UCLA softball travels to Berkeley to face No. 1 Cal in three-game series this weekend
Senior utility Andrea Harrison and the softball team travel north to take on Cal this weekend.
Softball
UCLA vs. California
Today, 3 p.m.
Berkeley
No TV viewing info
By the Numbers:
4
Cal's current win streak vs. UCLA
6
Home runs allowed by Cal in 2012
.621
UCLA's team slugging percentage
By Tyler Drohan
April 26, 2012 11:58 p.m.
UCLA softball has made no mistake about its mission from day one.
The Bruins are out to win an NCAA national championship. Anything less would be a disappointment for the nation’s No. 14 team.
When UCLA travels to the Bay Area this weekend it will face arguably its biggest challenge of the year to date: a three-game series with No. 1 Cal.
“It’s going to show us where we’re at,” senior utility Andrea Harrison said of the series. “Just to see where we are going to be in postseason, playing a great team like Cal.”
After struggling early in Pac-12 conference play, at one point losing five straight, UCLA (33-12, 9-6) has won seven of their last eight conference games to move into third place in the standings.
“We’ve had our ups and downs, but I think things are starting to come together right now and we’re going to start peaking at the right time finishing up Pac-12 and heading into the playoffs,” redshirt senior designated player Samantha Camuso said of the Bruins.
Cal (42-3, 13-2) sits atop the conference standings with nine games left to play in the Pac-12.
The Bears are paced by their dominant pitching; they lead the conference in earned run average, opposing batting average and strikeouts.
UCLA will counter Cal’s pitching staff with the nation’s best hitting offense.
The Bruins lead the nation in team batting average at .359 and lead the conference in home runs with 73.
“They have pitching, they have hitting and they have defense,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said of the Bears. “But I told the girls we have the same and we don’t have to go up there and do anything more (than we’ve done).”
“This team can hit, so we’re going to go head-to-head when we go up there, taking it one pitch at a time,” Inouye-Perez added.
The Bruins are coming off of their first Pac-12 series sweep of the year, having dispatched visiting Utah (23-21, 0-15) at Easton Stadium last weekend.
Sophomore pitcher Jessica Hall picked up two wins in the circle during the series.
Hall allowed one run in her two starts, including a complete-game shutout on Friday.
Inouye-Perez noted the sophomore pitcher’s emergence over the past few conference series as a reason for the team’s increased confidence and performance late in the season.
“Jessica has turned it on these last two weekends and it’s been very impressive to see,” Inouye-Perez said.
Taking a conference series from Cal, which has yet to lose a series this year, would be a sign that UCLA is ready for postseason play.
“It’s perfect preparation for postseason so you can get out there and you can go for it,” Inouye-Perez said of the series. “We’re going to continue to focus on what we do, regardless of the opponent, and it prepares you for postseason when it really counts.”
