percentage.

"Alleah is considered the blue-collar worker of the infield
because she is so reliable with the glove," Enquist said. "She
doesn’t have a weakness with the glove and is one of the strongest
defensive first basemen in the nation."

Odom is another great fielder for the Bruins. After playing
third base in all the years preceding college, Odom was given the
shortstop job her freshman year, becoming only the second Bruin
ever to start every game at that position her freshman season.

"It was a huge transition for me. The ball takes a couple of
extra bounces at shortstop," Odom said. "I didn’t really know what
to expect at first, I was super nervous when I first tried it, but
now I enjoy playing it as much as third."

Not only does she enjoy it, but she does it well.

"I think she is the best shortstop in the country," Enquist said
of her first-team All-Pac-10 player of a year ago. "Once she is
healthy, we will see her true self."

Besides switching positions, Odom has had to battle through an
injury-plagued career. A shoulder injury, the cause of which has
yet to be diagnosed, has never allowed her to reach 100
percent.

That’s pretty scary considering the fact that she possessed the
quickest time throwing the ball from shortstop to first base during
the 1996 Olympic Team trials, competing against some of the
greatest softball players in the world. Although she did not make
the team, she still retains hope of making the 2000 squad.

"Her arm injury has impeded a lot of her chances," Enquist said.
"As long as her body holds together, she is definitely one of the
people capable of making the team."

Despite suffering through three years of injuries, Odom did not
sit out a single game until two weekends ago, when she was pulled
in the first game of a doubleheader at Stanford and has been unable
to take the field since.

Through all the obstacles these two have overcome, the one thing
that seems to be lacking, according to Enquist, is proper respect
from the softball community. Since neither player is a rah-rah type
player, often leading the team by example, sometimes they get
overlooked by those in power.

"I don’t like the fact that Alleah doesn’t command more respect
from people with a vote in USA Softball, Olympic Softball, and
others," Enquist said. "If someone told me to pick a first baseman
for the future, I would pick Alleah in a heartbeat."

What amazes Enquist even more than her playing ability is
Poulson’s capability to balance athletics and academics. Earning
cum laude last quarter and a first teamer on the Pac-10
All-Academic team, Poulson has had a dramatic affect on
Enquist.

"She always has the tendency…" Enquist begins, unable to find
the proper words to express her feelings. "She is just so special.
Not too many people have done what she has done."

Enquist isn’t too happy with the respect that Odom is receiving
either.

"What’s sad is you may not see her get all of the individual
awards because they base it mainly on offense (although Odom is
hitting .352 this season, offense is not her strongest aspect).
But, not a player in the country could carry Nicole Odom’s
shoes."

The duo has tried to let their actions garner the respect they
deserve. They’ve definitely earned it from opposing pitchers. In a
combined 310 plate appearances, they have struck out just eight
times, or once every 39 at-bats.

But they are more concerned with the respect they should receive
as a team.

Odom had dreamed all her life of becoming a Bruin, so when she
helped carry the team to the national championship a year ago, it
should have been a memory that nothing could have damaged. However,
when pitcher Tanya Harding came in for the last part of the season,
detractors started saying that the Bruins had "rented" a
championship.

This didn’t sit too well with Odom.

"We didn’t get as much credit as we deserved. We worked just as
hard as any other team," Odom said. "I think it is time for us to
show the country that last year was not a fluke, that it takes more
than one person to win a championship."

ANDREW SCHOLER/Daily Bruin

After finishing the regular season batting .403, first baseman
Alleah Poulson garnered first-team All-Pac-10 honors. Poulson leads
the Bruins with 40 RBIs, increasing her three-year career total to
113, fifth on the Bruin all-time list.

PATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin

Junior Nicole Odom has battled through injuries to shine at
shortstop.