NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Paul Diaz
pitches in a game against USC last month. Today, Jon Brandt will
start against the Titans. BASEBALL vs. Today 6p.m.
Jackie Robinson
By Jeff Agase
Daily Bruin Reporter The last time they met, the UCLA and Cal State
Fullerton baseball teams played a six-hour marathon. After that
11-10, 14-inning win by the Titans on April 18 at Fullerton’s
Goodwin Field, Fullerton sprinted forward and UCLA began to run in
place. The Titans (38-11) have won 10 straight and 24 of their last
25 en route to a No. 1 ranking in the latest Collegiate Baseball
poll while the Bruins (26-23) have dropped 10 of 11. They find
themselves fighting for their playoff lives today when they face
the Titans at 6 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Stadium. “That first
game against Fullerton was the mark of our recent downfall,”
UCLA center fielder Matt Pearl said. “Everyone wants to win
this game.” A big nonconference win against an elite opponent
like Fullerton could provide the impetus for a run at a .500 Pac-10
record, which the Bruins can attain if they sweep their two
remaining conference series against Oregon State and Arizona State.
But the Titans are determined to clinch one of the top seeds in the
NCAA playoffs and bring to the table a sparkling 3.17 team ERA and
paltry .237 opponent batting average. The Bruins, who have seen
their pitching staff decimated by exhausting midweek games and
injuries, will throw senior Jon Brandt in yet another critical
contest in a tumultuous UCLA season. “For the last two weeks,
no one’s known who’s going to start,” Pearl said.
“We had a good rhythm before that. It changed things a little
mentally. “It’s good to have Jon Brandt back.”
Aside from the injuries and shuffled pitching rotation, the squad
has been plagued by the inability to piece together consistent
performances by both the starter and bullpen in the same game. In
last weekend’s sweep by California, stalwart bullpen
performances were not enough to make up for damage done early in
the games, but just the opposite has been true for other series.
Offensively, UCLA connected well on pitches all weekend and even
came up with some uncharacteristic power. Pearl homered twice and
Eric Reece and Ben Francisco each added a home run, but the
frustration of a team that has relied all season on “small
ball” to produce runs is hard to hide during this crippling
slump. Team batting average-leader senior Brian Baron went 7 for 16
over the weekend, but his astronomically high batting average
nonetheless fell from .460 to .459. Fellow senior Josh Canales has
hit safely in 16 consecutive games, bolstering his average more
than 100 points since last year to a hefty .361. “We’re
playing hard and we’d had lots of hits. We just haven’t
had good luck,” junior third baseman Randall Shelley said.
The Titan game sets the table for a three-course weekend against
Oregon State, which resides in the top half of the conference
standings ahead of UCLA. A win today may finally set the Bruin
gears back in motion and provide momentum to begin a drive back to
Pac-10 prominence.
BARON WATCH Tracking UCLA designated hitter
Brian Baron’s run at the record books. At-Bats
Hits Average
Weekend 16 7 .438 Season Totals
205 92 .458 Original graphic by ADAM BROWN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Web adaptation by LYNN SHIAU