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Slumping softball heads north

UCLA meets Cal, Stanford, Oregon over the weekend

By Rick Pal

The top-ranked Bruin softball team hopes to make some noise in Berkeley this weekend after drowsy hitting performances against No. 10 California and No. 8 Cal State Northridge in the past week.

It has not been a promising week for the usually explosive Bruin offense. After surviving a scare by Cal when they mustered only seven runs, the Bruins' offense tumbled against CSUN. Prior to the Cal games, the Bruins averaged close to seven runs a game, but have scored a combined nine runs in their last four games.

UCLA rode a superb pitching outing by Tanya Harding to post a 2-0 win in the first game against CSUN, but the Bruins' bats were almost nonexistent in the second game and were shut out for the first time this season, despite an excellent pitching performance by UCLA's B' Ann Burns.

A hitting slump could not be more untimely for UCLA (36-3 overall, 18-1 in the Pac-10). With only 10 games remaining before postseason play, the Bruins play six games in Berkeley this weekend, including the much-awaited rematch with Cal.

"We gave the second game against UCLA away," Cal Coach Diane Ninemire said, referring to the Bruins 5-3 victory last Saturday. "We have to go back and start being able to come up with the routine plays, and if we can cut down on the errors defensively, we could possibly sneak one by UCLA."

The Bruins will face Cal's talented left-handed pitching combination of Whitney Floyd and Anne Walsh, who have combined for a conference-leading 278 strikeouts this season. The UCLA hitters hope to redeem themselves against Floyd, who whiffed 12 Bruins last Saturday.

Besides Cal, UCLA will also face Oregon and Stanford in conference doubleheaders in the bay area.

Oregon (17-21, 5-10) is coming off a strong hitting performance against the University of Puget Sound in which the Ducks pounded 23 hits. Shortstop Kathy Stahl is Oregon's diamond in the rough, hitting a strong .416 this season with six home runs.

Stanford (14-26, 1-17) dwells in the Pac-10 cellar, and the Cardinal's record bears the notable distinction of a 25-0 drilling at the hands of the Arizona Wildcats.

"We want to be able to finish strong, be on top of the conference, so we will get the automatic bid to the (NCAA Tournament)," UCLA co-head coach Sue Enquist. "In terms of coaching, we're not looking ahead because we still want to solidify the conference."