The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- June 7, 1999

UCLA ends softball championship drought with 3-2 victory

BY HEATHER YOST
STAFF WRITER

OKLAHOMA CITY -- UCLA claimed the Women's College World Series title May 31 with a 3-2 victory over Washington at Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium.

It was the first time since 1992 the Bruins had claimed the national championship.

"It's always special," UCLA head coach Sue Enquist said. "You always have people on your team who have never been here before. That is what it is all about for a coach. The kids develop, work hard, carry out the plan then finally get to savor something like this."

UCLA opened the title game swinging away and took a two-run lead before Washington stepped to the plate. Julie Adams, who was named the tournament's most outstanding player, registered two RBIs on a single to left field during her first at-bat. In the second inning, Courtney Dale completed the UCLA scoring in the game with a solo home run to left field.

Washington scored its only run of the championship game in the second inning when Erin Helgeland singled to score Jennifer Spediacci, who had coaxed an inning-opening walk.

Dale earned the win from the mound for UCLA, halting an eight-game winning streak for Washington. The Huskies had scored three or more runs in every game of the Women's College World Series and had allowed only one run in seven postseason contests before the loss.

Washington advanced to the title game undefeated in WCWS play, notching wins over Arizona State, California and Arizona.

UCLA, which set a school record for wins in a season with a 67-6 slate, also advanced to the championship undefeated but was pushed to extra innings twice by DePaul. The Bruins won every game by one run.

UCLA also beat defending champion Fresno State on its way to the title.

Adams, a third baseman, earned most-outstanding-player honors after posting a .667 batting average and compiling two RBIs, one walk, seven total bases, a run, a stolen base and a .778 slugging percentage. Her accomplishments came despite separating her left shoulder during the opening game of the WCWS.

The Bruins also added Dale, Amanda Freed and Christie Ambrosi to the all-tournament team, and Washington's Spediacci, Kim DePaul and Melissa Downs also were honored. DePaul placed Katy Carter and Julie Luna on the all-tournament squad, along with Fresno State's Amanda Scott and Lovieanne Jung and California's Lisa Iancin.

A total of 24,002 fans witnessed play during the five-day tournament. A crowd of 4,472, the fifth largest crowd in WCWS history, saw the championship game.

CHAMPIONSHIP SUMMARY

Regionals:

At UCLA -- UCLA 7, Alabama 0; Cal St. Northridge 7, Missouri 3; Minnesota 2, Creighton 0; Missouri 1, Alabama 0; UCLA 14, Creighton 0; Minnesota 2, Cal St. Northridge 1; Missouri 3, Cal St. Northridge 1; UCLA 5, Minnesota 0; Missouri 3, Minnesota 0; UCLA 12, Missouri 5. (UCLA advances.)

At Arizona -- Arizona 9, East Caro. 1 (5 inn.); Kansas 5, Southeast Mo. St. 1; Maryland 5, Southwest Tex. St. 0; Southeast Mo. St. 2, East Caro. 1; Arizona 8, Southwest Tex. St. 0 ; Maryland 1, Kansas 0; Kansas 3, Southeast Mo. St. 1; Maryland 7, Arizona 3; Arizona 6, Kansas 1; Arizona 10, Maryland 5 (5 inn.); Arizona 8, Maryland 0 (5 inn.). (Arizona advances.)

At Washington -- Washington 8, Colgate 0 (6 inn.); Texas A&M 8, Hawaii 4; Cal St. Fullerton 12, Tennessee 1 (5 inn.); Hawaii 7, Colgate 2; Washington 12, Tennessee 1 (5 inn.); Cal St. Fullerton 2, Texas A&M 1; Hawaii 8, Texas A&M 3; Washington 1, Cal St. Fullerton 0; Hawaii 4, Cal St. Fullerton 3; Washington 3, Hawaii 0. (Washington advances.)

At Fresno St. -- Fresno St. 5, Fla. A&M 0; Texas Tech 1, South Carolina 0; Pacific 6 (Cal.), Stanford 5; South Carolina 2, Fla. A&M 0; Fresno St. 5, Stanford 2; Texas Tech 1, Pacific (Cal.) 0; South Carolina 2, Pacific (Cal.) 1; Fresno St. 3, Texas Tech 1; Texas Tech 4, South Carolina 1; Fresno St. 5, Texas Tech 0. (Fresno St. advances.)

