Aussie sensation helps Bruins roll
By Melissa Anderson
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The UCLA softball team experienced some March Madness of its own
over spring break, handing top-ranked Arizona its first loss of the
season and adding a new pitching ace to its roster in the form of
22-year old Tanya Harding, a junior transfer from Queensland,
Australia.
Sophomore pitcher B’Ann Burns led the No. 2 Bruins (22-2
overall, 9-1 Pac-10) past the Wildcats on March 17, 2-0, after
suffering an 11-4 loss in the first game. Burns started both games
for the Bruins, recording her first career victory over Arizona and
the Bruins’ first win in seven games against the Wildcats.
Harding made her UCLA debut March 27 against No. 16 University
of Washington as a pinch hitter in the opener, going two-for-three
with a pair of RBIs. The Bruins won the game, 5-3, on sophomore
Nicole Odom’s three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth
inning.
In the nightcap, Harding took the mound for the first time as a
Bruin and struck out 10 batters on the way to a complete-game
victory. Offensively for the Bruins, Harding had two doubles and
scored a run while first-baseman Alleah Poulson drove in two runs
to lead UCLA past the Huskies, 6-4.
The next day against Oregon State, Harding threw a perfect game
in only her second start while Poulson had four hits and five RBIs
en route to the Bruins’ 10-0 victory in the opener.
In the second game, Burns was near perfect, giving up just three
hits while shutting out the Beavers for a 12-0 win. The Bruins
scored nine runs in the second inning off of eight hits, including
a grand-slam by second-baseman Kelly Howard. It was Howard’s second
home run of the season, the other also being a grand slam.
All-American third-baseman Jennifer Brundage also had a home run
for the Bruins, her fourth of the season.
* * *
The first Pac-10 rankings and leader statistics released last
week were chock-full of Bruin names in both offensive and defensive
categories.
UCLA leads the conference in pitching with a 1.42 team ERA.
Burns leads the Pac-10 in strikeouts per game, averaging 6.37 in 89
innings pitched, and is second in total strikeouts with 81. Junior
pitcher Kaci Clark leads the conference with a 0.89 ERA in nine
games.
Offensively, Brundage is the Pac-10 batting leader with a .531
average, ranks second in triples and third in slugging percentage
(.906).