UCLA softball looks to continue its six-game winning streak at Easton Stadium against No. 17 Oregon Ducks
Senior third baseman Julie Burney and the No. 5 Bruins will look to keep their bats hot as they host Oregon in a three-game series beginning tonight at Easton Stadium.
By Min Kang
April 29, 2010 9:59 p.m.
Don’t look now, but the Bruin softball team may be on to something.
Although a six-game win streak may be at best a meager feat for a program that measures success in championship currency, the manner in which those games were won left quite an impression upon coach Kelly Inouye-Perez.
“It really comes down to execution, and I’m very proud of the team’s ability to go out there and attack early,” Inouye-Perez said. “Our ability to score early in a game and later in a game, I really find it worthy of championship softball.”
And if that is indeed the case, the Bruins’ next opponent is in for a disappointing weekend.
After spending the past two weekends on the road, No. 5 UCLA (33-9, 7-5 Pac-10) returns to Easton Stadium today to stage a three-game home stand against No. 17 Oregon (31-10, 7-4).
According to junior shortstop Monica Harrison, the Bruins have established an identity as a team with renewed zeal and will finish out the last nine games of the regular season battle-tested and plenty poised.
“We’ve had a lot of challenging times as a team, but we’ve learned from them, and we know now how to deal with adversity,” she said. “We’re in a good place as a team. We’ve just come together, and we’re on a mission.”
On the other hand, the Ducks come into the weekend having lost two of three games against No. 7 Arizona State.
But what is unique about the Oregon team is its freshmen-heavy production.
In the circle, freshman Duck Jessica Moore leads the team in wins (13), earned run average (1.33) and innings pitched (132). At the plate, two more freshmen have provided the spark plug to a group that bats .325 as a team. To put that into perspective, UCLA hits .334.
Freshman right fielder Sam Pappas is hitting .429 with 54 hits and a team-leading 42 runs batted in. Freshman left fielder Allie Burger is batting .403 with 48 hits and 23 RBI.
And while it’s certain that the acquaintances will be plenty, the Bruins don’t seem too worried.
“Oregon seems to have a fairly young and new team,” senior third baseman Julie Burney said. “Yeah, we don’t really know that much about them, but we’ll go out there just like any other game and just fight like we usually do.”
Schroeder, Macon Out
Junior center fielder Katie Schroeder remains out with a sprained left calf and has not played since a Feb. 19 home game against Cal State Northridge. Sophomore pitcher Aleah Macon has been out the past 12 games for violating an unspecified team rule. It remains uncertain whether either player will return this season.
