Bruins bring brooms to Bay Area

  MICHAEL MANTEL Sophomore outfielder Stephanie
Ramos fields the ball while teammate Erin Rahn runs to
back her up in UCLA’s 3-2 win over Stanford.

By Michael Sneag
Daily Bruin Contributor

No. 2 UCLA and No. 6 Cal played a 10-inning thriller in front of
a record crowd on ASA and High School Team Day on Sunday afternoon
to cap off an exciting weekend of softball for the Bruins. The
overflow crowd was treated to a very entertaining and tense game,
as the 1-0 Bruin win featured great pitching and finally some
timely hitting.

Bruin senior Amanda Freed and Cal ace Jocelyn Forest both
pitched incredible games, escaping numerous jams and keeping the
offenses off the board until the last swing in the bottom of the
tenth.

The teams combined for seven errors but Freed and Forest
combined to leave 24 runners on base, managing to not allow either
team the clutch hit to push the run across.

“Amanda was terrific and she just led us in the
circle,” head coach Sue Enquist said. “She responded to
every challenge today. I tip my cap to Forest because she had her
drop ball, riser and screwball all working. I really respect her
performance today. She kept us off stride when she needed
to.”

That is, until the tenth inning. Junior Toria Auelua led off
with a sinking line drive to left that just dropped in. She was
replaced by senior Casey Hiraiwa, the third pinch runner of the
day, who was sacrificed to second on a bunt by junior Monique
Mejia. After senior Erin Rahn flied out, junior Natasha Watley
stepped up to the plate.

Batting over .500 for the year, but 0 for 5 in the game, Watley
managed to drive a pitch between first and second, scoring Hiraiwa
on a close play at the plate. The throw arrived at the same time as
Hiraiwa, but the catcher was unable to hold onto the ball and apply
the tag, giving UCLA the win in dramatic fashion.

The Friday and Saturday games were also Bruin wins, but they
were also both close games. On Friday, a sacrifice fly by Freed in
the bottom of the seventh gave UCLA a 3-2 victory over No. 3
Stanford after they fell behind 2-0 early.

Senior Stacey Nuveman connected in the bottom of the second on a
line drive over the fence in left center for her 12th home run of
the season, the 82nd of her career. She added another solo shot on
Saturday to bring her total to 83 and only needs three more to
break the NCAA career record.

“I am feeling really good,” Nuveman said. “I
am seeing the ball really well and making good contact. I need to
stay aggressive and I am just going to take my hacks when I get a
chance.”

The Bruins were able to earn a 3-0 win on Saturday over Cal
behind another solid start from sophomore Keira Goerl. She allowed
only two hits while striking out five. Nuveman’s blast
leading off the fifth inning gave Goerl all the support she would
need as she went to 19-4 on the season.

The Bruins went to 37-6 overall with the all-important 5-3
Pac-10 record being the key stat.

As the elated Bruins gathered on the field after the game to
sign autographs for the kids that cheered and supported them the
whole day, U2’s “Beautiful Day” played over the
PA System.

A beautiful day indeed, especially if you were a UCLA softball
fan.