Monday, March 9, 1998
Untimely injuries force UCLA to rearrange lineup, pitching
rotation
BASEBALL: Bruins still optimistic about season despite recent
obstacles
By Kristina Wilcox
Daily Bruin Staff
Bad luck has taken hold of the baseball team this season,
especially in the injury department.
The Bruins were able to avoid the demons throughout last season
while advancing to the College World Series, but the 1998 team has
to overcome a lot of obstacles to make it that far again this year.
A big roadblock appeared suddenly last week.
Left-handed starting pitcher Rob Henkel (1-3, 8.72 ERA in 5
starts) was told on Wednesday afternoon that he needs to go under
the knife for season-ending elbow surgery. Henkel is disheartened
by this news.
"I’ve never had any broken bones or sprains," Henkel said.
"After the Stanford series (Feb. 20-22), I knew that it wasn’t
happening for me this year, and the doctors confirmed it.
"This injury was a gradual thing. My elbow has been hurting for
a couple of months. It was the continual use, not just one
pitch."
Meanwhile, Henkel’s partner on the disabled list, catcher Jason
Green, was caught off-guard by the injury.
"I never saw it coming," Green said. "I knew his arm was sore,
but he never spoke up to me about it. When he would pitch, he would
have good stuff, and then lose command early on, so he wasn’t going
as long into the game as we would like. But he was untested as a
starter, since he was a reliever last year."
UCLA was counting heavily on Henkel to be the No. 1 starter in
the pitching rotation, but in Henkel’s absence, head coach Gary
Adams and his assistants will have some work to do in rearranging
their roster and pitching rotation.
"We just have to pick up his rifle and keep marching on," Adams
said. Green knows that the march won’t be easy.
"It’s gonna hurt us," Green said.
Nonetheless, Henkel is optimistic for the team in the wake of
the reshuffling that will have to occur.
"Our pitching staff is definitely going to come around and do
great for the rest of the season," Henkel said. "We need someone to
step up, and I know that someone will."
* * *
UCLA (9-13, 4-7 in Six-Pac) hosted No. 8 Arizona State for three
games at Jackie Robinson Stadium this weekend. The Bruins took the
first contest, 6-5, courtesy of centerfielder Eric Valent’s
ninth-inning solo homerun, his seventh homer of the season. The Sun
Devils won the final two, 14-6 and 9-3.