Softball: Softball earns nation’s No. 2 seed
By Taylor Brown
May 16, 2004 9:00 p.m.
There was hardly much concern or suspense over the national
seeding UCLA would receive.
After the national seedings and the regional brackets were
announced Sunday evening, the UCLA softball team received the No. 2
seed in the nation.
Arizona, this season’s Pac-10 champions, received the top
seed in the nation heading into postseason play.
“It’s earned. Arizona should be No. 1,” Bruin
coach Sue Enquist said. “They beat us two out of three this
season.”
Defending national champion UCLA was previously ranked No. 5 in
the polls, so the jump up to No. 2 was a small surprise.
But for the Bruins, that’s not what they were most
concerned about hearing.
“I’m just excited that we know know who’s
going to be our region,” Enquist said. “Now it’s
just a matter of preparing for our opponents.”
UCLA will host their regional bracket as postseason play begins
for the Bruins on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. against Mississippi Valley
State (31-13)
Alabama, Long Beach State, Louisville, Missouri, Cornell and
Central Michigan are the remaining teams in the bracket. All games
will be played at Easton Stadium.
Out of all the teams in the bracket, Long Beach is the only one
UCLA has played this season. The Bruins defeated the 49ers in all
three of their matchups this season.
The biggest challenge the team faces is preparing for several
teams they are unfamiliar with. Coming off a grueling Pac-10
schedule, the Bruins now face considerably less challenging
opponents.
But Enquist is not about to underestimate anyone in the regional
bracket.
“Teams that you may not know a lot about may have
something unique,” Enquist said. “They may be hot right
now, and the one thing that we can not do as a club is to size up
the competition based on what their history is.”
Despite Enquist’s precautions, of all eight teams in the
bracket, only Alabama (No. 15) and Long Beach (No. 18) are ranked
nationally.
Preparation will be key for the Bruins over the next few days,
as the coaching staff will scour over their opponents’ stats
and contact teams that have already played them.
“At this time of year, it’s how quickly we can get
into the flow of our game, which I think is going to be
critical,” Enquist said.
