No. 2 UCLA softball (40-2, 14-1 Pac-12) dominated Oregon State (21-18, 3-13) over the weekend, outscoring the Beavers 25-3 in the series. After the Bruins lost just their second game of the season to the Oregon Ducks (21-22, 4-11) the weekend prior, junior outfielder Bubba Nickles said a big reason for their renewed success was the team’s power hitting against the Beavers.
“It’s crucial for us to be able to hit the long ball as well as play the short game,” Nickles said. “With games like this weekend, we were trying to focus on our swings and the process.”
The Bruins started the season by hitting 28 home runs and scoring 203 runs in their 27 games against nonconference opponents – good for an average of 7.5 runs per game.
But as the Bruins moved into conference play, the power took a backseat as UCLA instead had to rely on small ball to score runs when it struggled to win against more talented pitching staffs.
In one such case, neither UCLA nor their opponent California were able to record more than five hits in the second game of their series. The difference ended up coming on a defensive error from Cal that allowed sophomore utility Kinsley Washington to score after she had singled, stolen second and advanced to third on a groundout.
“The expectations of being able to win, the idea that we should run-rule everybody, we should hit, would be great but they aren’t always easy tasks,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “The goal is to be able to do everything that we can, whether it’s a lot of runs or a run-run ball game. We focus on getting people on (base), moving people over, and manufacture runs.”
After a few weeks of relying more on small ball for runs, UCLA hit .371 in the Oregon State series as a team and recorded four home runs and four doubles on the way to the sweep. Nickles was a big part of that offensive explosion, hitting .700 for the weekend with two home runs and seven total hits, going 3-for-3 in both the first and second games.
Along with the return of its power hitting, UCLA also continued to utilize small ball over the weekend, as Nickles and freshman utility Kelli Godin both stole a base, and the Bruins took advantage of errors to score four unearned runs.
“If you play short ball, you’re going to need someone to hit the long ones, and vice versa. You need to get people on base,” said freshman utility Colleen Sullivan. “When we hit long balls, a lot of our pressure is taken off because we get a lot of runs, but I think we get more energy from the dugout and the combination (of the two styles).”
UCLA now has the highest team batting average in the Pac-12 at .349. The Bruins are also tied for the best on-base percentage at .426, and are in third place behind the Arizona schools in slugging percentage at .555.
With the last few series of the regular season coming up, including a home series against No. 5 Arizona (38-7, 15-0) in two weeks, Inouye-Perez said the Bruins know they have to continue to excel in all parts of the game if they want to win.
“Bottom line: Great teams find a way to win,” Inouye-Perez said. “For us, whether it’s by a lot or by one, whether we hit the long ball or put pressure on the defense until they make an error, the goal is to win.”
Chase Utley was UCLA baseball’s All-American starting second baseman from 1998 to 2000 before he left school early to go pro. Utley played in the MLB from 2003 to 2018 with the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers, putting up over 250 home runs and 1000 RBIs with a .275 batting average over his career. Utley retired from baseball at the end of last season, now taking on a special assistant role with the Dodgers. The six-time All-Star sat down to talk with Daily Bruin Sports about his memories of Westwood, this year’s top-ranked team and the lifelong relationships he forged in college.
Daily Bruin: How did you choose UCLA over other schools when you were getting recruited out of high school, and how did you eventually choose the Bruins over the Dodgers when you were drafted?
Chase Utley: There were a number of different reasons. I guess one of them, obviously would be the UCLA athletic program is one of the best in the country. You know, I grew up in Long Beach, so it was close enough to home but just far enough away that you really get that true college experience. I heard great things about the baseball program, Gary Adams, the head coach. The year prior, they went to the World Series; they were going to have me play shortstop. All of those factors played into my decision. And obviously choosing UCLA instead of going to play for the Dodgers was more, it wasn’t anything against the Dodgers, it was more that I wanted to go to college. I wanted to do my education and try to develop into a better baseball player. I felt like if baseball was meant to be for me, then I was going to have an opportunity after college.
DB: Did you live on the Hill when you first got here?
