UCLA
Washington
Softball Downs Top-Seeded Washington, 3-2 in WCWS Play
May 27, 2000 | Softball
May 27, 2000
OKLAHOMA CITY - In a game that was suspended overnight due to weather conditions in Oklahoma City, the UCLA Bruins held on to defeat top-seeded Washington by a 3-2 margin. With the win, UCLA goes to 45-11-1 on the season, and is just one win away from playing in Monday's NCAA Championship game.
The Bruins played well on Friday evening, with starting pitcher Amanda Freed getting out of a bases loaded with one-out jam in the bottom of the first inning. In the top of the second, Julie Marshall led off with an opposite-field single. Lyndsey Klein followed with a fielders choice before Courtney Dale struck out for the second out of the inning.
Tairia Mims then came to the late and singled up the middle, advancing to second base when the Huskies threw to third base in an attempt to get Klein out at third base. Taking advantage of a Washington lapse, Klein and Mims then completed a double steal to score the game's first run.
Walks to Crissy Buck and Lupe Brambila loaded the bases, but UCLA was unable to capitalize further.
In the top of the third, Julie Adams singled to right, a hit that was followed by a Lyndsey Klein shot to left field, a home run that cleared the tent and bleachers in left field to give the Bruins a 3-0 lead.
UCLA left the bases loaded again in the top of the fifth, but the situation held until the bottom of the fifth inning, when Washington's Rosie Leutzinger led off with a walk, followed by a Kelly Hauxhurst strikeout and a single to left by Kim DePaul. A passed ball by Julie Marshall advanced the runners to second and third, and the Bruins had a 3-0 count in an intentional walk to UW's Jenny Topping when the game was suspended due to impending thunderstorms in the Oklahoma City area.
When the game resumed at 9 a.m. Saturday morning, Freed completed the intentional walk to Topping, bringing right fielder Jaime Clark to the plate. Clark hit a first-pitch double to left field, scoring Hauxhurst and DePaul and bringing the score to 3-2 UCLA. Two groundouts completed the inning for the Bruins. Neither team threatened the rest of the way and the Bruins earned the victory.
"I thought we did a great job of executing offensively yesterday," said UCLA head coach Sue Enquist. "I was pleased that we capitalized yesterday when Washington cracked the door, and I was pleased that Amanda responded after we cracked the door for them. That's the sign of a good pitcher."
"I didn't get much sleep last night," said Freed. "I think I had more command of my pitches today. I like to get into a rhythm with the hitters, but couldn't do that right away this morning. I hung it and she (Clark) took advantage. Basically, I just wanted to get out of that inning and start over, and we were able to do that."
UCLA's next game will be at Noon Central Time on Sunday, televised live on ESPN2. The Bruins opponent will be determined later today, and will be either DePaul, Alabama, or the loser of the Oklahoma/Southern Miss. game. The game will also be available on uclabruins.com
