Friday, 4/18/97 Bruins travel to Arizona for desert showdown
Neither team has top spot; game holds promise of title hopes
By Melissa Anderson Daily Bruin Staff The UCLA softball team
heads to Tucson today looking to bear down on the No. 2 Wildcats.
As always, the match-up will feature some of the best talent in the
nation, with power hitters Stacey Nuveman and UA’s Lety Pineda
facing off for the last time of the regular season. Nuveman and
Pineda are tied for the conference lead in home runs with 14
apiece, and both showcase a level of talent that could carry either
team to victory. "There are going to be some very good athletes on
the field," Arizona head coach Mike Candrea said. "This is what
they live for, a chance to play against the best." For the last 10
years, Arizona (38-4, 12-1 Pac-10) and UCLA (32-8, 12-4) have been
the best. Since 1987, no other team besides the Bruins or the
Wildcats has won a national championship. Although Fresno State has
held the No. 1 spot in the polls for the last two weeks after
knocking off both UCLA and Arizona, this game still has major
national and Pac-10 implications. Arizona currently has a game and
a half lead over the Bruins in the conference race, and two losses
could take UCLA out of the race. But a Bruin sweep through the
desert would keep title hopes alive while giving UCLA the edge in
any tie-break situations. "There’s still a lot of softball left,"
Candrea said. "Usually, it’s UCLA or us at the top, but that won’t
change anything. These are still very important games because one
series can make a real difference (in national rankings)." In
addition to the anticipated match-up between Nuveman and Pineda,
today’s 6 p.m. doubleheader will also feature some of the best
pitching in the NCAA. Wildcat pitcher Nancy Evans leads the Pac-10
with a .89 ERA and will likely be pitted against either Christa
Williams (who is second behind Evans with a 1.10 ERA) or senior
B’Ann Burns (1.40 ERA). Williams handed Arizona its only conference
loss of the year at Easton Stadium on March 29, giving up just one
run in seven innings. Burns has always pitched tough against
Arizona; she notched the Bruins’ last victory at Hillenbrand
Stadium in 1995. Still, winning in Arizona is never easy, and the
Bruins will need an entire team effort to come home with a win. And
you can be sure the Wildcats will come out swinging. "We have a lot
of respect for UCLA and we know it’s going to be competitive,"
Candrea said. "Both teams have always played very competitive and
hard-fought games and this weekend won’t be any different." * * *
UCLA will spend the entire weekend in the desert, stopping off in
Tempe on Sunday to play No. 11 Arizona State in a 1 p.m.
doubleheader. This is the first meeting of the year between the
Bruins and the Sun Devils (30-12, 8-8), who are currently in third
place in the conference. ASU was swept last week by rival Arizona
but did take one game from No. 6 Washington earlier this month.
CHARLES KUO/Daily Bruin Bruin softball player Stacey Nuveman at
bat.