At LSU -- LSU 12, Southern U. 0; Oklahoma 3, Long Beach St. 1; Southern Miss. 1, Oregon St. 0; Long Beach St. 8, Southern U. 0 (5 inn.); Oregon St. 3, LSU 0; Southern Miss. 5, Oklahoma 0; LSU 7, Oklahoma 3; Oregon St. 3, Long Beach St. 0; Southern Miss. 4, LSU 3; Ore-

gon St. 9, Southern Miss. 1 (6 inn.); Southern Miss. 4, Oregon St. 0. (Southern Miss. advances.)

At Michigan -- Fla. Atlantic 2, Michigan 0; Nebraska 2, Notre Dame 0; Arizona St. 2, Central Mich. 1; Notre Dame 1, Michigan 0; Fla Atlantic 8, Central Mich. 3; Arizona St. 1, Nebraska 0; Nebraska 4, Notre Dame 3; Arizona St. 2, Fla. Atlantic 1; Nebraska 4, Fla. Atlantic 2 (8 inn.); Nebraska 2, Arizona St. 1 (8 inn.); Arizona St. 4, Nebraska 2. (Arizona St. advances.)

At Massachusetts -- Southwestern La. 15, Manhattan 0 (5 inn.); Massachusetts 3, LIU-Brooklyn 2; California 5, Hofstra 4; LIU-Brooklyn 4, Manhattan 3; Southwestern La. 5, Hostra 1; California 1, Massachusetts 0; Massachusetts 3, LIU-Brooklyn 0; Southwestern La. 2, California 1; California 2, Massachusetts 0; California 3, Southwestern La. 0; California 8, Southwestern La. 1. (California advances.)

At Ill.-Chicago -- Texas 8, Cornell 0 (6 inn.); DePaul 4, Michigan St. 1; Ill.-Chicago 1, Oregon 0; Michigan St. 9, Cornell 1; Oregon 6, Texas 0; DePaul 4, Ill.-Chicago 0; Ill.-Chicago 4, Texas 1; Michigan St. 9, Oregon 1 (6 inn.); DePaul 5, Ill.-Chicago 1; DePaul 2, Michigan St. 0. (DePaul advances.)

Women's College World Series

Game No. 1

DePaul -- 100 -- 000 -- 100 -- 2 -- 5 -- 2

UCLA -- 000 -- 001 -- 101 -- 3 -- 6 -- 2

Nicole Terpstra, Liza Brown (8) and Katy Carter. Courtney Dale and Stacey Nuveman. W -- Dale. L -- Brown. HR -- Christie Ambrosi (UCLA), Crissy Buck (UCLA).

Game No. 2

Southern Miss. -- 000 -- 000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 4 -- 0

Fresno St. -- 001 -- 000 -- x -- 1 -- 6 -- 0

Courtney Blades and Kenya Peters. Amanda Scott and Jennifer Slaney. W-- Scott. L -- Blades.

Game No. 3

Arizona State -- 000 -- 000 -- 1-- 1 -- 5 -- 2

Washington -- 000 -- 004 -- x -- 4 -- 5 -- 2

Kirsten Voak and Bonnie Brannen. Jamie Graves, Jennifer Spediacci (4) and Jeanine Giordano. W -- Spediacci. L -- Voak.

Game No. 4

California -- 000 -- 000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 4 -- 0

Arizona -- 001 -- 101 -- x -- 3 -- 5 -- 1

Jocelyn Forest and Megumi Takasaki. Becky Lemke and Lindsey Collins. W -- Lemke. L -- Forest. HR -- Collins (Arizona).

Game No. 5

UCLA -- 000 -- 000 -- 1 -- 1 -- 4 -- 0

Fresno St. -- 000 -- 000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 5 -- 2

Amanda Freed and Stacey Nuveman. Amanda Scott and Jennifer Slaney. W -- Freed. L -- Scott.

Game No. 6

Washington -- 002 -- 100 -- 0 -- 3 -- 5 -- 1

Arizona -- 000 -- 000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0

Jennifer Spediacci and Jeanine Giordano. Jennie Finch, Becky Lemke (3) and Lindsey Collins. W -- Spedicacci. L -- Finch.

Game No. 7

Southern Miss. -- 000 -- 000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 3 -- 0

DePaul -- 010 -- 000 -- x -- 1 -- 2 -- 0

Courtney Blades and Kenya Peters. Nicole Terpstra and Katy Carter. HR -- Julie Luna (DePaul).