CU: Yeah we, I lived in, was it Sunset (Canyon)? I lived in the dorms at Sunset (Canyon), they were fairly new at the time. There were a handful of us baseball guys that were staying up in that area.
DB: Any fond memories there, or did you prefer apartment living?
CU: Well for my freshman year, I was in the dorms, then I was in the apartments the next two years. I thought it was (an experience), staying in the dorms, meeting other students, other athletes, you know, in that area. In the dorms … you have the ability to meet new people, whereas if you’re off campus, you wouldn’t necessarily have that same experience.
DB: What was your schedule like on a day-to-day basis when you were here, and did you ever have trouble balancing baseball and class?
CU: Yeah, it took a little time to figure out how to juggle everything. Obviously, school was extremely important, but so was getting my work in at the stadium, so it took a little time to kind of balance out what worked for me. I think that’s probably fairly common for any freshman going into a four-year university. You’re living now on your own and you just, it’s a learning experience that I feel like I benefited from a lot.
DB: Guys like Josh Rosen, Troy Aikman and Earl Watson have come back to get their degrees this year – is that something you’ve looked into too now that you’re retired?
CU: It’s in the back of my mind. I still probably have a little bit over a year left. While I was playing, I felt like it was a little bit too much on my plate. Now that I’m not, it’s in the back of my mind, I haven’t really made a decision on what I want to do. I know I want to spend more time with my kids, and I have been, but it’s something I’m thinking about.
DB: Do you have any favorite classes – major-related or general education – that you remember taking?
CU: I was a history major with a couple other baseball guys. There were a few history classes that I really enjoyed. Nothing in particular though.
DB: Can you tell me about your relationship with coach Adams, both when you were here and since you guys have both moved on past UCLA?
CU: Yeah, Skip and I, I thought, had a very good relationship during the time when I was there. He was an instrumental part in my development. He pushed us, worked us extremely hard. I just think he did a really great job of developing his players for professional baseball. Extremely positive, but at the same time, would whip us into shape. And I still keep in contact with him, I see him. He would come out to see Dodgers games, Phillies games here. And he’s just a great man, which I imagine a lot of his former players would say.
DB: You helped take UCLA to the Super Regionals in 2000, and it looks like this year’s team is on track to make it there too. Do you have any advice to help them succeed in the postseason? What do you think their title chances are?
CU: I’ve been keeping track of them – they’re playing great baseball. They’re pitching really well and they’re swinging the bats with the best of them. So, I mean, at this point, I really like their chances. (As for) advice, really just keep doing what they’ve done, continuing to work and try to improve, and trust that the process they’re going through is the right one.
DB: And your UCLA teammates, how many have you kept in touch with over the past 20 years?
CU: Early on it was pretty easy when none of us had families. We all kind of hung out in the LA area. Now that we’re all either married, have kids, moved away, it’s been a little bit more difficult to stay in touch. But there’s still a handful of guys that I talk to once a month or so and check in and see how they’re doing. It’s always nice to keep track of them now that we’re parents and we’re all going through similar things.
Chase Utley helped lead UCLA baseball to the NCAA Super Regionals in 2000, his final year in Westwood. Utley hit 22 home runs, picked up 69 RBIs, stole 15 bases and hit .382 that season before being picked No. 15 overall by the Philadelphia Phillies in the MLB Draft. (Daily Bruin Archive)
DB: Who have you stayed the closest with?
CU: Early on it was Garrett Atkins. He went on to play for the (Colorado) Rockies and we worked out a lot together in the offseason. Bill Scott was my roommate for a couple years in college and we kept in contact. Bobby Roe, Jon Brandt, those guys come to mind first off.
DB: And Dave Roberts, you two didn’t overlap in Westwood, but did that UCLA connection come up at all when he was your manager with the Dodgers?
CU: Of course it did, it came up on a daily basis. We were proud to be Bruins, we were proud to play for Gary Adams. Yeah, we had that definite bond right away, even though we didn’t play with each other.
