Wins boost team’s confidence
By Bob Costa
April 21, 2003 9:00 p.m.
After squandering a series of opportunities against Arizona two
weeks ago, the UCLA softball team appeared doomed to repeat its
fate again.
Trailing No. 3 Washington by two runs with two outs in the
bottom of the fifth inning, Bruin third baseman Tairia Mims hit a
routine fly ball to right field that seemed to end all hope of a
comeback.
Then the impossible happened.
By sun, by wind or by a hole in her glove, Huskies right fielder
Aimee Minor dropped the easy fly ball. Andrea Duran and Natasha
Watley scored, tying the score at two.
“I thought it was a sure out,” Mims said. “I
was a little upset with myself for not coming through with a runner
at second base.”
With that lucky break the Bruins (36-5, 8-3 Pac-10), who had
lost three of their last five, came alive offensively. On the very
next pitch by the Huskies’ Ashley Boek, Claire Sua hit a
two-run home run, giving the Bruins their first lead of the day at
4-2.
“I was trying to redeem myself from that bases-loaded
situation earlier when I didn’t do anything,” said Sua,
who flew out in the third inning to end a rally. “They
cracked the door for us, it’s our job to kick it
open.”
“I have to admit sometimes you’d rather be lucky
than good,” UCLA head coach Sue Enquist added. “And we
got a little bit of luck. I always tell the kids, if you stay
positive the game will pay you back. We got a little bit of payback
with that break and we busted it open.”
The Bruins added another run in the inning, and hung on for a
5-2 victory. The following day, the UCLA offense continued to build
momentum. The Bruins scored at least one run in every inning,
culminating in a game-ending three-run home run by Stephanie Ramos
in the bottom of the sixth inning. The sweep was completed with a
10-0 rout.
The Bruins’ potent offense against Washington (36-7-1,
6-5) was in stark contrast to their struggles against Arizona. UCLA
scored just one run in two games against the No. 1 Wildcats and
left 12 runners on base as No. 1 Arizona swept a two-game series
from the Bruins at Easton Stadium.
While the team was certainly dejected after the Arizona series,
its attitude was certainly much more upbeat after dispatching of
the Huskies.
“We saw that we can get it done, we can score runs,”
Mims said. “Instead of having that little bit of fear, I
think we saw ourselves come from behind, and it gave us a little
bit more confidence.”
