Tuesday, January 5, 1999
UCLA hopes Yellow Jackets don’t sting struggling team
PREVIEW: After losing to Pepperdine, UCLA hopes for win vs.
Georgia Tech
By Rocky Salmon
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
This weekend at Jackie Robinson Stadium two baseball teams will
try to right an already faltering season.
UCLA is coming off of a disappointing 8-6 loss to Pepperdine
which dropped its record to 2-4, removing the Bruins from their No.
22 national ranking.
Starting today, their opposition is the baseball powerhouse
Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech is ranked as the top team in the
Atlantic Coast Conference and always seems to make an appearance in
the NCAA baseball national championship tournament. The Yellow
Jackets, nicknamed the "Tech Nine" for their explosive offense,
came into the season ranked No. 2 nationally.
But then their season started off as rocky as the Bruins’ first
few games.
The Yellow Jackets (1-2) began the season with high
expectations, but in their first game their All-American southpaw
pitcher, Chuck Crowder, was shelled by the Auburn Tigers.
Through 1 2/3 innings the lefty surrendered six runs and five
walks to give the Tigers a huge lead that they would never
relinquish for a 17-12 win.
Crowder will look for redemption today as he faces off against
UCLA’s own left-handed ace, Ryan Carter. Carter has an ERA of 2.57
but even more impressively, has racked up 12 strikeouts in seven
innings.
Pitching in game two of the series for the Yellow Jackets will
be Cory Vance, who got the loss against Oklahoma in their second
game of their season. Vance gave up two unearned runs in six
innings but the Sooners shut out the Tech Nine Jackets, 12-0.
Matching up against Vance on Saturday will be Josh Karp, who
owns the highest ERA on the Bruin team with 11.25.
Sunday will be redemption day for UCLA’s pitcher Jon Brandt
after he got shotgunned in 2 1/3 innings against Pepperdine. Brandt
walked five and hit two batters in getting the loss.
Pitted against Brandt will be Simon Young, a junior left-hander
who had a torrid NCAA tournament last year. Young won his last game
against Jacksonville but will have stiffer competition against a
UCLA offense that has started to heat up.
The win against Jacksonville on Sunday was a well needed shot in
the arm for the young struggling team.
"We came back feeling much better about ourselves after the
Jacksonville game," head coach Danny Hill said. "We are now looking
forward to UCLA."
The Bruins, on the other hand, are coming off a tough loss to
Pepperdine with their pitchers experiencing control problems.
Against a high powered Yellow jacket offense, UCLA cannot afford to
fall behind in the count.
Leading the Georgia Tech Nine offense is first baseman Stephen
Donaghey, who is batting .444 with 3 RBIs. Also helping the offense
is Matt Boggs who has hit safely in all three games and Dave
Stockton, who is batting .571.
"Georgia Tech has great personnel," UCLA head coach Gary Adams
said. "They have guys that were drafted high but they decided to
play for them."
With a young team, however, the Yellow Jacket’s pitching has
disappeared in two games and could be an omen for the Bruin
offense.
Last year was the first ever meeting between the two teams and
UCLA won the series taking two out of three. In Atlanta, a slugfest
took place with the Yellow Jackets winning the first game 16-7, but
UCLA squeaking out the next two 13-11 and 10-9 respectively.
In order to grab the series against the Yellow Jackets, the UCLA
pitchers will have to put the safety on the Tech Nine offense. If
the Bruin pitchers do not gain back their control, the fielders
better put on their bulletproof vests.
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