The stolen base is risky. Succeed, and you’re one base
closer to scoring. Fail, and your team has one less opportunity to
get a hit. UCLA senior shortstop Natasha Watley has made a career
of taking risks and has been overwhelmingly successful.
“A stolen base can start momentum, it can start an
offense,” Watley said. “It gives your teammates more
motivation to want to hit you in.”
Watley’s 152 career steals are a Pac-10 record. She is
well short of the NCAA record of 196, held by Coastal
Carolina’s Jessica Folca, but Watley has done this in a tough
Pac-10 conference at a school known for not stealing bases.
“If you’ve got people that can run, you run,”
UCLA coach Sue Enquist said. “We had a reputation that we
couldn’t run. We didn’t have anyone who could
run.”
After Watley’s 152, UCLA’s next highest career
stolen base total is held by former Bruin Amanda Freed, with
51.
Still, with every stolen base attempt comes the risk of being
thrown out.
“A smart catcher or a good shortstop make it difficult to
steal a base,” Watley said. “You also have to know how
long the pitcher’s windup takes or how strong the
catcher’s arm is.”
A large part of Watley’s success on the basepaths is due
to her hitting. She can’t steal a base if she can’t get
there, and with a Pac-10 leading .507 batting average and batting
.451 for her career, Watley doesn’t have a problem.
But she’s not the traditional slap-hitter batting leadoff
you see in softball. She can hit the long ball.
Watley has six home runs this season, best among Pac-10 leadoff
hitters. Her .730 slugging percentage is sixth in the Pac-10
overall.
“Her power is what I am most proud of. It’s where
Natasha has grown the most,” Enquist said.
“Especially with all of the havoc it presents to the
defense. Infields have been playing for her short game, and the
outfields have been playing straight up, which creates a lot of
holes,” she added.
As Watley’s power numbers have gone up, her batting
average has too, giving her more chances to wreak havoc at the
plate and on the bases.
“She’s awesome,” freshman right fielder
Caitlin Benyi said. “When she’s on, the team feeds off
of her.”
Benyi, the No. 2 Bruins second hitter in the batting order, gets
to see Watley’s baserunning skills while at the plate.
“Basically, when I go up to bat, I know she’ll get
the stolen base,” said Benyi.
This sets up the table for senior Tairia Mims, who bats third in
the lineup. Mims is third in the Pac-10 in RBI with 44 and second
in batting average (.472) behind Watley.
“It’s kind of exciting because she can move herself
into scoring position,” Mims said. “It takes a little
pressure off, knowing that as long as you touch the grass
she’s going to score with that kind of speed, or even when
she is on third, just get it kind of deep and she’ll
score.”
The most important stat of them all for Watley is the run. Runs
equal wins, and with 12 regular season games left plus the
postseason, Watley has a commanding lead as the all-time UCLA run
leader, with 230. Freed is second with 188.
“I take a lot of pride in getting on base,” Watley
said. “I think in terms of getting runs by getting on base,
and RBI.”