UCLA Is Caught in Title Wave

After a seven-year drought in which it lost twice in the Women’s College World Series championship game, had its 1995 national championship taken away and was banned from postseason play in 1998, the UCLA softball team won its first national championship since 1992 Monday, and may have begun a new era of domination in the process.

The Bruins scored three runs in the first two innings and defeated Washington, 3-2, before 4,472 at Porter Hall of Fame Stadium and won the eighth softball national championship in school history.

Series most outstanding player Julie Adams, who had two hits for the third game in a row after dislocating her left shoulder in the Series opener, drove in the first two runs with a two-out single in the first. Courtney Dale added a home run in the second for the third run, and pitched four innings for the victory.

The Bruins (63-6) set the school record for victories in a season, the final in a series of school records this year’s team has set, including most hits, runs scored, home runs, runs batted in and stolen bases. And the Bruins return every starter next year.

“We didn’t play our best softball this weekend,” UCLA sophomore catcher Stacey Nuveman said. “We have to wait and see. But the potential is there for us to go above what we did this year.”

After hitting 20 home runs in 1997 as a freshman, Nuveman was one of six UCLA players to redshirt in 1998. This year, she led the nation in home runs and RBIs, finishing with 31 and 91, both school records.

She was only two for 12 with one RBI in the Series, but there was no shortage of heroes for UCLA. Adams, who sat out 1998 recovering from surgery on her shoulder, dislocated it for the second time this season against DePaul on Thursday. She will have surgery in the off-season.

But on Friday, she returned against Fresno State and scored the game’s only run. She was six for nine with two RBIs, a run scored and a stolen base in four games.

Junior Christie Ambrosi was six for 14 with a home run and two RBIs, Crissy Buck had a ninth-inning home run to win the Series opener against DePaul, 3-2, and Dale and Amanda Freed combined to go 4-0 with a save while giving up only three earned runs. Dale added a home run in each of the final two games.

After Adams gave UCLA a 2-0 lead over Washington (51-18) in the championship, Dale led off the second by putting a 2-1 curveball from Jennifer Spediacci over the left-center field bleachers, her sixth home run.

“I just wanted to make sure I hit it hard and got something started as the leadoff hitter,” said Dale, who, at 33-1, tied Lisa Fernandez’s school record for victories in a season.

Dale struggled somewhat on the mound, as the leadoff batter reached base in each of her four innings. But thanks to a flawless defense and two inning-ending strikeouts, Dale gave up only one run before Freed pitched three innings for the save.

Although UCLA led the entire game, Washington was in it to the final out, after having already scored a run to pull within 3-2. But Becky Newbry’s hard ground ball was fielded by second baseman Lyndsey Klein, who threw to shortstop Buck for a forceout.

“I felt we would’ve won it if we could’ve tied it up,” Washington Coach Teresa Wilson said. “Becky hit the ball hard, just right at somebody.”

It was actually the second time UCLA won its eighth national championship. The Bruins won in 1995, but the championship was vacated after the NCAA ruled the school had violated scholarship allotment rules.

After sitting out postseason play in 1998, UCLA was restricted this season to only eight scholarships, rather than 12, an obstacle Coach Sue Enquist was most proud to overcome.

But, Enquist added, the NCAA penalties were not a source of motivation or a feeling of vindication for her team.

“The plan was, once we started back [to practice] for ’99 was to be internally motivated,” Enquist said. “It was not about vindication. We competed every day for one another.”

In fact, the bigger source for motivation for the players was their 10-2 loss to Arizona in the 1997 championship.

“We definitely had a different mentality today than we did that Monday in ‘97,” Adams said. “Today we just wanted to take it.”

Said Nuveman: “We definitely felt this was our tournament. We wanted to make amends for ’97 and last season.”

As for next season, the biggest obstacle between UCLA and a repeat should be Washington. The Huskies, who ended UCLA’s 35-0 start and handed the Bruins two losses, lose only one senior.

The seven years between championships are the most for UCLA since the Women’s College World Series began in 1982. But there won’t be another seven-year drought if Nuveman gets her way.

“It could be a very fun few years for UCLA softball,” she said.

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UCLA’s Parade of Championships

NCAA SOFTBALL CHAMPIONS

1982: UCLA

1983: Texas A&M;

1984: UCLA

1985: UCLA

1986: Cal State Fullerton

1987: Texas A&M;

1988: UCLA

1989: UCLA

1990: UCLA

1991: Arizona

1992: UCLA

1993: Arizona

1994: Arizona

1995: *UCLA

1996: Arizona

1997: Arizona

1998: Fresno State

1999: UCLA

* UCLA vacated the 1995 championship because of NCAA infractions.

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UCLA CHAMPIONSHIPS BY SPORT

Men’s volleyball: 17

Men’s tennis: 15

Men’s basketball: 11

Softball: 8

Men’s track and field: 8

Men’s water polo: 5

Men’s soccer: 3

Women’s volleyball: 3

Men’s gymnastics: 2

Women’s track and field: 2

Men’s golf: 1

Women’s golf: 1

Men’s swimming: 1

Women’s gymnastics: 1

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SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

UCLA: 8

Arizona: 5

Texas A&M;: 2

Cal State Fullerton: 1

Fresno State: 1