DB: Can you tell me about your current role with the Dodgers, how you’re shaping it and what your plans are with the organization in the future?
CU: You know, I really enjoyed my time as a player here. Now that I’ve retired, I’m currently in a special assistant role, trying to help them in any way possible. So I’ve been spending some time with them when the team’s at home. The main thing is, I’ve been playing so long that we’ve done so much traveling. Now that I have a family with two young boys, I want to be around them a lot more, so one thing I didn’t want to do is travel a lot. The Dodgers have been great, they’re allowing me to come and go as I please, troubleshoot stuff when needed, and so far it’s going well.
DB: You have another UCLA Night at Dodgers Stadium coming up Friday. Obviously you’ve been through a few of them before, but how do you expect this one to be different for you now that you aren’t on the field anymore?
CU: This year is a definite transition for me, not being on the field. I’m enjoying my time so far, enjoying my time with my family. I’m enjoying just a little downtime, if you will. I’m not quite sure how it will be different other than just not playing that night.
Dodgers Stadium is hosting its annual UCLA Night on Friday at 7:10 p.m. in the series opener versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. Student ticket packages are available online and include a free lightweight hoodie and a postgame fireworks show.
With the regular season behind them, the Bruins are set to defend both of last season’s titles.
No. 1 UCLA (28-1) will begin postseason play at the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Championship at Merle Norman Stadium in Los Angeles. UCLA will face the winner of No. 8 seed Utah (5-7) and No. 9 seed Oregon (4-9-1) in its first game Friday.
The Bruins have not played the Utes this season, but they did secure a 5-0 victory over the Ducks on March 26.
With up to eight different possible opponents, coach Stein Metzger knows his team has to be prepared for numerous different game plans.
“Certainly we’ll continue to prepare our scouting reports for all the teams that we’ll play,” Metzger said. “Our programwide stuff is pretty instilled in them, so it’s mostly just fine-tuning a couple things, making sure that if one strategy doesn’t work, we have some backup strategies in terms of how we play offensively or defensively.”
UCLA could face crosstown rival No. 2 USC (24-4) twice in the double elimination tournament. The Trojans are the only team to beat the Bruins this season, winning 3-2 at the Pac-12 North Invitational at Stanford.
Senior Izzy Carey said the Trojans may throw some new duos at the Bruins, but they will be prepared no matter who they come up against.
“There’s a couple switch-ups in (USC’s) partnerships, especially at the lower seeds, so I might be playing a new girl,” Carey said. “We’re very excited to show our dominance and confidence on the court.”
The Bruins come into the weekend fresh off two sweeps in their home finale. UCLA won all 20 sets on the day, including all 10 against then-No. 10 Long Beach State.
The Bruins also own a 10-1 record against Pac-12 opponents this year, including six sweeps. UCLA is 2-0 against possible second round opponent No. 5 seed Stanford, with a sweep at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic on Feb. 23.
“Everyone has a good feel for what everyone else is doing now,” senior Sarah Sponcil said. “Everyone has the physicality. But are we mentally going to handle it when it counts, and are we going to be good teammates to each other in pressured situations? We did that really well at nationals (last season), and I hope to continue that.”
With less than a week between the Pac-12 championship and the NCAA championship, the Bruins have already started preparation to defend their title, as the team is almost certain to make the trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama.
“We’ve been working a lot with blocking in practice,” Carey said. “Just decision-making, and being able to read whether the blocker is coming into hit and being able to take more space with our blocks, so that’s definitely helped me.”
The Undergraduate Students Association Council is the official student government representing the undergraduate student body at UCLA. Council meetings take place every Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Bruin Viewpoint Room and are open to all students. Watch a livestream of the meetings on the USAC Live! channel on YouTube.
Public comment:
Representatives from California Public Interest Research Group at UCLA said CALPIRG will host a “No Bees, No Spring” dinner at the Bruin Plate residential dining hall Wednesday and begin a pledge drive to sign up new CALPIRG members in the following week.
Justin Jackson, a former USAC general representative, asked the council to force judicial board to hear his petition claiming the election calendar is illegitimate.
