When people think about collegiate softball, two names instantly
come to mind.
When UCLA hosts Arizona today at Easton Stadium, it will be a
meeting of two teams that have won 17 of the 24 NCAA Championships
since softball became an NCAA sport in 1982.
Whenever these two teams meet, there is always plenty at stake.
Not only are both teams usually competing for first place in the
Pac-10, but with the absence of a USC team in the conference,
UCLA-Arizona has become one of the biggest rivalries in college
softball.
“Our coaches always tell us that Arizona’s been our
rival since they’ve been playing,” UCLA sophomore
pitcher Anjelica Selden said. “They’ve been our rivals
and our best competition for a while.”
This year is no exception to the rule. No. 1 UCLA (37-5, 9-3
Pac-10) sits comfortably atop the Pac-10 standings after toughing
out a split of a double-header with Washington on Wednesday. The
Bruins lost a marathon of a first game, 3-2 in 12 innings, and had
to rally to beat Washington 7-6 in the second game after trailing
4-0.
Meanwhile, No. 3 Arizona (34-8, 5-5), while getting off to a
mediocre Pac-10 start, has been strong in all aspects of the game
throughout the year. The Wildcats are hitting .309 as a team this
year and have a Pac-10 leading 0.88 ERA.
“We already have our game plan set,” UCLA coach Sue
Enquist said. “We know what we have to do against
(Arizona).”
The Bruins already beat the Wildcats twice this year when they
traveled to the desert two weekends ago. UCLA won the first meeting
with Arizona 2-1 behind the strong pitching of junior Lisa Dodd.
The Bruins went on to win the second meeting by a more comfortable
score of 8-3.
After UCLA faces Arizona today, the Bruins will play two games
against a much improved Arizona State team. The No. 10 Sun Devils
(41-7, 5-4), behind first-year coach Clint Myers, have already won
11 more games than they won all of last season when the team went
30-26.
The Sun Devils are second to Arizona in the Pac-10 in pitching
with a 1.13 ERA, and are leading the Pac-10 in home runs (52), runs
scored (252) and walks (185).
UCLA defeated the Sun Devils in the two teams’ previous
meeting this year on April 7, by a score of 7-4.
For the Bruins, the prospect of playing five challenging Pac-10
games in one week is a rare and challenging task.
The Bruins typically play three weekend games every week when
the Pac-10 season begins, but an April 15 rain-out between UCLA and
Washington turned the Bruins’ only scheduled mid-week Pac-10
game all year on Wednesday into a double-header.
But the number of veteran players on the UCLA team have seen a
great deal happen in their time with the Bruins, and Enquist
doesn’t believe a weird schedule is enough to deter their
concentration.
“I’m excited to just go into the weekend knowing
that we got the split and pulled out of such a big hole (against
Washington),” Enquist said. “I just hope that they come
in refreshed (today).