UCLA aims to heat up Oregon

  MICHAEL TOBEY/Daily Bruin Senior Crissy
Buck lays down a bunt in the UCLA’s last matchup against
Oregon. The Bruins face the Ducks again today in Eugene.

By Jon Corwin
Daily Bruin Contributor
[email protected]

The UCLA softball team takes an 11-game winning streak to the
Northwest this weekend to face Oregon and Oregon State.

The top-ranked Bruins have been on a roll of late, in particular
Stacey Nuveman, who will be the center of attention as she attempts
to take sole possession of the NCAA career home run mark beginning
today in Eugene.

But the Bruin offense as a whole has been hot, averaging nearly
five runs a game during the winning streak. UCLA head coach Sue
Enquist credits the often overlooked aspects of the game as keys to
her team’s success.

“We are doing the little things right ““ timely
hitting, good defense,” Enquist said.

The Bruins (44-6, 12-3 Pac-10) are atop the conference, but
still must face high-powered Arizona and Arizona State the final
weekend of the regular season.

UCLA takes on an Oregon Duck team today that recently snapped a
32-game Pac-10 losing streak with a win over ASU. Earlier this
month, UCLA limited the Ducks (23-25, 1-14) to just one run in
sweeping a two game series at Easton Stadium.

This Saturday and Sunday in Corvallis, the Bruins will take on
the No. 16 Oregon State Beavers (37-18, 6-9), a team that UCLA
hurler Keira Goerl shut down, allowing just one hit in a 7-0 home
victory two weeks ago. The Beavers’ conference wins include
triumphs over Arizona and Arizona State.

The spotlight will fall increasingly on Nuveman as she looks to
move ahead of Arizona’s Leah Braatz and Laura Espinoza for
the NCAA career home run lead. With 85 career blasts, Nuveman has
left an indelible mark on not only UCLA, but college softball.

“I’m looking to get that last one (home run), but
the main thing is this team continuing to win,” Nuveman
said.