Agenda:
The council allocated a total of $14,719 from the Contingency Programming Fund to USAC and non-USAC groups.
The council allocated $500 from discretionary funds to the Bruin Advocacy Grant.
The council allocated $3,035.88 from discretionary funds to Student Wellness Commission programming.
The council allocated $28,464.33 from discretionary funds for the Arts Restoring Community Referendum Funding.
The council allocated $10,000 from a budget for information technology expenses and an unused computer lab for programming.
The council allocated $15,000 from discretionary funds to UCLA Recreation for the creation of a commuter lounge.
The council approved resolutions in support of CALPIRG at UCLA’s “Save the Bees” and “Zero Hunger” campaigns.
The council appointed Nahian Arfin, a second-year international development studies student, as the election board publicity director.
The council approved an amendment to the election calendar to extend the student question submission period to 2 p.m. Wednesday and to move the candidate endorsement hearing to Wednesday at 6 p.m., the candidates’ debate to Thursday at 6 p.m. and the deadline by which student organizations must submit endorsement slips to Friday at 11:59 p.m.
The council approved an amendment to the election board code so that organizations who want to officially endorse candidates will no longer be required to attend the candidate endorsement hearing.
Reports:
Transfer student representative Jessica Kim said her office is partnering with Associated Students UCLA to host a casino night for students Thursday at 6 p.m. on Kerckhoff patio.
Facilities Commissioner Julia Ho-Gonzalez said her office and UCLA Transportation will raffle free Bruin Bike Share program memberships on the Facilities Commissioner Facebook page. She added student organizations interested in renting office space in Kerckhoff Hall for the 2019-2020 school year must submit applications to the Office Space Allocation Committee by May 3 at 5 p.m.
Student Wellness Commissioner George Louis Faour said his office will receive an order of crutches and other mobility aids Monday and begin implementing distribution centers for them across campus starting next week. He added Bruin Health Week begins Monday of week five.
UCLA student groups will be offering physical and mental health education and consultations at a health fair for refugees in the area.
The fair, hosted by the University Muslim Medical Association Volunteer Project, the Students Organize for Syria at UCLA and the Tiyya Foundation, will be held Saturday in South Los Angeles.
Fariha Hameed, a fourth-year psychobiology student and president of UVP, said she hopes the event will serve as many people as possible.
“Especially given the policies of this administration … (refugees) honestly don’t feel welcome here, and they’re part of our community, they have nowhere else to go,” Hameed said. “That’s part of the reason why we’re doing what we’re doing, because we have a moral and ethical obligation to help our neighbors, help people in our community (who are) in need.”
Hameed said she hopes the fair will raise awareness of the health care resources available to refugees in the area through the UMMA clinic.
Aya Ghoneum, a fourth-year molecular, cell and developmental biology student and vice president of the UCLA SOS chapter, said she joined the organization because she thought it was important to have an organization on campus specifically serving refugee communities.
“I’ve noticed ever since I’ve been a part of SOS that a lot of people want to help refugees, they watch the news and they hear all these horrible stories, and I think a lot of UCLA students feel kind of powerless because refugee (communities) seem removed,” Ghoneum said. “They want to be involved and they want to help them, they just don’t know how to access them.”
At the health fair, doctors, medical students and trained student volunteers will provide free blood pressure, glucose level and cholesterol readings, as well as body mass index checks.
“A lot of (refugees) don’t have access to things like that, and there’s the problem of the language barrier,” Ghoneum said. “Us as (SOS), a lot of our volunteers and board members can speak Arabic, and a lot of these refugees can only speak Arabic, so if we can bridge that language barrier – that I think will be very beneficial for them to look out for their health.”
The UCLA SOS chapter, founded last year, aids refugee communities in the Los Angeles area. Serene Hadaya, a third-year biology student and co-president of the UCLA SOS chapter, said the health fair combines the goals of both organizations to help local refugees acclimate as painlessly as possible.
“We’re going to the immediate needs of local refugees. … It’s an immediate solution for what is actually a long problem that has deeper roots,” Hadaya said.
