“It’s good to be back at home.”
Four road trips and 26 days later, Natasha Watley is justifiably
relieved. The UCLA softball team will finally play a home game
today when it hosts the Easton Classic.
“Traveling takes a toll on you mentally and
physically,” the senior shortstop added.
The No. 1 Bruins (17-1) last graced Easton Field on Feb. 2,
after hitting such destinations as Las Vegas, Riverside, Boca
Raton, and Santa Barbara.
But when they take on Missouri and Boston College today and
Saturday, they will have the luxury of a home crowd.
“I can’t wait,” pitcher Michelle Turner said.
“Traveling is fun, but it’s great to have a bunch of
fans at home.”
Neither Missouri (8-6) or Boston College (3-5) is currently
ranked, but have both beaten top-25 teams. The Tigers have beaten
No. 21 Texas A&M and the Eagles have beaten No. 16 South
Carolina, who the Bruins defeated 12-0 on Feb. 14.
UCLA is 4-1 against ranked opponents so far this season, and
owns a 16-game winning streak.
Two Bruins were given awards this week. Watley was given the
Pac-10 Player of the Week award, and Keira Goerl was named the
Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week. Both players helped the team win the
Florida Atlantic University Worth Invitational last weekend, and a
doubleheader against UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday.
However, the Bruins say they still have room for improvement,
since many players are still not pleased with their individual
performances.
“We’ve got to know our zone better,” UCLA head
coach Sue Enquist said. “We’re going to work on ground
balls and we haven’t been out on the practice field much
lately. We’ve got to focus. We can’t be
stiff.”
The Bruins play Boston College today and Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
UCLA will play Missouri today at 2 p.m. and on Saturday at 9
a.m.
After the double round-robin play today and Saturday, the second
and third place teams will face each other at 10 a.m., and the
winner will face the first-place team in the championship game at 2
p.m.