Softball looks to blast Buckeyes, Beavers at Easton

Published: Friday, March 1, 1996

By Brent Boyd

Daily Bruin Contrubutor

The UCLA softball team will host the UCLA Easton/Reebok Invitational this weekend at Easton Stadium in a tournament laden with hometown connections.

Top-ranked UCLA plays doubleheaders against Ohio State on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., and the Oregon State Beavers at the same time Sunday.

The tournament will be a homecoming for six players on the Buckeye squad. Nicole Paloney, a junior from La Palma, leads the team with a .424 batting average with two home runs and 10 RBIs. Freshman catcher Amy Haug, originally from Pomona, is hitting at a .389 clip, while sophomore centerfielder and Mater Dei alum, Candace Kollen, is batting .316.

Ohio State comes to Westwood with a record of 2-10, but has faced a difficult schedule including match-ups against No. 9 Washington and No. 2 Arizona. Two weeks ago, they managed a 4-0 upset of the Wildcats at the Arizona State Classic.

The Bruins have never lost to Ohio State, refusing to give up a run in each of their three matchups. Most recently, UCLA defeated the Buckeyes 5-0 in the inaugural UCLA Invitational last season, behind the arm of Kaci Clark, who allowed only five hits and struck out five Buckeye hitters.

The UCLA campus is a familiar stomping ground for the Oregon State coaching staff. Second-year head coach Kirk Walker is a former Bruin assistant, while Beaver assistant coach Gina Vecchione was a three-time All-Region outfielder for the Bruins in the early 1980s.

"They are both very seasoned, and very good coaches," Bruin co-head coach Sharron Backus said. "Oregon State continues to improve every year."

The Beavers will try to accomplish something that no other Oregon State (2-2) squad has done - defeat the Bruins.

UCLA will enter the doubleheader holding a 37-0 advantage over the Beavers, including four victories last year by a combined score of 37-1. The Bruins have thrown six no-hitters against the squad from Corvallis, including Tanya Harding's perfect game last year.

But Oregon State should be much improved over last year's 13-41 team. The Beavers are led by sophomore transfer Alycia Stevens who went 9-for-16 in last weekend's Pepsi Cola Tournament in Arlington, Texas. In addition, three other Oregon State batting leaders are true freshmen. Jodi Chmielewski is batting .500, while Courtney Stewart and Kim Herman have .385 averages.

If the Bruins are to win their own tournament for the first time, their lineup will need to continue its early-season tear. Kelly Howard leads the team with a .529 batting average followed closely by Ginny Mike-Mitchell's .500 average. Kim Wuest is providing the long ball for the Bruins, hitting six home runs and driving in 14 runs in her 22 at-bats this season.

The Bruins hope to learn from last week's doubleheader split at No. 3 Fresno State in front of a record-breaking crowd.

"It teaches us many things," Backus said, "We learned valuable lessons for the upcoming season that should help us down the road."

The same Bulldogs will also be coming to UCLA to participate in the tournament, but the two clubs will not renew last week's battle. The Bulldogs have doubleheaders against Oregon State and Ohio State at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

PATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin

Kelly Howard leads the UCLA softball team in batting at .529. average.

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