Bruin softball clinches top position in Invitational

Bruin softball clinches top position in Invitational

No. 1 UCLA easily defeats Ohio and Oregon this weekend

By Brent Boyd

Daily Bruin Contributor

The UCLA softball team provided little hospitality in the second
annual Easton/Reebok Invitational this weekend at Easton
Stadium.

The Bruins cruised through the tournament, winning four straight
games over Ohio State and Oregon State to improve to 12-2 on the
season, and maintain their lock as the No. 1 team in the nation. In
the process of rolling through the competition, the Bruins
outscored their opponents 43-5 and surrendered only nine hits, far
less then the 57 UCLA hitters amassed.

UCLA opened the tourney with two straight victories over
21st-ranked Ohio State, 9-0 and 13-0. Junior shortstop Nicole Odom
provided the offensive spark in the first game, hitting an RBI
double in the first inning as well as an RBI sacrifice fly in the
third for an early 2-0 lead.

In the fifth inning, the Bruin bats exploded. Starting with a
lead-off double by senior Kelly Howard, the Bruins continued to
pound the ball with three straight singles by Christie Ambrosi,
Alleah Poulson and Odom. Two RBI doubles by Nicole Ochoa and Howard
determined the the final margin of victory.

And, as if they needed it, the Bruins enjoyed another pitching
gem from B’Ann Burns. The junior threw a no-hitter, surrendering
only two walks in the game.

Kaci Clark continued the domination on the mound, throwing her
first perfect game in her collegiate career in UCLA’s 13-0
victory.

"It was just such a great team victory," Clark said. "It took a
lot of work from everybody, with Sandra Burkey doing a great job
calling pitches and the defense playing excellently behind me."

The hitting spree did not cease in the second game either. All
Bruin starters accounted for at least one hit, while eight of them
hit safely at least twice. The Bruins coasted with four runs in the
first. The team was led behind the 4-for-4 performance by Ambrosi,
to go along with her three hits in the first game.

Kim Wuest added a home run, her seventh of the season to give
UCLA a 9-0 advantage in the fourth on their way to Saturday’s
doubleheader sweep.

Next in UCLA gunsights were the Beavers of Oregon State. UCLA
improved their overall series lead to 39-0 over the Beavers with
10-2 and 11-3 victories. Senior left fielder Ginny Mike-Mitchell
was a catalyst for the Bruins in the first game, going 3-for-4 and
scoring two runs to start off a 6-for-7 day.

Freshman catcher Julie Marshall also had a field day at the
plate. She finished the game 3-for-4, with five RBIs to go along
with her first-ever collegiate home run, a grand slam in the bottom
of the fifth to seal the final margin.

"It felt so good because I hit the ball so solid, and I finally
got one," Marshall said.

Her first collegiate long ball could also be attributed to a
little ignorance.

"I didn’t even know the bases were loaded, because I was so
focused on (first base coach) Sue Enquist," Marshall said, "I
didn’t find out it was a grand slam until after I got back to the
bench."

The second game was more of the same for the Bruins. UCLA jumped
out to an early 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Alleah
Poulson, followed with three more runs on hits by Howard and
Mike-Mitchell.

The Bruins blew the game wide open with six in the third. After
two walks, an error and two singles, Poulson knocked a bases loaded
double into the left-center gap giving UCLA a 10-0 lead.

This would be a fitting end of the weekend for Poulson, who
finished the tournament 10-for-13 to go along with 10 RBIs.

"I just kind of got on a roll and the hits just kept on coming,"
Poulson said. "It was very contagious; the whole team just kind of
fed off one another and we continued to stay hit well throughout
the day. Hopefully we can just keep this going."

PATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin

Alleah Poulson batted well for the Bruins this weekend.

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