BARON WATCH Tracking UCLA designated hitter
Brian Baron’s run at the record books At-Bats Hits Average Last
Week 14 3 .214 Season Totals 189 87 .460
By Scott Bair
Daily Bruin Contributor
They have the same school colors. They have the same animal for
a mascot. They even have the same fight song.
For all of their similarities, the three-game conference series
between the Bruins (27-20, 6-9 Pac-10) and the California Golden
Bears (27-21, 11-10) this weekend is sure to make a huge difference
in determining which of these teams makes it to the postseason.
Cal came out of a conference series against archrival No.6
Stanford with two key victories.
“They’re a good ball club and they’re going to
give us some competition, but this is our home field and
we’re going to be ready to play,” said co-captain Josh
Canales.
California’s starting trio of Trevor Hutchinson, Jason
Dennis, and David Cash has kept the Bears close in every series and
are the main reason for Cal’s late season resurgence. Cash
(8-3, 3.84 ERA) leads the team with 79 strikeouts in 75
innings.
“All three members of their starting rotation have been
pitching well, and I expect nothing different this weekend,”
said UCLA Head Coach Gary Adams.
The beginning of the Bears turnaround can be marked as the
series against USC where they lost two games by a total of three
runs.
The Bruins hope to start a winning run of their own. At
USC’s Dedeaux Field they nearly escaped with two wins, also
losing by a combined three-run margin in the first two games.
The decimated Bruin starting rotation has seen its top two
starters, Josh Karp and Jon Brandt, fall to injury. Brandt’s
Saturday presence has been dearly missed, as the Bruins have gone
2-8, 0-2 on Saturdays, since Brandt has been absent from the
rotation. Brandt threw a light bullpen on Tuesday, but will not be
healthy enough to pitch over the weekend.
Senior co-captain Paul Diaz will again get the nod on Friday
night for the Bruins, with question marks in the other two
slots.
Though it has not been officially announced, it was reported
that senior Bobby Roe and Karp, who has been out with a groin pull,
will take the mound on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Roe
pitched a predetermined three scoreless innings on Tuesday to
prepare him for weekend duty.
UCLA snapped an eight-game losing streak Tuesday night against
SDSU and is looking to the seven remaining games of their homestand
to string together some needed victories.
The Bruins control their own playoff destiny. If they win two
games in the three remaining Pac-10 series, they’re in the
playoffs.
“From now on, we have to approach every game like
it’s the biggest game of the year,” Diaz said.
“That’s how I’m going to approach my start,
because we know that we have to win out to get into the
playoffs.”