Team to defend tourney title in Vegas

If the No. 1 UCLA softball team has its way in Sin City, there
will be a lot of broken hearts for Valentine’s Day
weekend.

The team is looking for a repeat of last year’s undefeated
run in the UNLV Desert Classic, during which it defeated Nebraska
and LSU with a combined score of 18-2.

The Bruins will again face No. 7 LSU on Friday and No. 4
Nebraska on Saturday in Las Vegas. Over the course of the three-day
tournament, they will play No. 20 South Carolina, Hawaii and Utah
respectively.

The team is coming off an offensive explosion against UC
Riverside ““ it scored 35 runs against the hapless Highlanders
in a doubleheader last Wednesday.

Despite the fact that the Bruins (5-1) hit four home runs in
each of the doubleheader’s games, and that junior Stephanie
Ramos hit for the cycle during the course of the day, head coach
Sue Enquist insists the team must make improvements before the
tournament.

“We’ve been working on shortening up the stride
phase of the swing,” Enquist said. “You can get caught
if you have a longer stride.”

Striding problems aside, UCLA is hitting an other-worldly .384
as a team. Senior shortstop Natasha Watley leads the squad’s
hitting attack with a standout .565 batting average and .696
slugging percentage.

Freshman pitcher Michelle Turner is excited about the first road
trip of her career.

“This is my first road trip as a Bruin,” she said.
“I can’t wait to see what a college tournament is all
about.”

Las Vegas’ bright lights and extravagant casinos could be
a distraction for college teams, but Enquist isn’t
worried.

“UCLA softball does a great job of staying focused,”
Enquist said. “I’m not worried about any of my players
doing anything they shouldn’t.”

Watley agrees with Enquist’s sentiment.

“The trip will be good, but it’s not like we can go
gambling or anything,” she said.