USC d. UCLA 2-0 USC d. UCLA
7-6 USC d. UCLA 7-1
By Scott Bair
Daily Bruin Contributor
Every scout on the West Coast had Friday’s baseball game
between UCLA and USC at Dedeaux Field circled on their calendars.
The game was to be the second epic showdown between UCLA’s
Josh Karp and USC’s Mark Prior, two of the nation’s
premier pitchers.
At the last minute, Karp was scratched from the lineup and
replaced by unheralded fifth-year senior Paul Diaz.
The scouts chose not to show up for Friday’s game ““
the first of three in a conference series ““ but the fans who
did got the pitching duel they wanted. Diaz was one of the few
forces of resistance, as the Bruins (25-20, 6-9 Pac-10) were swept
by the Trojans (32-16, 13-5).
Diaz matched Prior pitch for pitch, allowing two runs over 7 2/3
innings of work. The only downside to Diaz’s day was
Prior’s performance, who overpowered UCLA hitters to the tune
of 14 strikeouts over nine shutout innings.
“Prior was throwing 92 miles per hour and Diaz was
throwing 82 mph,” USC Pitching Coach Dave Lawn said.
“This game proved if you hit your spots you get outs, no
matter how hard you throw.”
The UCLA hitters were getting around on Prior’s fastball,
but key defensive plays and strikeouts kept the Bruins off the
board.
In the sixth inning, Prior got a big gift from his defense. With
runners on first and third and one out, rightfielder Ben Francisco
hit a rocket that was snagged by third baseman Michael Moon to
start a morale-killing double play. Diaz’s only runs allowed
came on a run that was balked in, and USC shortstop Seth
Davidson’s first home run of the season.
After Friday’s loss, UCLA Head Coach Gary Adams was told
his team wasn’t sitting pretty in the Pac-10 race.
“We’re not even sitting,” Adams said.
“We’re treading water.”
Saturday’s matchup between USC’s Rik Currier, 2000
conference pitcher of the year, and UCLA’s Doug Silva, a
closer thrust into the starting role because of an injury to No. 2
starter Jon Brandt, appeared to drown the Bruins for good.
The Bruins, as expected, fell behind early and trailed 7-2 after
five innings.
But they rallied back behind lead-off hitter Josh Canales, who
went 4 for 5 and pulled UCLA to within one at 7-6.
While the offense was clicking, the depleted Bruin pitching
staff was having trouble keeping pitches in the strike zone and USC
off the scoreboard.
Silva and Bruin reliever Wade Clark combined to give up four
consecutive two-out walks followed by a hit batsman, giving USC a
two-run gift in the third.
The seven runs notched by USC were enough to edge the Bruins
7-6.
Speculation about a possible appearance by Karp in
Sunday’s game to avoid a sweep ended when freshman Casey
Janssen took the mound for the Bruins.
On the other side of the ball, USC starter Anthony Reyes,
against whom opposing hitters put up a .307 batting average, shut
down the Bruins, holding them to one run over eight innings.
Led by a Brian Barre home run, the Trojans went on to score four
runs in the third and seven runs overall to beat the Bruins
7-1.
“Let’s face it,” USC Head Coach Mike Gillespie
said. “We didn’t catch Brandt, we didn’t catch
Karp. That’s Christmas. Obviously, we feel lucky. We had to
take advantage of this whole situation, and we did.”