Friday, 4/11/97
UCLA prepares for dogfight on the road
Huskies pose challenge to Bruins, who will lack key players
By Melissa Anderson
Daily Bruin Staff
The third-ranked UCLA softball team takes its show on the road
this weekend, kicking off a two-week road trip against No. 6
Washington in the Pacific Northwest.
The Huskies (25-9, 1-3 Pac-10) have enjoyed success outside of
the conference thus far in the season, though they sit in sixth
place in the Pac-10 after being swept by No. 2 Arizona last
weekend.
While the Bruins have completed nearly half of their conference
schedule, Washington is just beginning theirs and, as always, the
Huskies will be hungry for the Bruins.
"Washington is a club that always plays very well against us.
They get up for us," UCLA head coach Sue Enquist said. "There are
times when you play teams and you worry if your team will be
focused. I don’t have to worry about that with UCLA playing
Washington."
The Huskies are coming off a spectacular season in which they
won the Pac-10 and made a strong run through the College World
Series. Washington knocked off UCLA in the semifinals before
succumbing to Arizona in the championship game.
Although Washington lost several key players from last year, it
has a corps of players who have stepped up to fill the shoes left
behind. First baseman Becky Newbry leads the team in hitting with a
.377 average and is one of three Huskies batting over .350.
On paper, however, Washington looks overmatched. UCLA has six
players in the starting lineup batting over .375, with freshman
Stacey Nuveman leading the charge with a phenomenal .467. Julie
Marshall is close behind at .423 while Julie Adams is close by with
a .397.
In reality, though, the Bruins are battered and it will take a
team effort to knock off the Huskies. In addition to a shoulder
injury to Adams, UCLA will not have shortstop Christie Ambrosi, who
injured her ankle Wednesday against California. Pitcher Christa
Williams is also questionable after twisting her ankle against the
Bears.
Ambrosi’s absence means more reshuffling in the defensive
lineup, with Marshall a likely candidate to fill in at shortstop.
Nuveman will probably move from behind the plate to third in Adams’
absence, handing off the catching duties to Johnna Mike.
"It’s a test for this team. When we went into the second game
(against Cal) the attitude was, ‘It doesn’t matter,’" Enquist said.
"You can go out and you can put people out of position, you can put
people on the field that haven’t had a lot of playing time, and
they are going to hold it down. They are that kind of club."CHARLES
KUO/Daily Bruin
Bruin Julie Marshall is batting .423. With Christie Ambrosi and
Julie Adams injured, the Bruins must stay focused to win.