NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Alumni Ryan
McGuire, who currently plays for the Florida Marlins,
attempts to tag a current Bruin at the UCLA alumni game.
UCLA 4 Bruin Pros 3
By Jeff Agase
Daily Bruin Reporter
Down 2-0 to former UCLA baseball players in the annual alumni
game, the current UCLA baseball team refused to respect its
elders.
Freshman Preston Griffin connected on the game-winning single to
right and senior Jon Brandt pitched five solid innings as the 2001
Bruins defeated the Bruin Pros 4-3 in a six-inning game Saturday at
Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Festivities started early as former and current Bruins matched
muscles in the home run derby. All-time Bruin home run leader Eric
Valent (1996-98) took the crown with five fence-clearing blasts,
outdistancing Eric Byrnes (1995-98) and American League home run
king Troy Glaus (1995-97).
After the crowd-pleasing home run derby came a three-inning
“Old-Timers” game and a tribute to the late former
Bruin baseball coach Art Reichle.
As 2 p.m. rolled around, fans eagerly anticipated the unveiling
of the 2001 Bruins after an NCAA-record 12 UCLA players were taken
in the major league draft last season.
Brandt faced Glaus with the bases loaded in the first inning.
Undaunted by the Angel slugger, the right-hander held strong, going
up in the count 0-2 before letting Glaus back in with three
straight balls. To the delight of much of the crowd, Brandt
delivered an inside fastball on the payoff pitch and Glaus headed
to the dugout with a strikeout.
“I just know that Troy is obviously a phenomenal
hitter,” Brandt said. “The only thing I could think of
doing was to maybe throw it inside on him and maybe freeze him.
“If a real good hitter’s coming to a game like this,
he’s expecting guys to back off and throw him slow stuff and
stuff away so he can’t hit a home run,” he said.
Brandt’s aggressiveness, coupled with his trademark
curveball, allowed him to surrender only three hits and two
unearned runs in five innings.
Despite Brandt’s strong pitching, numerous throwing and
fielding errors by both sides opened the door for base runners and
runs, but the consensus was that the game provided a chance to rid
some players of early-season butterflies.
“The best thing we can get out of today is that some of
the new guys and even some of the returners can get some of the
preseason jitters out of the way,” said senior shortstop Josh
Canales. “We’ve been playing good defense all fall and
all spring, so I’m not too worried about our defense as far
as how we looked today.”
One welcome change for fans used to seeing last year’s
UCLA team rely on the long ball was the manufacture of the final
run of the game. Casey Janssen singled to start off the last half
of the sixth inning and junior John Campanella laid down a precise
sacrifice bunt to advance Janssen to second. After a walk to
sophomore Christian Lewis, Griffin stepped in and blasted the
game-winner.
“It was good to have us come out and get the sac bunt down
in the last inning and to execute the win that way,” said
hitting coach Vince Beringhele, who also coached the current Bruin
team Saturday. “We’ve been working very hard at that
part of the game so it’s great to see results from what
we’ve been practicing.”
Leading the Bruin offensive charge was junior left fielder Adam
Berry, whose double turned into a three-run scoring play when a
throwing error allowed him to score, as well as Matt Pearl and
Randall Shelley. It was Berry’s second two-bagger of the game
after he reached base in the second inning with a standup double to
left.
Current Bruin freshman Michael Davern and sophomore Kevin
Jerkens split the pitching for the UCLA Pros, each registering
three innings of work. Freshman Chris Cordeiro stepped in for
Brandt in the sixth inning.
Former Bruins like Glaus enjoyed the opportunity to catch up
with old teammates and downplayed the competitive aspect.
“It’s great to see all the guys again and see coach
(Adams) again,” he said. “I’ve hit twice since
the end of last season. We just come out here to have fun and enjoy
ourselves.”
UCLA head coach Gary Adams, now in his 27th season coaching the
Bruins, valued the afternoon as a chance to get his team started
and as an opportunity to see his former players.
“This is one of the best days of the season. It’s
nice to see players I haven’t seen in a while,” Adams
said.
The Bruins open the season this Saturday with a game at UC
Riverside at 1 p.m.