Monday, April 8, 1996
Bruins lose opener, win game 2 of doubleheader against
WashingtonBy Brent Boyd
Daily Bruin Contributor
A coach can ask for nothing more than to have the team’s captain
and most consistent clutch hitter at the plate with the game on the
line.
The same player that hit a home run to put UCLA ahead to stay in
the softball national championship game of a year ago, may have
saved the Bruins from falling completely out of the Pacific 10 race
this year. Senior second-baseman Kelly Howard drove a single to
left field, knocking in Nicole Ochoa and the winning run in the
bottom of the eighth inning and giving the Bruins a 4-3 victory
over No. 2 Washington  enabling UCLA to remain in contention
for the Pac-10 title.
After losing the opener 4-1, the Bruins (28-6, 9-5 Pac-10) faced
the prospect of losing their fourth consecutive contest and falling
four games out in the loss column behind first-place teams
Washington and Arizona.
"We have so much confidence in Howard," co-head coach Sue
Enquist said. "She has been struggling a little lately, but no
matter what, I’d still put my money down on her in those
situations."
"I just wanted to get it out of the infield," said Howard, who
had hit only .222 over the previous 11 games. "I was expecting a
changeup and just sat on it."
The game-winning hit put a fitting conclusion on Howard’s day,
as she finished 4-for-8, along with two RBIs.
The game started off with a single by Howard, followed by a home
run off the scoreboard in deep left field by freshman third-baseman
Julie Adams, giving the Bruins a 2-0 advantage.
"Every at-bat you go up looking for a certain pitch, and I got
it," said Adams, who finished the game 4-for-4. "I figure if you
stay aggressive good things are going to happen, and I got a good
piece of the ball."
But Washington (34-7, 7-3) came back with two of their own in
the next half inning and another in the fifth to give them a 3-2
advantage.
The Bruins responded. In their half of the fifth, Christie
Ambrosi led off with a double and was knocked in by Alleah
Poulson’s single, evening the score 3-3.
Things would remain stable until the eighth when Kim Wuest led
off with a walk and Nicole Ochoa came in to pinch run for her.
Sandra Burkey followed by beating out a slap bunt over the
pitcher’s mound, putting two runners on base with nobody out.
"It was an excellent play and great job of reading the defense,"
Enquist said. "They were cheating in on defense and she did an
excellent job in executing."
Laurie Fritz followed with a sacrifice bunt and Howard put the
game away with her single.
"In the second game, I was most impressed that we stayed on them
and they stayed focused. It was a great display of intensity,"
Enquist said. "But, we need to be able to execute better in
game-winning situations overall."
The Bruins left nine runners stranded in the second game, five
of which were in scoring position, in addition to the five left on
base in game one.
The opener saw the Bruins fall behind 4-0 early and they were
never able to battle back from the fifth inning deficit. Their best
opportunity was in the bottom half of the fifth when they led off
with consecutive hits, but then the offense stalled. A sacrifice
fly by Howard scored Odom, but that was the lone run the Bruins
could put on the scoreboard in the inning. UCLA could get nothing
going the rest of the way and suffered the 4-1 loss.
"I was actually more surprised than disappointed that we lost,"
Enquist said. "We worked real hard this week and showed great
intensity throughout the game. We just didn’t come up with the
victory."
PATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin
Kelly Howard drove in the game-winning run against No. 2
Washington on Saturday.