Seniors’ accomplishments recognized in ceremony

By Greg Lewis

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Three of the most potent players in UCLA softball history said
good-bye to Easton Stadium before Saturday afternoon’s
doubleheader against the Oregon Ducks.

Julie Marshall, Julie Adams and Lyndsey Klein all finished their
regular season careers with a ceremony honoring their
accomplishments and contributions to the program.

Marshall earned her second first team All-Pac-10 honor Friday
afternoon and will end her career as UCLA’s career leader in
RBIs. She currently has 199, with the playoffs still to come.
Marshall, a superb catcher and first baseman, will retire second in
career home runs.

If UCLA plays three more games, she will set the record for
all-time games played in a Bruin career, currently held by Lisa
Fernandez and Yvonne Guttierez with 240 each. Marshall, who is
poised to break into the NCAA career top-10 in RBIs, will also
finish her career in UCLA’s top-10 for at-bats, runs scored,
hits and doubles.

“It’s sad to go after five years here,”
Marshall said. “I have so many memories. But it’s not
over yet ““ I’m still looking forward to the playoffs
this season.”

Marshall was drafted by the Florida Wahoos of the WPSL, but she
said she has decided instead to, “join the rat race,”
and work at an insurance agency, where she is already a licensed
broker.

Third baseman Adams will be remembered most for her
distinguished postseason play in 1999. After earning the Regional
Most Outstanding Player Award, Adams dislocated her shoulder in the
first game of the College World Series.

Coming back the next game with her arm in her sling, Adams
continued to produce at the plate and in the field, again earning
the tournament’s MOP award. In eight postseason games, she
batted .565 (.667 in the CWS), with 15 RBIs, four home runs, a
double and six runs scored.

Adams, who endured multiple off-season shoulder surgeries before
this season, will finish her career third in home runs and RBIs,
and in the top ten in hits, games played, and runs scored.

“I’ll always know that I am part of the winning
tradition at UCLA, that’s what the program is all
about,” said Adams, who will play in the WPSL. “[Our
legacy] will be hard workers that also like to have fun.”

For the last two years, second base and Lyndsey Klein have been
synonymous. A transfer from Sacramento City Junior College, Klein
made a name for herself as one of the best clutch hitters in the
game.

This year, Klein is batting a perfect 1.000 with bases loaded,
and hit her only home run earlier in the season against top-ranked
Washington. Klein was also named a first team All-Pac-10 selection
on Friday.

With a smooth stroke and a knack for hitting the gaps, she set
the single-season record for doubles last year with 21, and has 11
this year.

“We’ve worked so hard for what we have accomplished.
We’ve given it everything we had and we’ve been
successful,” Klein said. She will play for the Tampa Bay
FireStix.

After Saturday’s sweep of Oregon, head coach Sue Enquist
took extra time in her postgame speech to thank Marshall, Adams and
Klein.

Joining the three seniors with All-Pac-10 honors were pitchers
Amanda Freed (first team) and Stephanie Swenson (honorable
mention), and shortstop Natasha Watley (first team).

The Pac-10 Player of the Year was Stanford’s Jessica
Mendoza, and the Pitcher of the Year was Jennifer Spediacci of
Washington. Washington’s Jenny Topping was named Newcomer of
the Year and Mike Candrea of Arizona and Teresa Wilson of
Washington shared Coach of the Year honors.