Monday, January 26, 1998
Bruins wave red flag in Toros’ face
BASEBALL Excellent pitching
performance, defense equal victory for Bruins, despite young
starters
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Staff
The No. 18 UCLA baseball team started and ended with a bang in
their home opener.
Junior Jack Santora, who hit only two home runs in 90 at-bats
last year, led off the game with a swing to straight center field.
The ball barely cleared the 390 mark and the Bruins were up 1-0 in
a heartbeat.
Then in the bottom of the eighth, fifth-year senior Cassidy
Olson got a hold of a fastball high and away and drove it the
opposite way for a two-run homer and a 6-4 lead. The Bruins (1-0)
then held off another Cal State Dominguez (0-1) comeback to win by
a final score of 6-5.
"I was having a bad day, things were really not going my way and
I wasn’t getting the calls," Olson said. "I was really just trying
to get a base hit to score Eric (Byrnes)."
The Bruins are not expected to match last year’s offensive
output that led them to a College World Series appearance –
especially with three freshman starters (Chase Utley at shortstop,
Matt Pearl at left and Garrett Atkins at third). Nevertheless, UCLA
did find a way to win.
"For a first game, I’m very pleased," UCLA head coach Gary Adams
said. "I wanted a close game to kind of get the rookies – all the
puppies we have – used to playing in tight ball games. I didn’t
want a blowout either way."
What kept the game close on both sides were two great pitching
performances and stellar defense – the best catch taking place in
the seventh inning when UCLA junior center fielder Eric Valent
smashed hard into the wall, stealing what could have been a Toro
four bagger.
Pitching-wise, the Bruins performed well outside of the 10
walks. UCLA starter Rob Henkel got into trouble by allowing five
walks, but he struck out six Toros and threw a no-hitter in his
four innings of work. Cal State Dominguez reliever Greg McClelland
allowed two base runners in his first inning before taking momentum
away from the Bruins by setting down seven straight hitters.
"We just showed some good comeback, some good fight to us," Toro
head coach George Wing said.
Both teams had their best offensive innings when the defense
went south.
The Bruins scored three unearned runs in the second inning
thanks to a couple of errors from the Toros. Then Cal State
Dominguez scored four in the sixth inning after two hitters were
walked and a third was hit with no outs.
Down 6-5 in the top of the ninth with runners on first and
second and no outs, the Toros were only a double away from taking
the lead.
Right then and there, true-freshman Utley made his presence
felt. When Toro catcher James Isbell hit a ball which seemed to be
headed for left field, Utley dug the ball up, turned around and
fired it to Santora at second. The double-play was successfully
turned and the next batter hit a high chopper to shortstop that
Utley neatly handled to end the game.
"That was a tremendous double play that Utley and Santora
turned," Adams said. "That just broke their backs. That was
huge."
For the Bruins, true-freshman Chad Cislak (1-0) went four
innings to record his first win in his first-ever appearance as a
Bruin and true-freshman Jon Brandt got his first save in a rough
ninth.
JAMIE SCANLON-JACOBS/Daily Bruin
Freshman Jon Brandt pitches against Cal State Dominguez Hills.
The Bruins won 6-5.