Softball: Reigning finalists UCLA, Cal flounder in conference play

The last time UCLA’s softball team faced California, the
Bruins beat the Bears 1-0 in the finals of last year’s
College World Series.

But this year a championship rematch seems a long way off for
each team.

While both teams have been fixtures in the top five, they have
had their struggles in conference play. No. 4 UCLA lost five of its
first six Pac-10 games, while No. 5 Cal is also below .500.

“These games are important because Cal is right next to us
in the rankings,” UCLA coach Sue Enquist said. “These
games are of huge value to us.”

When the teams face off at UCLA’s Easton Stadium on
Saturday and Sunday afternoons, the Bruins (29-6, 2-5 Pac-10) will
not give last season’s championship game much thought.

Given the struggles of both sides, they have to focus on the
present.

“We approach every team in the Pac-10 the same,”
senior Claire Sua said. “It’s the type of conference
that you can’t selectively pick out how you approach each
team.”

Before the Bruins can think about Cal (37-8, 4-5) on Saturday
and Sunday, they will host Stanford (34-11, 5-4 Pac 10) on Friday.
While the Cardinal may be the undercard, they are ranked No. 8 in
the nation and cannot be overlooked.

The Bruins are looking to make a charge up the standings after
an emotional 10th-inning victory over Oregon last Sunday.

Sophomore Caitlin Benyi’s game-winning home run broke a
string of late-inning heartbreaks that had haunted UCLA in
conference play.

“It definitely gives us a lot of momentum,”
sophomore Andrea Duran said.

Benyi currently leads the conference in home runs with 15, but
as the leadoff hitter, she is often knocking the ball out of the
park with no one else on base.

She has been UCLA’s leadoff hitter all year long, and
Enquist has no intentions of changing her lineup.

“You want to put her in a position where she would be up
with the most RBI opportunities, but I’m not going to make
that change,” Enquist said. “The intangible of creating
and initiating (the offense) is too big to me, so I’m
probably going to keep her there.”

While the lineup will stay the same, UCLA’s pitching
rotation will not.

After recovering from shoulder surgery and spending most of the
season on the bench, sophomore Michelle Turner has worked her way
back into the rotation.

With three quality pitchers, Enquist said that she will
“tag team” them, using one pitcher to start the game
and another to finish it.

So far this season, UCLA has only used a relief pitcher in two
games.

Enquist will wait until after the week’s practice before
deciding how to utilize her three pitchers, as she has done
throughout the season.

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