Game Resumed and Bruins Beat Huskies

Amanda Freed, UCLA’s talented sophomore pitcher, looked tired Saturday as the Bruins prepared to resume a Women’s College World Series game against Washington that had been called Friday night because of lightning and rain.

Freed’s eyes were a little red after not getting much sleep Friday night and she had a thick pack of ice on her right shoulder.

But there was nothing wrong with Freed’s arm. It had plenty of life.

After allowing a two-run double when play resumed in the fifth inning, Freed shut down the top-seeded Huskies the rest of the way to give the Bruins a 3-2 victory at Don Porter Hall of Fame Stadium.

When play was halted Friday night, the Bruins (45-11-1) had a 3-0 lead, but the Huskies (62-8) were mounting a rally against Freed, who had walked five and had trouble with her control throughout.

Even without much sleep, Freed was considerably sharper Saturday once she settled down.

In the final two innings, she allowed only a walk to power-hitting catcher Jenny Topping.

“I felt a lot better out there on the mound,” Freed said. “I did have more command.”

UCLA’s win was critical. A loss would have dropped the Bruins into an elimination game late Saturday evening.

Instead, they are now 2-0 in the Series and showing no signs of relinquishing their NCAA title. They will play Southern Mississippi in a semifinal game today at 10 a.m. PDT. Southern Mississippi advanced with a 3-0 victory over Alabama, which earlier lost to UCLA.

“You don’t want things to come easy,” UCLA Coach Sue Enquist said. “You don’t want to get a false sense of confidence. These players have been tested. It builds their confidence.”

After Freed intentionally walked Topping to load the bases in the fifth inning, right fielder Jaime Clark drilled Freed’s first pitch into left center to score Rosie Leutzinger and Kim DePaul.

“I don’t do real well when I think too much [at the plate],” Clark said. “I find that I do so much better when I don’t think. You can’t wait around with a pitcher like Amanda.”

With the winning runs on base, Freed got out of the jam by enticing groundouts from Jennifer Spediacci and Melissa Downs.

UCLA has made it clear that it plans to ride Freed as far as she can go. Freed won all four games in the regionals and has both World Series wins.

“I thought Amanda did a great job of responding after we cracked the door for them,” Enquist said. “That’s just the sign of a good pitcher. Somebody that can set a plan, [see it] fall short, regroup and then go right back at them.”

Washington Coach Teresa Wilson was somewhat impressed.

“She had a lot more control of her pitches today,” Wilson said. “She got a couple of calls on the outside corner that helped.”

In other games Saturday, Arizona stayed alive with a 6-0 victory over California, which was eliminated, and DePaul was ousted by Alabama, 6-4.