University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Women's Softball Prepares for Cal and Stanford
March 26, 1998
Sat., March 28 No. 21 Cal Easton Stadium 11:00 a.m.
Sun., March 29 No. 14 Stanford Easton Stadium 1:00 p.m.
THIS WEEK... After an 18-day layoff following its 4-3 victory over Notre Dame on 3/10, the UCLA softball team (10-7 overall; 0-0 Pac-10) returns to action this weekend for its 1998 Pac-10 Conference opener. The Bruins will host No. 21 Cal on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and No. 14 Stanford on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Both meetings are doubleheaders and will be played at UCLA's Easton Softball Stadium, located just off of Bellagio on the northwest end of the UCLA campus.
MOST RECENT... Jenny Gardner's one out, seventh-inning sacrifice fly and Karen Hoshizaki's single to center in the bottom of the 10th, scored Bruin leftfielder Lupe Brambila from third and helped UCLA to a 4-3 victory over Notre Dame on March 10 at UCLA's Easton Softball Stadium. In that game, Bruin Pitcher Stephanie Swenson didn't allow an earned run on the afternoon as she picked up the complete-game victory and improved to 4-5 on the year. Other bright spots for UCLA included Kim Wuest, who went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI and Marin Noack, who was 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored.
GOLDEN BEAR NOTES
Ranking: No. 21 NFCA/USA Today
1998 Record: 20-11 Overall; 0-2 Pac-10
This Week: Prior to its game with UCLA this Saturday, Cal will host Cal Poly SLO this Wednesday in Berkeley.
Series History: UCLA leads the series 46-11. The Bruins went 4-1 against the Golden Bears in 1997, splitting the double-header in Berkeley (L 0-7, W 11-1) and then coming back to sweep Cal at home 6-5 and 3-0.
Top Player: The Golden Bears are led by sophomore second baseman Lisa Iancin, who is one of only two players to have played and started in all 31 games this season. As of 3/24, Iancin was leading the team in batting (.362), hits (34), slugging percentage (.521) and on base percentage (.408). She also ranked second on the team in RBI (14) and home runs (3).
Pitcher: As of 10/24, Whitney Floyd was 10-6 with an 1.00 ERA.
CARDINAL NOTES
Ranking: No. 14 NFCA/USA Today
1998 Record: 17-4 Overall; 2-0 Pac-10
This Week: Prior to its game with UCLA on Sunday, Stanford will host Harvard and Kansas and will be in Seattle on Saturday, for a doubleheader with No. 3 Washington.
Series History: UCLA leads the series 21-2. The two teams faced off earlier this season at the Campbell/Cartier Classic (2/19), with Stanford taking the single game 8-7 in extra innings. In that game, UCLA jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, behind Carissa Millsap's three-run double and Kim Wuest's two-run home run. Stanford, however, rallied for a five-run fifth inning, which helped give the Cardinal the slim 8-7 victory. Prior its win at the Campbell/Cartier, Stanford's only victory over UCLA was a 6-5 road win last season at Easton Softball Stadium.
Top Player: Michele Acosta, who has started all 21 games, leads the Cardinal in five offensive categories, including hitting (.406), RBI (17), hits (28), home runs (2) and doubles (6).
Pitcher: Becky Blevins is coming off a two-hit shutout against No. 23 Texas Tech on 3/21 and a no-hitter versus Harvard on 3/24. She owns an impressive 11-1 record.
BRUINS HONORED...Following UCLA's trip to Fresno, junior rightfielder Lesley Feldman was selected to the Fresno State Classic All-Tournament Team. Her two-RBI single in the bottom of the first against Kansas on 3/7, helped UCLA to an early 3-0 lead and an eventual 6-3 victory. For the four-game classic, she was 2-for-5 with two RBI and no errors. Along with Feldman, Nicole Odom, Laurie Fritz and Kim Wuest were selected to the Campbell/Cartier All-Tournament Team Feb. 19-22 in San Diego.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP...With one of the youngest teams in recent years, UCLA seniors Kim Wuest, Nicole Odom and Laurie Fritz have all stepped up and performed well this season. Wuest currently leads the Bruins in nearly every statistical offensive category as she owns a .388 batting average with 19 hits, four home runs, 12 RBI and four doubles. Her .714 slugging percentage and .524 on base percentage are also tops on the team. Fritz, who had to miss the Fresno State Classic and UCLA's last game vs. Notre Dame due to a shoulder injury, is second on the team in batting with a .361 average, and joins Karen Hoshizaki as the team leader in triples with two. Odom, after sitting out the entire '97 season following shoulder surgery, is batting .360 with 18 hits, two home runs and seven RBI.
FOR THE RECORD...With her home run against Santa Clara on 1/25, Bruin senior Kim Wuest etched her name into the UCLA record books as the team's all-time career home run leader with 21. She surpassed current UCLA assistant coach Jennifer Brundage and redshirt Stacey Nuveman, who were tied atop the chart with 20 apiece. Along with home runs, Wuest has also moved up from 11th to ninth on the career RBI chart as she now has 92 for her career. Senior Nicole Odom has also moved from 13th to fourth place on the career hit list with 179 and is currently in seventh place on the career RBI chart with an even 100.
* The 1997 National runner-up UCLA Bruins will not be eligible to participate in the 1998 postseason, however, will return to tournament action in 1999.