Softball must shine against Huskies

Friday, April 5, 1996

Heartbreaking losses to Arizona threaten chances for Pac-10
championshipBy Brent Boyd

Daily Bruin Contributor

On Saturday at 1 p.m., two teams heading in opposite directions
will take the field at Easton Stadium in a very important Pacific
10 softball matchup.

The second-ranked Washington Huskies visit UCLA on the heels of
a very successful weekend. On Saturday, March 30, Washington came
from behind in the final inning to defeat No. 20 Arizona State 5-4,
and won the nightcap 6-1. The following day, the Huskies were able
to accomplish what UCLA had failed to do only two days before,
emerging from the desert with a victory over Arizona.

Washington (33-6 overall, 6-2 Pac-10) took the first game of the
doubleheader by a 10-4 margin in nine innings against the
top-ranked Wildcats, ending their 36-game home winning streak. They
lost the second game 7-4, and as a result, are tied with Arizona
for the Pac-10 lead.

On that same weekend, the Bruins lost a heartbreaker to the
Wildcats in game one of their doubleheader, 5-4, and came back in
game two with their most lackluster appearance of the season, in
which they were dominated by Arizona 5-0.

As a result of each team’s performance in the desert, Washington
and the Bruins changed positions in the USA Today/NSCA rankings,
with the Huskies moving up to No. 2, while the Bruins are now the
third-ranked team in the country.

The UCLA coaches were not too thrilled after observing the
Bruins’ lack of effort against the Wildcats.

"The attitudes better change," UCLA co-head coach Sue Enquist
said. "I hope each one of them has a gutcheck before we take the
field again."

UCLA cannot afford many more losses in conference play if it
hopes to win the Pac-10 title for the first time since 1993, and
the matchup against Washington will go a long way in determining if
the Bruins will be able to challenge for the championship in the
final weeks of the season.

The Bruins (27-5, 8-4 Pac-10) currently hold fourth place in the
conference, two games behind Washington. Washington can take
control of the race with a pair of wins against the Bruins as they
hold a distinct scheduling advantage going down the stretch, when
they will host 14 of their final 18 conference games, while UCLA
will be on the road for the final 12 games of the year.

To avoid falling into a hole too big to climb out of, the Bruins
need to perform well on Saturday, and be ready for a battle.

"Washington is hungry, they want it and they hate UCLA," Enquist
said. "Player for player, Washington is as good or better than
Arizona."

The Huskies will feature both the Pac-10 player and pitcher of
the week. Junior infielder Sara Pickering had the game-winning hit
in the first game against Arizona, and is currently hitting .444
with five home runs and 42 RBIs. Senior pitcher Heather Meyer threw
all nine innings in the victory over the Wildcats, and improved her
record to 10-1, while lowering her ERA to 1.02.

On the other hand, UCLA has its own player who is on the verge
of breaking several team records. Senior second baseman Kelly
Howard is tied for the Bruin career lead with 46 doubles, while her
143 runs scored leaves her only two runs behind current career
leader Kathi Evans. In addition, Howard’s 99 career RBIs have moved
her to fifth on the all-time Bruin list.

FRED HE/Daily Bruin

Senior Kelly Howard is two runs shy of Kathi Evans’ UCLA record
of 145 runs.