The health fair is also meant to help many families that SOS already serves. The UCLA SOS chapter provides in-home English tutoring and hosts weekly soccer games for local refugee children.
“We want a lot of our volunteers to come out because they interact with our (refugee) families weekly, and we’re trying to get our families to also participate and go to the health fair,” Ghoneum said.
Ghoneum said there will also be mental health care professionals at the health fair, ready to give private consultations. Hameed said mental health treatment is especially important for refugees, many of whom may be affected by post-traumatic stress disorder.
“They’ve been through a tremendous amount of trauma, and often they’re from communities that kind of stigmatize mental health issues,” Ghoneum said. “Having those professionals, and having that outlet … available to them will be very helpful in the long run for them.”
The fair, which is designed to provide in-person support for local refugees, can be a valuable volunteering opportunity for students who have been frustrated about their inability to directly help displaced refugees, Ghoneum said.
“Don’t forget about the refugee community, because they’re here now and life can be very difficult for them,” Ghoneum said. “There are definitely avenues for you to help them – it doesn’t have to seem like a far away problem, because they’re our neighbors.”
A crowd erupted with cheers after witnessing a narrow basketball game win, filling a Westwood bar shoulder-to-shoulder.
Sports memorabilia and brightly lit signs lined the green walls, with customers crowding tables for a better view of the numerous television screens. Warm lights illuminated the bar, emanating out to the streets.
Guests have packed Sepi’s, a hole-in-the-wall sports bar on Le Conte Avenue, since hearing about its planned closure.
Since Sepi’s announced it would close its doors April 30 after 50 years in Westwood, visitors have brought back the bar’s former vibrancy, said Aaron Roberts, a Sepi’s employee and UCLA alumnus.
While the bar has seen a decline in business in the past two years, Roberts said many former regulars have returned since the announcement and that the bar has also seen an increased number of first-time customers in the last week.
Kifishia Kawachi, owner of Sepi’s, released a statement April 16, which said the sports bar was unable to relocate to a new location due to permit issues and costly appeals against its alcohol license filed by a community member involved with Westwood politics.
Community members responded to Kawachi’s announcement by creating a petition to save the establishment.
Grayson Peters, a member of the North Westwood Neighborhood Council and second-year political science student, helped organize the petition and gathered over 4,400 signatures in a week.
Peters said he thinks the strong response to the petition indicates how Sepi’s is a staple to the community.
While the petition has garnered community support, Alison Simard, a spokesperson for Councilmember Paul Koretz, said Koretz, who represents Westwood and its surrounding areas, cannot take any action because Kawachi withdrew her application to relocate and obtain an alcohol license.
The petition was intended to gather support for Sepi’s and expose the interfering community member, Peters said.
Joan Pelico, Koretz’s chief of staff, said in an email statement Koretz asked his planning deputy to work with the owners to identify future plans to bring Sepi’s back into Westwood.
Kawachi and her husband took over Sepi’s 10 years ago when the walls were crimson, illuminated by red bulbs.
“Nothing about the decor felt UCLA,” she said. “There was a small beer fridge with one tap handle – a Budweiser tap. It had one old cathode-ray TV in the back of the store and one little stereo to play music.”
Six months after they bought Sepi’s, the couple remodeled the restaurant to expand beer selections, changed its decor and added TVs and sound systems all over the restaurant, she said.
The original Sepi’s sandwiches, however, did not change.
In the 1970s, Sepi’s was a popular meet-up spot for locals and UCLA students, said Lisa Carton, a former student who lived near Westwood. Sepi’s was only a sandwich shop back then. While Carton was not a fan of the food, she often found herself ordering fries and conversing with friends there.
“If those walls could talk, you’d hear a lot of stories there,” Carton said.
Not a moment passed without commotion from the constant murmur of conversation over beers, music blasting from outdoor speakers or cheers roaring from basketball game viewers Tuesday evening.
Brian Tognolini, third-year civil engineering student, said he regularly visited Sepi’s to watch basketball games and socialize with friends.
