Squad antes up, aims to maintain perfect record

By Andrew Borders
Daily Bruin Contributor

Fortunately for the Bruins, the odds will be in their favor this
weekend in Las Vegas.

Rather than looking for seven and 11 at the craps table, the
lucky total for UCLA (10-0) will be 15: the total number of wins
they will have if they sweep their five games at the UNLV
Classic.

UCLA starts Friday at 11:30 a.m. against the Kansas Jayhawks,
followed by a 4:30 p.m. start against the Portland State
Vikings.

Saturday the Bruins begin at 11:30 a.m. against the Wisconsin
Badgers, who they will see again next weekend in Texas. At 7 p.m.,
UCLA faces the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Sunday the Bruins will play just one game against the Florida
International Golden Panthers at 2 p.m.

UCLA has outscored its opponents this season by a combined score
of 89-5. No Bruin who has played in all 10 games is batting below
.289, and four are batting .400 or better.

Junior catcher Stacey Nuveman is hitting .480, while sophomore
shortstop Natasha Watley is close behind with .472.

If that is not enough to strike fear in their opponents this
weekend, the highest ERA of the four pitchers who have seen time in
the circle is 1.50. Freshman Keira Goerl, who put up that total, is
2-0, while junior ace Amanda Freed is still perfect at 5-0 with a
0.00 ERA. Senior Stephanie Swenson, who is 3-0, is limiting
opponents to an 0.88 ERA, and senior Courtney Dale, who has pitched
just three innings, has not given up a run.

UCLA head coach Sue Enquist says the team is ready, but not
perfect.

“I think we’re in a good place. I don’t think
we’re too cocky and I don’t think we’re
overconfident. It seems like each game we’re always doing
enough good things which builds confidence, but then we’ll
always fall short in a couple areas which I think is a reality
check for us,” she said.

“We just want to attack (the things we need to work on) in
a positive way and come into the tournament ready to perform, no
matter who’s on the mound,” Enquist added.

Kansas (5-1), UCLA’s first opponent, has never defeated
UCLA in five tries, most recently in 1998. Four Jayhawks are at
.400 or over, with senior outfielder Erin Garvey at .611. The
lowest ERA on the team belongs to sophomore Kirsten Milhoan at
2.56.

Portland State is only one game into its season and finished
last year with a 22-34 record.

No returner had a batting average higher than .284. However, the
Big Sky Conference team returns its top pitcher from last season,
sophomore Morgan Seibert. She ended the season with a 2.69 ERA,
going 14-17. UCLA is 1-0 all-time versus the Vikings, with a 13-5
win two years ago.

UCLA’s football bowl nemesis, Wisconsin, is 3-2 in
softball, including a recent 2-0 loss to Oregon. Through their
first four games, Wisconsin had two players hitting .400 or better.
On the mound, the Badgers’ ace is sophomore Andrea Kirchberg,
whose ERA is 0.46. Kirchberg has two of the Badgers’ three
wins. The Bruins are represented at the Big Ten school by UCLA alum
Dee Dee Weiman-Garcia (’94) who is the assistant coach. UCLA
has never faced Wisconsin in softball.

Kansas’ Big XII foe Nebraska is 2-2 thus far, with three
players batting .300 or over. The Cornhuskers, No. 12 nationally,
are the highest ranked team the Bruins will face this weekend.

Their top two pitchers, sophomore Leigh Ann Walker and freshman
Katie Decker, have 0.81 and 1.00 ERAs respectively. UCLA is 6-1
all-time versus Nebraska, but the two teams have not played since
1992.

Florida International of the Sun Belt Conference is 10-1, with
its loss to Florida State. UCLA defeated Florida State twice in
last season’s regional playoffs. The Golden Panthers have two
hitters at or above .400, with two pitchers below 1.00 in ERA. The
Bruins have defeated FIU in each of the last two seasons by a
combined score of 16-0.

However, Enquist says that the name of the school in the other
dugout should be of little consequence.

“I just would like our club to be able to have that
mindset that it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, and I
think this club does a good job of that,” she said.

Sophomore Tairia Mims says that the team is eager for the
competition.

“I think there’s a little excitement. This is a time
to go and see a bunch of different teams and see how we do against
them,” she said.

While the people on the Strip for the holiday weekend will be
busy with poker and slot machines, the Bruins will keep their aces
in the circle, and look to trade three gold bars on the slot
machine for five more W’s.