Friday, January 29, 1999
Squad recovers confidence, prospers in two vs. Vulcans
BASEBALL: Both offense, defense shine as UCLA dominates
Hawaii-Hilo
By Dylan Hernandez
Daily Bruin Contributor
Having been blasted off of Oahu by the University of Hawaii,
UCLA’s baseball team took refuge on the Big Island after dropping
all three games against the Rainbows.
The Bruins regrouped and salvaged their pride by picking apart
lowly Hawaii-Hilo to snag a pair of wins in a double header.
The UCLA pitching staff, which struggled in the Hawaii series,
was sound, allowing only one walk in each of the two games.
Coach Gary Adams’ squad upped its offensive production as well,
transforming the Vulcan hurlers into a set of human launching
pads.
The first contest, a make-up from the day before, saw UCLA
pitchers Dan Keller and Brian Strelitz hold Hawaii-Hilo to two runs
and four hits in the shortened seven inning duel.
Keller, a fourth-year junior recovering from a shoulder injury,
tossed three solid innings (one earned run, one hit, two
strikeouts) to earn the win before giving way to Strelitz, who
finished the game. Strelitz made his debut at the collegiate level
a memorable one, yielding just one unearned run in the 7-2
victory.
Redshirt freshman Adam Berry jump-started UCLA’s attack, going
2-3 with a walk. Brian Baron, a junior transfer from Northwestern,
also had a couple of hits, while left fielder Bill Scott drove in
two runs.
In game two of the double header, Bruin starter Jon Brandt
blanked Hawaii-Hilo in his seven innings of work. The sophomore
surrendered just one hit.
Fellow sophomore Ryan Carter overpowered the Vulcans in the
final two innings, fanning five batters to preserve the 5-0
shutout.
Six different Bruins collected hits and Scott, though 0-3, again
had two RBIs.
Adams was satisfied with his team’s performance. "It was really
uplifting. We got a little bit of our confidence back. It was good
to end the road trip on a high note," he said.
"The pitching was outstanding. We did a particularly good job of
going after hitters and challenging them."
UCLA’s runs came in bundles, despite the apparent batting slumps
of All-American candidates Garrett Atkins and Chase Utley, both who
are batting around .200. The coaching staff, however, warned that
the numbers were not accurate measures of the two stars’
performances.
Hitting instructor Vince Beringhele said, "We’re not the least
bit concerned. Atkins drove a lot of balls deep, but the wind and
wooden bats wouldn’t give him the results. And Chase Utley hit
better than anyone else on the team. He lined out five or six
times."
Looking ahead to next week, when the Bruins meet Pepperdine and
No. 7 Georgia Tech, Adams said, "We’re hoping to get some wins.
It’s going to be a good test for our team."
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