NCAA Softball : UCLA Needs One Win to Clinch Championship

No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Fresno State will meet for the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. softball championship today at 1:30 p.m. in Sunnyvale, Calif.

UCLA (52-7), the only team to go undefeated in the double-elimination championship series, beat No. 5 Cal Poly Pomona, 4-1, Saturday night to advance to the championship game. The loss was Pomona’s second, knocking the Broncos out of the competition. Samantha Ford (18-4) got the win for UCLA.

Fresno, which committed an NCAA tournament-record seven errors in Friday’s 6-1 loss to UCLA, fought off elimination Saturday with a nine-inning, 1-0 victory over No. 7 Nebraska (39-20) and a 4-0 win over No. 6 Arizona. Carrie Dever (26-6) picked up both wins for Fresno.

UCLA needs just one win to lock up the school’s fifth national softball championship. Fresno, because of its one loss, will have to defeat the Bruins twice today in order to take the championship. Should Fresno win the first game, a second game would follow.

UCLA has won all seven games played between the schools. Three of the wins came this season: UCLA’s 6-1 victory Friday and a 5-1, 5-3 doubleheader sweep Feb. 14 in Fresno.

Earlier Saturday, UCLA defeated Arizona, 5-0. Lisa Longaker (28-3) was the winning pitcher. Pomona had advanced to its UCLA matchup with a 1-0 win over No. 10 Texas A&M; (43-21). Pitcher Nicky Luce (25-8) went the distance for the win, and Denise Correa’s solo home run in seventh was the game-winner.

Pomona (57-16) and Arizona (54-18) finished tied for third in the tournament.