Pac-10 includes three undefeated teams

By Andrew Borders
Daily Bruin Contributor After rolling through the preseason with a
perfect record of 35-0, No. 1 UCLA is looking to establish a few
school and NCAA marks. Should the Bruins sweep the three-game
series at Cal and Stanford March 30-April 1, they will establish
school records for the best start to a season and longest winning
streak. They also will have tied the NCAA record for the best start
to a season at 38-0. Beyond that, the hard part awaits the Bruins.
They open the home Pac-10 season with a weekend visit from Arizona
State and Arizona, April 4-6. Yes, that Arizona. Arizona, the team
UCLA has gone 7-24 against since 1994 and 0-3 against last season.
Arizona, the team that snags a few first-place votes from the
Bruins every week in the NFCA/USA Today poll. And Arizona, the team
that won five Women’s College World Series titles between
1991 and 1997, three coming with wins over UCLA in the final.
Fittingly, the last record the Bruins could conquer belongs to
those Wildcats. U of A recorded 47 straight wins, combining the
1996 and 1997 seasons. While all those records hang in the balance,
one number holds paramount importance to the Bruins: 10. With a
title this year, UCLA would claim its 10th national title,
something no other school has done. However, on the road to 10,
they will no doubt have some scares against their Pac-10 foes.
Here, in order of the Pac-10 coaches’ preseason prediction,
is a preview of the eight Pac-10 teams:

1. UCLA (35-0, No. 1 national ranking) Through
last weekend, the Bruins have five hitters over .400 through the
preseason, including two freshmen: first baseman Claire Sua and
left fielder Stephanie Ramos. Sophomores Tairia Mims in right field
and Natasha Watley at shortstop are also in that group. The name at
the top of the list is no surprise. Junior catcher Stacey Nuveman
has racked up a .465 average, and has regained a share of the team
lead in home runs with Mims at 11. Even behind that fivesome, three
more Bruins, senior pitcher Courtney Dale, junior pitcher Amanda
Freed, and senior outfielder Lupe Brambila, are batting over .300.
If the offense sputters through a stretch of the conference season,
the Bruins have the pitching to compensate. Freed is the staff ace
with 14 wins and an ERA of 0.16. Close behind is the fast-starting
freshman Keira Goerl at 12 wins with a 0.88 ERA. Dale and fellow
senior Stephanie Swenson round out the foursome in the circle with
ERAs of 1.03 and 1.30, respectively.

2. Arizona (27-0, No. 2) Through March 5 the
Wildcats have matched the Bruins, going undefeated. Not
surprisingly, they compare well in the stats column, too. Senior
Lauren Bauer is hitting .517, with four more Wildcats over .400 and
five more over .300. Senior Toni Mascarenas leads the team in home
runs with 13. Two of her teammates, freshmen Mackenzie Vandergreest
and Leneah Manuma, have 11 each. Much like UCLA, Arizona’s
pitching has had quite a bit of success so far this season. Of the
three pitchers to record a decision, senior Becky Lemke has the
highest ERA at 0.74. The lowest belongs to freshman Jenny Gladding
at 0.16. The Bruins and Wildcats match up for three games, with two
at Easton Stadium April 7 and 8, and one in Tucson May 11.

3. Arizona State (15-5, No. 10) If anything is
to blame for the Sun Devils’ record in comparison to their
high expectations, it is their offense. Arizona State’s
hottest hitter, freshman Kristin Farber, is the only hitter above
.431, while five teammates follow above .300. But while the bats
haven’t caught up with UCLA and Arizona, the pitching has
kept ASU in contention. Three pitchers have recorded decisions, and
out of that group the highest ERA is held by junior pitcher Erica
Beach (1.18). Freshman Kristen Swetel and junior Kirsten Voak are
limiting opponents to 0.55 and 0.91 runs per game, respectively.
The Sun Devils are the Bruins’ first guests in Los Angeles
next quarter, with an April 6 meeting.

4. Washington (17-7, No. 12) The Huskies’
statistics show why UW is considered one of the top teams, but not
the top team, in the Pac-10. Senior Kelly Hauxhurst leads the team
offensively at .403, and three of her teammates follow above .300.
The most noticeable statistic, though, is how dependent the Huskies
have been on a single pitcher. Freshman Tia Bollinger has 17 of the
team’s 24 decisions, losing only two and still managing an
ERA of only 1.04. Bearing out UW’s reasons for depending on
Bollinger is the gap in ERA between her and UW’s other two
pitchers to record decisions: Junior Shannon Walsh is 2-4 with a
3.00 ERA, and Bridget Wilcox is 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA. The Huskies,
who since 1996 have managed close to a .500 record with the Bruins
since (12-11), visit Easton April 13-14. The Bruins tour Seattle
May 2.

5. Stanford (28-2-1, No. 5) At the plate, the
Cardinal has two hitters above .400, but no one else over .300.
Juniors Jessica Mendoza and Sarah Beeson are at .460 and .443,
respectively, while the third-best hitter on the team stands at
.294. That duo has 17 of the team’s 24 home runs, with
Mendoza at 10 and Beeson at seven. Where the offense hasn’t
produced, pitching has earned Stanford’s near-perfect record.
Two pitchers, sophomores Dana Sorensen (0.21 ERA) and Maureen
LeCocq (0.59 ERA), have had 26 of the team’s 28 decisions.
The Cardinal is UCLA’s first opponent this Pac-10 season,
with a game March 30. A month later, April 28-29, Stanford will
return the favor with a visit to Easton.

6. California (28-0, No. 3) The Bears are the
conference’s third and final undefeated team. However, their
offensive stats are not as eye-popping as those of the Bruins and
Wildcats. While Cal does have four players over .300, with
sophomore Veronica Nelson leading the pack at .361, pitching has
kept the Bears spotless. Two pitchers, junior Jocelyn Forest and
senior Nicole DiSalvio, have done most of the work for California.
Forest has 15 wins with a 0.19 ERA, and DiSalvio has 12 wins with a
0.52 ERA. The Bruins’ UC rival will be their second opponent
in the conference season, March 31-April 1 in Berkeley. The Bears
visit Easton April 27.

7. Oregon State (21-10-1, No. 14) The Beavers
have only one regular player over .300, with junior Michelle
Chariton at .321. As has been the case with some of their Pac-10
counterparts, pitching has picked up the slack to keep the Beavers
in the top 25. Junior Crystal Draper and freshman Monica Hoffman
have an ERA of 1.10 each, and freshman Kaitlin Wilson rounds out
the trio with an ERA of 1.40. Oregon State is the only Pac-10 team
the Bruins have played this year. UCLA defeated them 3-2 last
weekend in Fresno. The two teams will meet again April 20 in
Corvallis, and May 5-6 in Los Angeles.

8. Oregon (20-15, not ranked) Like Stanford,
the Ducks have two hitters over .400 but no one else above .300.
Sophomores Lisa Wangler and Alyssa Laux are at .434 and .413,
respectively. However, unlike Stanford, Oregon does not have the
same kind of pitching to keep them in contention. Thirty-two of
Oregon’s 35 decisions have been recorded by three pitchers,
with junior Connie McMurren possessing the lowest ERA at 2.53.
Sophomores Andrea Vidlund and Wangler are both on the high side of
3.00. UCLA visits Eugene April 21 and 22, while the Ducks visit Los
Angeles May 4.