UCLA soundly defeats Northridge

UCLA 8, CSUN 0 UCLA 12, CSUN
1

By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Reporter

Cal State Northridge has the honor of being one of the
non-Pac-10 schools that the top-ranked UCLA softball team
doesn’t take for granted, so its reward for that distinction
was a pair of losses, 8-0 and 12-1, on Wednesday at Matador
Diamond.

“I wouldn’t say everything goes our way when we play
them,” Bruin junior pitcher/center fielder Amanda Freed said,
“but we definitely pull off the games against them.
They’ve always been good games, so I think they’re one
of the few teams that we don’t overlook, in a way. We
don’t let down.”

Having already defeated the Matadors (19-19) twice in early
February by scores of 13-0 and 7-0, the Bruins (39-1)
could’ve looked ahead at the games versus the Arizona schools
this weekend, but that certainly wasn’t the case.

In the first game, UCLA sophomore infielder/outfielder Tairia
Mims homered in the top of the fourth to put the Bruins ahead 1-0,
and an RBI single by sophomore shortstop Natasha Watley in the
fifth extended the lead to 2-0.

Then in the sixth, freshman third baseman/outfielder Marcel
Torres connected on a two-run homer during a four-run UCLA
outburst. The Bruins tagged on another pair of runs in the seventh
for good measure en route to an 8-0 victory.

The same relentless UCLA offense showed up for the second game,
as Freed led off with her second home run of the season. Junior
infielder Stacy Nuveman had three RBIs in that game, including a
two-run double in the third inning. Finally, the Bruins exploded
for five runs in the top of the sixth to make the score 12-1,
bringing the mercy rule into effect.

“I was pleased that the kids went out there and produced
offensively,” UCLA Head Coach Sue Enquist said. “It
wasn’t the one-inning burst, it was multiple innings in which
they scored in both ballgames. A lot of people contributed, and
that was good to see.”

Mid-week games against non-Pac-10 schools are not ideal, as
players are focusing on classes. Also, with the possibility of
injuries, it’s a tough situation to be put in.

At points, the Bruins broke down and had some mental and
baserunning errors ““ things they are certain to work on in
today’s practice. But overall, UCLA did a good job of not
looking ahead and taking care of the job at hand against CSUN.

As the day progressed, the Bruins became accustomed to game-like
pitching and sharpened up their batting eye. By the end,
UCLA’s five-run outburst in the sixth inning of the second
game indicated a return to form after almost a two-week layoff that
included finals week and spring break.

“You kind of have a feeling that you’re going to
win, and I think that toward the end of the second game we just
stepped up and made it happen instead of waiting for the win to
come to us,” Mims said

Thanks to the doubleheader at CSUN, UCLA is now ready for No. 6
Arizona State on Friday and No. 3 Arizona on the weekend.

“I think Arizona this weekend is going to be extremely
tough,” Freed said, “and anything we can do to prepare
is going to be essential.”