LOOK OF A WINNER : Tiffany Boyd, Former Star at Woodbridge High, Pitches In to Give UCLA a Shot at National Title

The intense stare that helped Tiffany Boyd earn the 1987 and ’88 Southern Section 2-A softball player of the year awards is stronger than ever.

Boyd, a freshman at UCLA, is 12-2 with 121 strikeouts and only 20 walks in 97 innings. She has allowed three earned runs for a 0.22 earned-run average for the Bruins (32-2), who are ranked second in the nation.

“I never expected to come in here and pitch this great,” said Boyd, who is scheduled to face fourth-ranked Cal State Fullerton (40-10) today in a doubleheader that begins at 4 p.m. at Titan Field.

“This (success) might just get (me) a ring on (my) finger that says NCAA champions,” said Boyd, who was a star at Woodbridge High School. “It’s not out of our reach.”

It’s strange that Boyd talks so easily about helping her team to a national championship. About five months ago, she didn’t expect to do much more than watch and learn from the bench as pitchers Samantha Ford and All-American Lisa Longaker took care of things.

But now, Boyd and Longaker have taken over the bulk of the Bruins’ mound work and boast comparable statistics. Longaker is 14-1 with a 0.21 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 98 innings.

“We recruited her to come right in and play,” UCLA Coach Sharron Backus said. “She’s right there with some of the better pitchers UCLA has had.”

Boyd was successful right off the bat, throwing a one-hitter against St. Mary’s in her debut.

That started a streak of 24 scoreless innings that ended March 6, when Cal Poly Pomona scored the only earned run Boyd has allowed all season in a 2-1 UCLA victory.

Until this past weekend, Boyd had allowed one earned run in 91 innings. But on Saturday, sixth-ranked Arizona scored twice against Boyd, despite her three-hitter in a 2-1 loss.

In all, she has allowed five runs. One of those came as a result of her error in UCLA’s 2-1 victory over Fresno State and former county rival Terry Carpenter of Edison.

Now, she will get to pitch again in Orange County.

“I’ve been home twice since I left and it will be good to be back home,” Boyd said. “A lot of my friends will be there and my parents will be there. Plus, Fullerton is such a good team.

“There is such a great rivalry between UCLA and Cal State Fullerton. It’s going to be a war out there. But it will be good to play against people I know. I guess it will be a chance for me to say, ‘You can’t forget about Tiffany.’

“Actually, I don’t think anyone from Orange County expected me to do this well. I was always considered one step below Terry (Carpenter) and Michele (Granger of Valencia). I had no idea this would happen, though.”

For Boyd, it has been a smooth transition from high school to Division I softball, despite the differences.

“The whole game is different,” Boyd said. “As a hitter, you have a much better chance with the three extra feet (from the pitching rubber to the plate).

“You still have the dominant pitchers, but there’s not as many. I’m not going to strike out 18 every game. Just to get eight strikeouts is awesome.”

She is averaging 8.6 strikeouts per game. Her fastball has been clocked at 67 m.p.h. this season, compared to 63 m.p.h. in high school.

“I don’t feel like I can lose right now,” Boyd said. “But I don’t get cocky or overconfident. I know that I’ll push myself to be at the level I should be at.”