HAVE MERCY: ARIZONA BEATS UCLA IN FIVE : ARIZONA 10, UCLA 2.Byline: Daily News Wire Services Arizona didn't even need the whole seven innings for its second straight NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association Softball World Series championship. The Wildcats beat UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX 10-2 Monday in a title game that was called after five innings because of the eight-run mercy rule A mercy rule, also well known by the slightly less polite term slaughter rule (or, less commonly, knockout rule and skunk rule), brings a sports event to an early end when one team has a very large and presumably insurmountable lead over the other team. . It was the fifth national championship for Arizona (61-5) and it was the third time it has defeated the Bruins (49-14), a fellow member of the Pac-10, in the championship game. ``It is difficult at this time to have perspective because the loss stings so much,'' said UCLA coach Sue Enquist. ``It is important for this team to understand how far they have come. . . .'' Junior pitcher Nancy Evans, a medical redshirt last season with a broken right foot, threw a five-hitter and also got the offense going with a two-run double in the top of the first. Evans (36-2), a former Hoover High School Hoover High School may refer to any of the following:
``It is hard to come from behind against a team like Arizona,'' said Enquist. ``Nancy Evans pitched beautifully.'' Four players - Alison Johnsen, Katie Swan, Leah O'Brien Leah Marie Amico-O'Brien (born September 9, 1974 in Garden Grove, California) is an American softball player, best known for her gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games. Awards and Honors
v. shrove or shrived, shriv·en or shrived, shriv·ing, shrives v.tr. 1. To hear the confession of and give absolution to (a penitent). 2. - each had two hits for the Wildcats, who added four runs in both the second and fifth innings. Evans' double was their only extra-base hit ex·tra-base hit n. Baseball A double, a triple, or a home run. . UCLA, which took its second-worst loss of the season, scored in the second inning on back-to-back homers by Julie Adams and Julie Marshall. Christa Williams (21-8, 4-2) allowed 11 hits and 10 runs for the Bruins. She walked five, including three in a row in the second, and struck out seven. ``When you give up two runs in the first inning, it is hard to think that it is going to be your day,'' said Williams. ``I knew that we had come back from large deficits before. We were in the ballgame until they busted the floodgates open.'' UCLA was nearly denied a chance to participate in the tournament. The entire UCLA athletic program was placed on probation for three years on May 6 following an NCAA investigation into the Bruins 1995 softball team, which won the national championship. The school was ordered to forfeit that championship. In addition, the current team was barred from this year's NCAA Tournament. UCLA appealed the ruling on May 7, making the Bruins eligible for the tournament, since the appeal won't be heard until sometime this summer. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: (color) Arizona's Nancy Evans, a Hoover High alumna, led win over Bruins. Associated Press |
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