Before the 2006 softball season began, Andrea Duran had enjoyed a very productive three years as a regular in the Bruin lineup ““ enough to the point that coach Sue Enquist labeled her “the best third baseman in the country.” Still, no one at the beginning of the year could have foreseen the standout season […]
Author Archives: Ben Azar
Seniors going home a bit early
It could have been a perfect ending for the seniors on the UCLA softball team. The seniors could have gone out with their third national title in four years, leaving UCLA the same way they came into UCLA as freshmen ““ as national champions. They could have been the senior class to bring home UCLA’s […]
Bruins go out quietly to Wildcats
All year long, the UCLA softball team had sailed confidently ahead with a light wind behind its back. After a tumultuous 2005, the Bruins had an outstanding 2006 regular season and a flawless postseason, heading into the Women’s College World Series as the favorite to win it all. But the World Series brought new stormy […]
With heads calm, Bruins take a swing at title
The pressure is higher. The reward couldn’t be greater. The stakes are immeasurable. But as the top-seeded UCLA softball team begins Women’s College World Series play tonight against Tennessee, the Bruins aren’t thinking about the greater meaning behind winning a national championship this season. Instead, a seasoned Bruin team enters tonight’s matchup with Tennessee as […]
In Duran’s final year, her talent gains notice
Andrea Duran didn’t seek out all the individual attention she has been getting this year. The senior third baseman has always been a prime example of coach Sue Enquist’s team concept, sacrificing herself for the better of the group. But with the way Duran has played this year, the recognition she wasn’t getting in her […]
Softball rides out Bulls, earns 8th straight trip to World Series
All year long, the UCLA softball team has had the same consistent attitude. It’s not about what lies ahead in the future, it’s about the here and now ““ this pitch, this game. That veteran demeanor has become wired in each of the players’ brains since they entered the program and has landed the Bruins […]
Bruins stifle Bulls’ scoring opportunities in series
Even though South Florida came into the Super Regionals as a heavy underdog against top-seeded UCLA, both games were played very evenly. What separated the Bulls from an improbable upset they had envisioned and the two losses they endured was an inability to execute with runners on base against UCLA pitcher Anjelica Selden. The Bulls […]