14-0 squad dominates opponents with depth

  COURTNEY STEWART/Daily Bruin Slugger Stacey
Nuveman, shown here beating a throw to first base, leads
an offense which has outscored opponents 122-9.

By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

The one UCLA team no opponent wants to face right now is
probably the softball team.

Ranked second in the nation, it should only be a formality
before the Bruins (14-0) snag the top spot in today’s new
poll ““ No. 1 Arizona already has two losses.

They have outscored opponents 122-9, including a 7-0 demolition
of All-American pitcher Britni Sneed and No. 4 Louisiana State on
Sunday.

Next on the schedule? A doubleheader today against UC Riverside,
with its 3-11 record.

It almost doesn’t seem fair.

“It was very visible to us that they were kind of smashing
the other teams,” said Highlander head coach Rachel
Miller-Reif, who witnessed UCLA play in Las Vegas over the
weekend.

“There’s no doubt we’re going to know
what’s coming,” she added.

What scares opponents most is UCLA’s depth. For the second
straight week, a Bruin received the Pac-10 Player of the Week
honor, with pitcher/centerfielder Amanda Freed following in catcher
Stacey Nuveman’s footsteps.

The worst batting average for a Bruin starter is .278, and as a
team UCLA is hitting .423. Riverside, in comparison, is hitting
.191 with only one player above .240. The Highlanders have only one
home run, the Bruins have 17.

“We’re just not giving teams an opportunity to jump
in,” Freed said in Las Vegas. “It’s really nice
when you have one through nine hit the ball hard.”

So how can anyone stop UCLA? According to Miller-Reif, the key
is to play flawless defense and string together a couple of
hits.

“On a given day, anybody can beat anybody. So that’s
kind of how we’re looking at it,” Miller-Reif said.

Those words would hold more credence if the team on the other
dugout wasn’t UCLA.