Softball hoping to strike out Arizona
By John Michael Earnest
May 9, 2007 9:14 p.m.
Dry heat. Angry fans. Midterms. When the UCLA softball team travels to Tucson to showdown against Arizona there will be a lot on the players’ minds.
Today’s game begins what the team hopes to be their second-to-last road trip of the year.
The No. 13 Bruins (34-15 10-8 Pac-10) hope to secure home-field advantage for the regional round of the NCAA Tournament. A win against No. 3/4 Arizona (38-10-1, 14-3-1 Pac-10) will not only guarantee a winning conference record, but will also strengthen the Bruins’ ranking. For UCLA to host a regional at Easton Stadium, the team needs to stay in the top 16.
Despite all the playoff ramifications, coach Kelly Inouye-Perez has her team grounded and focused on the present.
“We’re not really looking forward just yet,” Inouye-Perez said. “We have a great opportunity to practice our game this weekend before it truly starts to count. You play the season for the playoffs.”
Inouye-Perez’s one-game-at-a-time mentality will certainly help. The Bruins are eager to avenge their loss to Arizona on Pac-10 opening weekend, an error-filled affair in which they fell 11-2. But the Bruins are optimistic.
“We love going into Arizona and beating them in their house,” junior Krista Colburn said. “(Arizona) can be seen as a hostile environment, but I think everyone’s ready. We’re excited (and) we’re calm, but we’re ready.”
The recent heat in Los Angeles helped too, Colburn noted, in preparing the Bruins for a desert environment, even though tonight’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m.
UCLA will have to bring its A game to the plate against a strong Wildcat pitcher. Junior Taryne Mowatt is 30-8 with 12 shutouts and a 1.51 ERA. She recently received her fourth Pac-10 pitcher of the week award for 2007.
Against the Bruins, Mowatt allowed only four runs. Colburn herself was held to just one hit in six at bats; on the year the junior is batting .400.
The challenge on the field is compounded by that of the classroom. Midterm season is coming to a close but a championship run would see the Bruins playing into 10th week. Colburn herself admitted to missing a Friday midterm.
“It’s the challenge of being a Bruin; you commit to being a student-athlete, not just an athlete,” Inouye-Perez said.
Regardless, Inouye-Perez feels her team is ready, for Arizona and beyond.
“The whole season’s not about the win or the loss, it’s about (bouncing) back when adversity hits,” she said. “We’ve got everything we need.”