Game No. 8

California -- 000 -- 101 -- 0 -- 2 -- 3 -- 1

Arizona St. -- 000 -- 000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 4 -- 1

Nicole DiSalvio and Megumi Takasaki. Erica Beach, Kirsten Voak (5) and Andrea Rodgers.W -- DiSalvio. L -- Beach. HR -- Lisa Iancin (California).

Game No. 9

Arizona -- 000 -- 000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 2 -- 0

DePaul -- 000 -- 100 -- x -- 1 -- 3 -- 0

Becky Lemke and Lindsey Collins. Liza Brown and Katy Carter. W -- Brown. L -- Lemke.

Game No. 10

Fresno St. -- 000 -- 000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 5 -- 0

California -- 010 -- 000 -- x -- 1 -- 3 -- 1

Kristen Hunter, Amanda Scott (3) and Jennifer Slaney. Jocelyn Forest and Megumi Takasaki. W -- Forest. L -- Hunter.

Game No. 11

DePaul -- 010 -- 000 -- 00 -- 1 -- 4 -- 1

UCLA -- 000 -- 010 -- 01 -- 2 -- 8 -- 2

Nicole Terpstra and Katy Carter. Amanda Freed and Stacey Nuveman. W -- Freed. L -- Terpstra. HR -- Courtney Dale (UCLA).

Game No. 12

Washington -- 100 -- 110 -- 0 -- 3 -- 7 -- 2

California -- 000 -- 000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 4 -- 2

Jennifer Spediacci, Jamie Graves (5) and Jeanine Giordano. Nicole DiSalvio, Jocelyn Forest (5) and Megumi Takasaki. W -- Spediacci. L -- DiSalvio.

Championship game

UCLA -- AB -- R -- H -- RBI -- BB -- SO -- PO -- A

Christie Ambrosi, cf -- 4 -- 0 -- 2 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Amanda Freed, lf/p -- 3 -- 1 -- 2 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 2

Lyndsey Klein, 2b -- 4 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 3 -- 3

Karen Hoshizaki, dh -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Julie Adams, 3b -- 3 -- 0 -- 2 -- 2 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1

Julie Marshall, 1b -- 3 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 2 -- 9 -- 0

Courtney Dale, p/dh -- 2 -- 1 -- 1 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 4

Erin Rahn, lf -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 1 -- 0

Crissy Buck, ss -- 3 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 1 -- 3

Lupe Brambila, rf -- 3 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 2 -- 1 -- 0

Stacey Nuveman, c -- 3 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 5 -- 0

Totals -- 29 -- 3 -- 8 -- 3 -- 0 -- 6 -- 21 -- 13

Washington -- AB -- R -- H -- RBI -- BB -- SO -- PO -- A

Rosie Leutzinger, ss -- 2 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 1 -- 1 -- 1

Kelly Hauxhurst, lf -- 2 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0

Kim DePaul, 3b -- 4 -- 0 -- 1 -- 1 -- 0 -- 2 -- 1 -- 1

Becky Newbry, rf -- 4 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0

Jennifer Spediacci, p/dh -- 1 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 2 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1

Melissa Downs, 1b -- 3 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 5 -- 0

Becky Simpson, pr -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Erin Helgeland, cf -- 3 -- 0 -- 1 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 4 -- 0

Christie Rosenblad, 2b -- 3 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 2

Shannon Walsh, dh -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0

Jamie Graves, dh/p -- 1 -- 1 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Jeanine Giordano, c -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 7 -- 0

Totals -- 24 -- 2 -- 5 -- 2 -- 3 -- 5 -- 21 -- 5

UCLA -- 210 -- 000 -- 0 -- 3 -- 8 -- 0

Washington -- 010 -- 000 -- 1 -- 2 -- 5 -- 0

UCLA -- IP -- H -- R -- ER -- BB -- SO

Courtney Dale -- 4.0 -- 3 -- 1 -- 1 -- 2 -- 3

Amanda Freed -- 3.0 -- 2 -- 1 -- 1 -- 1 -- 2

Washington -- IP -- H -- R -- ER -- BB -- SO

Jennifer Spediacci -- 6.0 -- 7 -- 3 -- 3 -- 0 -- 6

Jamie Graves -- 1.0 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

W -- Dale. L -- Spediacci. S -- Freed. HR -- Dale. SB -- Adams. WP -- Spediacci. U -- Rudloff, Smith and Davis. T -- 2:10. A -- 4,472.