Huskies face OSU, Oregon at home

May 1, 2009, 12:00 AM

At a time when the Pac-10 softball race is heating up, Washington is catching the most desirable part of its schedule. A lot of it has to do with the fact that the Huskies are in the middle of a season-ending, seven-game home stand - one that began Wednesday with a 3-0 win over UCLA. But also, the Huskies will host Oregon and Oregon State, the conference's bottom two teams and likely the only two squads in the conference that won't be selected for the postseason, in a three-game set starting today at Husky Softball Stadium. The UW is undefeated against both Oregon schools, topping the Ducks and beating OSU twice during three games in Eugene and Corvallis two weekends ago. To top it off, Seattle sports fans seem to finally be taking notice of what the Huskies are doing. Sunday's game against Oregon is nearly sold out already, as only 30 infield seats remain. About 150 outfield tickets are still available. Lawrie fired up If you watched closely during the Huskies' win over UCLA Wednesday, you saw Danielle Lawrie show a little more emotion than usual - big strikeouts followed by fist pumps and more energetic, congratulatory high-fives at the ends of innings. It's something she said has been different all season. "It's an emotional game," Lawrie said. "This season, I just get a lot more into it and get a lot more pumped up than I used to." The last time the Huskies played the Beavers - today's opponent - it was Lawrie whose off-field presence sparked an offensive explosion. She told her team after a 1-0 win that she wasn't happy with the lack of energy and enthusiasm they were showing in the dugout. A lot of it, she said, had to do with how good she thinks the Huskies can be. "We're a better team than we ever have been," Lawrie said. "And when you score runs and get strikeouts, those are big moments. Before, I never really looked at them like I should have. It's kind of how I look at it now." Lineup shake up It's no secret that the Huskies' Achilles heel this season has been their lack of production in the batter's box. So against UCLA Wednesday, UW head coach Heather Tarr tried to remedy her team's shaky performance against the Bruins the first time around by mixing some freshmen into the lineup. Seldom-used players Niki Williams and Taylor Smith both got the start against UCLA ace Megan Langenfeld, something Tarr said was just a product of trying to take advantage of the best matchups possible. "The neat thing I think in the end about our team is that we have depth," Tarr said. "And any given day, any nine can play, and whether we're ripping the cover off the ball or not right now, that's ultimately not a big huge crazy concern to us. It's more of get the right combo and get the right hitting that we need." Reach sports editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.

Stay up to Date

Subscribe to our weekly newsletters covering the news, arts, and sports.

Huskies face OSU, Oregon at home

Disruptor interrupts Psych 210, professor and students chase man on to Red Square

2025 Seattle and King County primary election endorsements

UW mechanical engineering students are now required to pay $250 quarterly fee to participate in department-affiliated RSOs

College Inn Pub reopens under new ownership