UCLA’s opening Women’s College World Series game today against Arizona is a college softball fan’s dream.
It’s a clash of titans, dynasty versus dynasty, rival versus rival.
And even Bruin players who like to consider every opponent “just a different set of shirts in the dugout” know that this one should be a classic.
“The Arizona-UCLA matchup is just so rich in tradition, especially here at the World Series,” senior Ashley Herrera said. “There have been numerous championship games played between the two programs, so it’s just real exciting to be a part of another game between the two powers. Fortunately, we know a lot about them, but they know a lot about us.”
When the first pitch is thrown tonight at 6 p.m. in Oklahoma City, the nation will watch on ESPN while the two most recognizable programs in college softball go head-to-head. Both teams will play through the weekend, fighting to stave off double-elimination, for a chance to play next week in the championship series.
UCLA comes into the 2008 series with 11 softball national championships ““ more than any other school in the nation.
But second to UCLA is Arizona, with eight championships of their own and the current title of “back-to-back” national champions, having won the Women’s College World Series each of the last two years.
UCLA has made 22 appearances in the Women’s College World Series, with Arizona right behind with 19.
In four out of the last five years, one of the two schools has won the championship.
And the two schools have met six times in the championship series, starting in 1991 when Arizona made its first appearance in the title game.
If the Bruins can claim the title of most dominant program in softball history, Arizona is doing its best to steal that label. As winners of the last two titles, the Wildcats are quickly gaining steam as a perennial powerhouse.
But history aside, this year’s version of UCLA v. Arizona should be a battle. The teams have already played each other twice this year. Arizona won the first of the three games in impressive fashion, 8-0. But the Bruins bounced back to win the next two tight ones by a margin of 2-1. Both Bruin wins required UCLA solo home runs in the seventh inning to top Arizona ace Taryne Mowatt.
Mowatt is another factor that will add intrigue to today’s contest. The 2007 ESPY female athlete of the year brings a 1.69 ERA and a 29-13 record into the game in which she will face Bruin ace Anjelica Selden. Selden will enter today boasting a 0.98 ERA and an even more impressive 28-3 record. Freshman GiOnna DiSalvatore said that in order to be successful at the plate against Mowatt, the Bruins will have to be patient in the batter’s box and wait for their pitch.
“(Mowatt) mixes it up a lot,” DiSalvatore said. “She throws in and out ““ pretty much curves and screws and has a change. You have to go up there with a plan and stick to your plan and make sure you execute. If you fail, you just start over and do the same thing.”
While seniors like Herrera are happy to be back in Oklahoma City, the team is laden with freshmen who are getting to experience the World Series for the first time.
And although the action hasn’t even begun, DiSalvatore has passed other teams off the field already and knows the competition is going to be intense.
“You feel the tension when you walk past the teams,” she said. “They just have the look in their eyes like they want to kill us ““ like we have a target on us.”