Friday, February 12, 1999
UCLA faces tough competition in Big Ball tournament
BASEBALL: Carter leads team in pitching against deadly No. 2
Rice Owls
By Rocky Salmon
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
This weekend in Houston, UCLA will try to shot call at the Big
Ball.
Today the UCLA baseball team will begin a murderous three-game
Big Ball sports tournament hosted by No. 2 Rice.
The big test for the Bruins will be on Saturday against the
unstoppable Rice Owls (7-1).
The Owls started off the season ranked sixth but have quickly
risen up the ranks as their offense has become deadly, batting .354
with 71 runs scored and nine home runs.
The biggest Owl, first team All-American shortstop Damon Thames,
had a .424 batting average with 26 homers last year and has not let
up at all this year, batting .577 with nine RBIs.
"Thames is a great player," McNeese State assistant coach Danile
Tomlin said. "He deserves his accolades because he is so
talented."
The Bruins will get lucky Saturday and skip the Owl’s two aces
on the Rice staff, Mario Ramos (0.75 ERA) and Jeff Nichols (three
wins), and face off against Kenny Baugh.
Baugh received the teams’ only loss on the year against McNeese
State, giving up five earned runs in four innings. Facing off
against Baugh will be Josh Karp (8.00 ERA), making only his third
collegiate start.
The freshman right-hander had an outstanding start against
Georgia Tech, giving up only three runs to an offense that
resembles Rice’s.
Today, their opponent is a 1-2 McNeese State, which handed the
Owls their only loss on the season.
The starting pitcher for the Cowboys is undetermined, but
matching up against them will be Jon Brandt, who performed
brilliantly against Georgia Tech and shut it down for only one run
over six innings.
Leading the offense for MSU is designated hitter Cory Posey, who
went three for six with three RBIs against Rice.
The last game will be against an undefeated Northwestern State
University at 10 a.m. PST.
Although the Demons play in the Southland Conference, they will
not be overlooked. Last year in the same tournament, the Demons won
a screamer against Rice, 3-2, with a clutch home run by
center-fielder Chris Cox providing the winning run.
Now, Cox is in his senior year and is aided by Brent Trossberg,
who has a .500 batting average and has six RBIs.
As a whole, the Northwestern State offense relies on speed,
having stolen 14 of 15 bases on the year.
The Demons do not know who will start, though, Sunday due to a
teamwide illness. Slated to start is Matt Stovall who is 1-0 on the
season with a 1.50 ERA, but Shane Sowden is more likely to get the
nod. Sowden is a righty who K’d six in his last outing giving up no
runs over seven innings.
The Bruins will be sending out ace Ryan Carter who received a no
decision in his last outing against University of San Diego.
"Carter throws power," Demon’s head coach John Cohen said.
"UCLA is a great team and plays in a tough Pac-10. It will be
fun meeting them for the first time."
This will be a first meeting for UCLA against all of the teams
they are playing this weekend.
If the Bruins can pull out a clean sweep then Westwood better be
shot calling and big balling for the Bruin baseball team, as UCLA
will make a major jump in the polls.
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