Monday, February 2, 1998
No pot of gold at end of rainbow for Bruins
RECAP UCLA loses all three games to Hawaii in error-laden
match-up
By Kristina Wilcox
Daily Bruin Staff
The University of Hawaii baseball team served as a rude host
this weekend as they swept UCLA in three games.
But, the Bruins (1-3) did not help themselves Friday as their
shabby defense made six errors that led to nine unearned runs.
Those runs proved to be the difference in the game, as they lost
14-5.
In Thursday’s game, it appeared as if the Bruins had left their
bats at home. In 36 at-bats by the starting lineup, there were only
six hits, with key players like leadoff hitter Jack Santora and
cleanup batter Eric Byrnes going 0-5.
As for the pitching in Thursday’s 7-4 victory by the Rainbows
(8-1), the Bruins did not start off on the right foot.
Lefthander Rob Henkel (0-1), projected to be the No. 1 starter
for head coach Gary Adams, allowed three runs in the first inning.
He gave up one more in each of the next two innings before settling
down for the fourth and fifth.
His successor, John Phillips, who is recovering from an
offseason stress fracture in his left foot, allowed two runs
himself in his two innings of work.
Saturday’s loss by the Bruins showed that while the defense
might be better than last year’s, it is still a thorn in the side
of the team.
UCLA led 1-0 going into the bottom of the fourth inning, when
everything fell apart.
Hawaii scored eight runs in that inning off of starter Chad
Cislak (1-1), who was saddled with the loss despite only giving up
one earned run. He did not help his own cause either by making an
error himself in the wild fourth inning.
The Bruins did not stave off the sweep on Saturday when they
lost 8-6. As in Friday’s non-contest, UCLA had the lead at one
point but squandered it away.
The lethal inning in the series finale was the eighth. The
Rainbows scored six in that inning off of three relievers. Freshman
Jon Brandt (0-1) ended up with the loss in front of 1,300
people.
In hopes of redeeming itself, UCLA will play at home on Tuesday
afternoon against Cal State Los Angeles.