Friday, February 21, 1997
SOFTBALL:
Bruins to face No. 9 South Carolina, No. 13 UNLV in Las VegasBy
Melissa Anderson
Daily Bruin Staff
After last week’s 3-1 Pacific 10 start in the Bay Area, you can
bet the UCLA softball team won’t be taking its opponents at this
weekend’s UNLV Softball Classic lightly.
The Bruins are slated to face five different teams in the
16-team field in Las Vegas, including No. 9 South Carolina and No.
13 UNLV, and have learned in the early part of the season that they
can not take any team for granted.
Today’s 5:30 p.m. matchup with South Carolina should present
UCLA (8-4 overall) with its toughest challenge. The Lady Gamecocks
are UCLA’s third top-10 opponent in less than a month. The No. 2
Bruins have had trouble with nationally ranked teams, most recently
dropping a 7-0 contest to No. 8 California in last weekend’s
conference opener.
While the Jekyll-and-Hyde Bruins certainly have the talent to
win, a victory will depend on which team takes the field against
the Lady Gamecocks. The squad which pounded Cal last weekend, 11-0,
should cruise through the tournament with ease. But if UCLA
provides a sluggish offensive showing like it did in its 1-0, 4-3
sweep of Stanford, there could be trouble.
"We have a very good team and I think everyone was surprised by
the outcome (at Cal and Stanford)," senior pitcher B’Ann Burns
said. "We’re just not performing, we’re not there yet. But we’ll be
there."
The Bruins had better be there in their 12:30 game against Utah
this afternoon. Although the Utes are unranked, if UCLA finds
itself looking forward to South Carolina rather than focused on the
task at hand, it will run into difficulties.
UCLA also takes on Southwest Texas and Utah State on Saturday
before meeting host school UNLV Sunday at 12:30 p.m. to close out
the tournament.
"This should be a good tournament for us because there are some
good teams there, teams that we know nothing about and can just go
in and play," said Burns, who was just named the Pac-10
Player/Pitcher of the Week. "Hopefully for the hitters and the
pitchers, we can learn from these games. But there is no one we can
overlook."
* * *
Sophomore third baseman Julie Adams is still feeling the effects
of a sprained shoulder suffered in the second game against Cal when
she went to apply a tag in the fourth inning. Adams is listed as
day-to-day and may see some action in Las Vegas. Catcher Julie
Marshall has filled in for Adams at third and will probably start
there this weekend while freshman Stacey Nuveman takes over behind
the plate.