“I’ve never had a bad memory here,” Tognolini said. “It’s a place you can depend on.”
In her time as Sepi’s owner, Kawachi said she has witnessed customers returning with their families, celebrated countless events and even comforted customers in times of need.
Kawachi said the business will close Tuesday, but she will continue to look for potential spots to one day reopen Sepi’s.
A student started a letter-writing campaign to a UCLA fraternity April 9 to address its treatment of sexual assault allegations.
Daphne Sinclaire, a second-year anthropology and geography student who organized the campaign, is collecting letters from students about their experiences with sexual assault and delivering them to fraternity Phi Kappa Psi. Sinclaire, a member of a sorority, said she hopes this will motivate the fraternity to amend and enforce policies that aim to prevent sexual violence and support survivors. Hundreds of letters from sororities at UCLA and other universities have been sent to the fraternity, she said.
Phi Kappa Psi was investigated by the Interfraternity Council and the UCLA Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life following allegations of sexual assault committed by one of the fraternity members in winter quarter, IFC President Joshua Kaplan said in an email statement.
The fraternity put itself on probation by not hosting any parties winter quarter in response to the allegations, but took itself off probation this quarter without taking any significant measures to address the issue, Sinclaire said.
The member accused of sexual assault has since been removed from the fraternity but still lives in the house. IFC and FSL found all procedures taken by the chapter executive board to be in line with university and IFC policy, Kaplan said.
Sinclaire said her frustration with what she felt was an inadequate response to sexual assault allegations initially led her to write a letter to them herself. She said she later decided to increase the scope of her initiative and collect letters from those who felt similarly.
Phi Kappa Psi did not respond to a request for comment.
Sinclaire said she wants IFC and Phi Kappa Psi to take further action in response to the allegations by removing the member from the house because she thinks his presence poses a risk to visitors.
Kaplan said the member is legally obligated to live in the house because he signed a lease agreement with the house corporation, but he is not allowed on the premises during any in-house events, including parties.
Sinclaire said she thinks fraternities should do more to educate their members about consent and sexual assault and implement stricter rules to prevent future incidents.
She said Phi Kappa Psi subsequently apologized at a Panhellenic meeting Wednesday for the party names, indicating that a third-party editor was responsible for the names.
“It just really bothered me that here, on a campus where we’re paying to go, we’re supposed to feel safe. UCLA has decided to do nothing to stop this,” Sinclaire said. “Especially when (the fraternities) are throwing parties titled ‘Get Lucky’ or ‘Out the Door,’ it’s almost being acknowledged that they’re not going to do anything.”
Kaplan said Phi Kappa Psi has taken significant action to prevent sexual assault and educate members since the allegations. However, he did not further elaborate on the specifics of the action taken.
Sinclaire added she thinks Phi Kappa Psi’s decision to postpone an event co-hosted with the UCLA Campus Assault Resources & Education Program from winter quarter to spring showed a lack of sincerity to change.
“The fraternity community has the chance to be leaders for how they deal with these issues, and I thought that would happen last year when all the frats were on probation, and it didn’t,” Sinclaire said.
Sinclaire also said she wants the university to provide greater support for survivors of sexual assault, who are currently expected to file a police report before any action can be taken against perpetrators.
“They’re putting all the responsibility on the person who has just survived this life-changing event. Now, it’s up to (the survivor) to protect everyone else and keep retelling (the) story,” she said. “Otherwise, they’re not going to do anything.”
UCPD Lt. Kevin Kilgore said in an email statement there were no cases of sexual assault within Phi Kappa Psi reported to university police in the last quarter.
Sinclaire said allegations have instead gone through the Title IX office, which has not been able to process these claims fast enough due to understaffing.
She said she hopes her campaign will raise awareness about sexual assault within Greek life communities for those outside of it and encourage UCLA to take stronger action against it.
“I think that awareness of the Phi Psi problem right now has remained largely within the Greek community, and I think that’s something that definitely needs to change,” she said. “If you go here, you have a right to information that helps you make the healthiest choices.”
