When glancing at the names of the teams participating in this
weekend’s San Diego State Tournament, UCLA clearly separates
itself from the rest of the group.
The women’s softball team (16-0) heads into San Diego
facing four different squads, none of whom have a record better
than one game over .500.
The Bruins will start play Friday against Syracuse (5-6) at 11
a.m. and Cal Poly (8-8) at 1 p.m. On Saturday, the squad will face
off against San Diego State (11-10) at 1 p.m.
UCLA will wrap up the tournament Sunday against Nevada (9-8) at
11 a.m. followed by a rematch against Cal Poly at 3 p.m.
The Bruins already defeated SDSU 6-2 on Feb. 8, but the teams
combined for 10 errors that game.
But the Bruins have shown improvement in defense as the young
season has progressed. This past weekend the team committed just
three errors, all of which came in its game against UC Santa
Barbara.
Coach Sue Enquist expects the defense to tighten up quickly. She
stressed that the team’s offensive output has been able to
compensate for defensive lapses, but that the same cannot be
expected once the Pac-10 schedule begins in a few weeks. Eight
Pac-10 teams, including the No. 1 Bruins, are ranked among the Top
25 teams in the nation.
“Our team really knows the challenge before them ““
can we go through a weekend without errors?” Enquist said.
“They’re really trying to work at it.”
“We just need to be more aggressive, work harder and
communicate more,” sophomore third baseman Andrea Duran
added.
Sophomore pitcher Michelle Turner, who went 14-0 last season
pitching behind senior Keira Goerl, also may see some action on the
mound this weekend.
“Right now we’re going to add Turner in the mix,
can’t tell you where or when, but she’s going to start
having those opportunities,” said Enquist, who added that she
is pleased with the way Turner’s defense and hitting are also
starting to round into shape after her recovery from an off-season
shoulder surgery.
If Turner can prove that she is capable of pitching as well as
she did in 2003, Enquist may very well continue with a
three-pitcher rotation once Pac-10 play starts. Goerl and Dodd
currently have ERA’s of 0.23 and 0.36, respectively, so
Turner will have to capitalize on every opportunity she gets in
order to become a regular in the rotation.
Enquist has also been opening the door for others to take larger
roles on the team, and freshman Whitney Holum is one of those
players. She has only started in six games, but her .313 average
ranks fifth on the team.
“I cracked the door open for Holum, and she came in and
just clutched up and had great (at bats),” Enquist said.
“So that leads me to believe that she continues to deserve
that shot.
Despite the improvement in defense and the growing depth of the
team, the Bruins have to play five games in the span of three days
this weekend. Although they are facing relatively weaker opponents,
the undefeated Bruins know the task at hand is to keep their record
perfect as long as possible.
“It doesn’t really matter who’s in the
opposite dugout,” Dodd said. “If we bring our game, we
can beat anybody.”