Wednesday, February 11, 1998
Bruins rejoice as hitting drought ends
RECAP: Valent slugs first homer all season as staff pitches
stellar game
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Staff
The words "Oh … my … God" were uttered rather loudly by a
fan at Jackie Robinson Stadium when the ball came off Eric Valent’s
bat.
Valent, a junior outfielder for the No. 16 UCLA baseball team,
slugged 27 homers in his sophomore season. In 1998, though, he
hadn’t hit one out of the park in the Bruins’ first seven games.
This drought ended when he destroyed a high change-up from
University San Diego pitcher Ravis Farrell.
The ball went far beyond the right field wall and left many fans
in awe.
"It feels good," Valent said. "I hadn’t been swinging the bat
that well the first couple of weeks. I was in a little bit of a
slump, but I’m starting to see the ball better and getting my
timing down. And the first one felt good to get out of the
way."
But the telling statistic for the Bruins (4-4) on Tuesday wasn’t
Valent’s home run, but the zero earned runs allowed by the pitching
staff en route to a 7-1 victory over University San Diego
(2-5).
Ryan Carter (1-0) earned the win, going four innings and
striking out three. Then senior Matt Klein, freshman Bobby Roe and
freshman Tyler Derson combined to pitch five scoreless innings of
relief – each striking out two Toreros.
"We had to come out and start playing a little bit better, start
giving up less runs," Carter said. "Having the hitting battle,
that’s always a key – putting some zeros on the board."
The zeros on the board also provided UCLA with a rarity: a game
that lasted less than three hours. The game lasted two hours and 40
minutes. Last season, only five out of 67 games were played
faster.
"We played up to our capabilities today," UCLA head coach Gary
Adams said. "We played almost superb defense … and I was pleased
with today’s game. I told the team ‘well done.’ What else can I
say?"
With Six-Pac play starting this weekend at Cal, the Bruins are
riding a three-game winning streak. The hitting is coming around,
with both Valent and freshman Garrett Atkins getting their first
home runs against the Toreros. Designated hitter Brett Nista, who
got a rare start in left field yesterday, now has a nine-game
hitting streak that began last season.
The pitching is coming around, and Adams is positive that his
struggling starters are improving every day. The bullpen has begun
to show progress, and the team’s ERA, which was 7.93 coming into
Tuesday’s game, dropped more than a whole point to 6.88 in the 7-1
victory.
"We wanted to get on a good streak before we went up to Cal to
start conference," Atkins said. "The pitchers did a good job today
and I’m really proud of them."
* * *
University San Diego head coach John Cunningham was honored at
the start of the seventh inning.
Cunningham, who is in his 35th season as coach of the Toreros,
will retire at the end of the season.
AARON TOUT/Daily Bruin
Nick Theodorou slides into third in game against University San
Diego.