In the midst of a nine-game winning streak with just seven games left in the regular season, the Bruins couldn’t have picked a better time to heat up.
On the other hand, a midweek road game couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time.
No. 2 UCLA (35-8, 10-4 Pac-10) will face off against No. 4 Washington (35-9, 8-6 Pac-10) today at 1 p.m. in Seattle, Wash., in the finale of a series in which the Bruins took the first two games against the Huskies.
Unlike most road trips that are held over weekends, today’s pivotal conference game in Washington takes place during the middle of a week in which midterms are abound.
“It’s really a priority to stay on top of our academics because we’re going to be really busy (this week),” freshman left fielder Andrea Harrison said. “But we’ve prepared since week one knowing that this week isn’t going to be easy. We gave out travel letters to our professors, and a lot of them are very understanding.”
Exams aside, the team doesn’t seem to be too distracted by the scheduling. In fact, the Bruins maintain that by the time they walk out onto the field, their focus will be on the task at hand.
“I don’t think that we’ll lose our focus on the game,” Harrison said. “Once we start playing, everything else will be out of the way.”
Indeed, the Huskies figure to draw attention with plenty on the line.
A Washington victory today would salvage at least one win for the Huskies in the season series between the two teams. Also, both teams are in contention for the Pac-10 title, with UCLA and Washington currently first and fourth in the Pac-10 standings, respectively.
The Huskies will rely on their pitching to neutralize the Bruins’ offense. Junior pitcher Danielle Lawrie boasts a 26-5 record with a 0.78 ERA and 325 strikeouts.
In her previous outing against UCLA, Lawrie kept the Bruins scoreless through 10 innings before giving up a game-winning, two-run home run to Andrea Harrison in the 11th inning.
“If her pitches are on and our game plan isn’t working, then we’ll just scrap it out until the end,” sophomore shortstop Monica Harrison said. “But I think we’ll come out swinging and go after her sooner this time.”
If Sunday’s game against Arizona State was of any indication, the Bruins are certainly ready to hack away.
UCLA tied a school record with seven home runs against the Sun Devils. In the middle of the slugfest was Monica Harrison, who went yard three times, the first player in UCLA history to accomplish such a feat in a single game.
“(The pitchers) actually had me in advantage counts twice,” Monica Harrison said. “I just battled through and took the pitches out.”
Just as productive with the bat, sophomore center fielder Katie Schroeder was named UCLA/Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week on Monday. The first-time recipient of the award hit .545 last weekend and is batting .410 with 13 home runs and 31 RBI on the season.