Softball readies for hot rivalries in Arizona

When junior catcher Jennifer Schroeder hears the word “Arizona,” a sly smile sneaks across her face and her eyes light up.

“Arizona doesn’t like us at all.”

Why?

“Let’s just put it this way: Just recruiting, back in high school, when you’re dreaming of going to a program, you’re dreaming of going to UCLA or Arizona,” Schroeder said. “Therefore, whoever didn’t get offered a scholarship there goes here and vice versa. Our three top recruits, Donna Kerr, Katie Schroeder, and Monica Harrison were Arizona’s three top recruits. Look where they are ““ at UCLA.

“We’re the best of the best playing against each other.”

“I’m in my fourth year,” she added. “We’re 8-for-9 against them with three mercy rules (wins by eight or more runs). We play up for Arizona.”

And they should ““ the Wildcats are the two-time defending national champions, and have won eight national titles over all. The Bruins will face off against Arizona (27-11, 4-3 Pac-10) on Saturday and Sunday in Tucson.

Yet an even bigger challenge may come today when UCLA, ranked No. 1 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll, clashes with Arizona State (42-2, 6-0 Pac-10), ranked No. 1 in the USA Today/NFCA poll, on the Sun Devils home field in Tempe.

All three teams are expected to contend for a national title, and while the Bruins have been outstanding thus far, so too have the Arizona schools.

ASU enters today’s game riding an 11-game winning streak. The Sun Devils are a perfect 29-0 at home this year, batting near .350 as a team and averaging 7.7 runs per game. Arizona isn’t very far behind, hitting .309 as a team and averaging 6.9 runs per game.

Yet despite all the statistics, tradition, and even the rivalry, coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said that, as always, her team is focused on controlling what it can control, and playing championship-caliber softball regardless of who the opponent is.

“The best part about it is we’re UCLA, so all of (the statistics) are kind of irrelevant,” Inouye-Perez said. “The winningest program in this sport is UCLA. The history and tradition speaks for itself. So it’s never about the opponent. What we call it, “˜the shirts in the other dugout,’ are simply that.”

Inouye-Perez said she was, however, looking forward to the chance to take the team on its first Pac-10 road trip. The team finished its lengthy seven-game home stand last weekend with wins over the Bay Area schools. Getting experience against top teams on the road is especially important to this particular Bruin squad because eight freshmen fill the 18-person roster.

“I’m looking forward to getting out on our first road trip,” Inouye-Perez said. “It will be a great atmosphere for the girls to gain more experience of what it will feel like in the end.”

Schroeder, who despite her enthusiasm also acknowledged that “the game doesn’t change,” brought up one more incentive for the weekend, pointing out that many of the girls on the three teams have a history that even pre-dates their college years.

“These are the girls we’ve been playing against since we were 12,” Schroeder said. “(Arizona pitcher) Taryne Mowatt was on my very first travel-ball team. We’ve been playing against each other forever. My sister (Katie) ““ her best friend is (Arizona’s) left fielder. We know everything about each other. It’s the easiest game to play because I know what pitches I’m going to call because I know their weaknesses, but it’s also the toughest because they’re the best of the best.”

ACCOLADES FOR CAMUSO, SELDEN: Freshman Samantha Camuso and senior Anjelica Selden were selected as two of the 25 finalists for the 2008 USA Softball Player of the Year Award on Wednesday. The announcement came a day after Camuso also picked up her first Pac-10 Player of the Week honors.

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