Defense lapses as UW falls to Cal

It was an inning to forget for two teams.

The Washington and California softball teams combined for four errors and five unearned runs in the fourth Sunday in Berkeley, Calif. But the Huskies were on the wrong side of both those numbers with three errors and two runs scored.

Locked in a scoreless tie with the No. 6 Golden Bears, the eighth-ranked Huskies found themselves with the bases full in the top of the fourth. Sophomore Amanda Oleson led off the inning with a walk, advanced to second two batters later when sophomore Courtney Jeffries was hit by a pitch and moved to third on a two-out walk to freshman Steph Nicholson.

Senior Becky Simpson's high pop-up to shallow right field looked like it was going to be caught to get the Bears out of the inning. But when a lack of communication between Cal's second baseman and right fielder allowed the ball to drop between them, Oleson and Jeffries scooted home to put the Huskies on the board.

The Bears answered with three unearned runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. A lead-off walk and a throwing error by Washington shortstop Jaime Clark put runners on second and third with no outs before an intentional walk loaded the bases.

The Huskies looked like they might escape from the inning unscathed after center fielder Rita Roach caught a hard line drive and gunned the ball to second to double up on Cal's Candace Harper, but another walk loaded the bases again before a pair of errant throws scored all three runners.

Freshman third baseman Kathy Fiske missed her target on a throw to first to send two Cal runners home before sophomore right fielder Megan Owen, backing up the play, fired the ball into Cal's dugout to allow the third run to cross the plate. That set the score at 3-2, where it would stay for the remainder of the game.

No team is ever happy with so many defensive miscues, but for the Huskies, who are expected to make their ninth-straight postseason appearance next month, it's better now than in May.

"It's real frustrating, but you've gotta learn your lessons now and not in the postseason," said Jeffries, who finished the day one for two with a hit by a pitch.

Cal's Jocelyn Forest matched a season high by striking out 17 and helped the Bears improve to 9-6 in the Pac-10 and 45-16 overall. Sophomore Tia Bollinger took the loss for Washington, giving up three hits as the Huskies fell to 8-7, 39-15.

The game was the rubber match for the two schools, as the Huskies lost to Cal 4-1 two weeks ago in Seattle before upsetting the Bears 6-3 Saturday. Washington put three runs on the board in the top of the first with a bases-loaded single by Oleson and a two-run Cal error -- one of five the Bears would commit in Saturday's game.

The Bears answered with a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning before the Huskies added single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth. Washington's final run came on a solo shot to right-center by freshman Kristen Rivera for her 16th home run of the season.

Cal chased freshman Ashley Boek from the circle in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with a single and a pair of walks. Bollinger came on and allowed one run with a sacrifice fly to center field, but got the final two outs with a lineout and a groundout.

Friday, the Huskies completed a three-game sweep of No. 7 Stanford (4-11 Pac-10, 37-14 overall) with a 1-0 shutout in Palo Alto, Calif. The Huskies managed just one hit through six innings before Rivera was nailed on the left calf with a pitch from the Cardinal's Tori Nyberg to begin the seventh.

Sophomore Nicki Holt came on to run for Rivera, and with one out Fiske laid a perfect bunt down the third-base line that stayed fair to put runners on first and second for Jeffries.

Jeffries hit the first pitch she saw toward the left side, and when Stanford's third baseman couldn't make the play, Holt was able to score as the ball rolled into the outfield. Bollinger got the complete-game victory, retiring the Cardinal in order in the bottom of the seventh.

The Huskies hit the road again Friday with three games in Oregon, but hope this weekend's upsets can provide them with some momentum for the remainder of the Pac-10 schedule and beyond.

"We're working real hard at preparing for postseason and using every game as practice to get us ready for that," Jeffries said. "Coming down and going against teams that are ranked above us and doing a good job of making some adjustments -- we can look at good things."