• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

During a long, drawn out regular season, a coach’s outlook on her team can constantly change.

After Wednesday’s loss to Washington, UCLA softball coach Sue Enquist was angry at her team.

After what she called a good practice on Thursday, she was optimistic and upbeat.

“(Thursday) gave us a little momentum to get back on track,” Enquist said. “I’m glad we had the day to practice.”

The No. 10 Bruins are on a two-game losing streak heading into this weekend’s homestand, which includes a game today against No. 3 Cal, a game Saturday and a doubleheader Sunday against No. 4 Stanford.

“The games this weekend are huge,” UCLA pitcher Anjelica Selden said. “We have to start getting more of our momentum going.”

The Bruins have been in this situation before – they were on a four-game losing streak less than a month ago, with games looming against Cal and No. 2 Arizona. They won both of those as part of a five-game winning streak before dropping their latest two games to Washington.

“As a team, we just have to go out and do the little things,” catcher Emily Zaplatosch said. “We have to start playing Bruin softball again.”

The team worked on some of the little things in Thursday’s practice that have plagued them in the last two games. Enquist had each of her hitters bat in a game situation, with runners in scoring position and a set number of outs. Each batter had to stay up at bat until she successfully moved the runner over twice.

She also emphasized hitting with a two-strike count. “An 0-and-2 count should be fun,” Enquist said. “Your strike zone isn’t as precise – you have the green light to swing at anything close. You should be excited about it.”

And while Enquist was optimistic after practice, she knows the Bruins need to apply those fundamentals to game situations. The first chance UCLA will get to show it has improved will be this weekend against the Bay Area schools.

UCLA (24-12, 5-6 Pac-10) and Cal split their two previous meetings this year at Berkeley.

The Bruins have yet to face Stanford this year, and are playing a doubleheader on Sunday to make up for the previously rained-out game between the two teams in Palo Alto earlier this month. Stanford will be the home team during the first game on Sunday, despite the game being played at Easton Stadium.

All the start times this weekend are different – Friday’s game will start at 1 p.m., Saturday’s at 2 p.m., and Sunday’s at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.