UCSB 10 UCLA 4
By Dylan Hernandez
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Another straw was added to the camel’s already-broken
back, as the UCLA baseball team dropped yet another
“must-win” contest.
The Bruins (29-25), who in the last month have moved further and
further away from an NCAA Tournament berth, lost 10-4 Tuesday night
at No. 20 UC Santa Barbara’s (38-13) Caesar Uyesaka
Stadium.
While the loss didn’t take UCLA entirely out of contention
for a spot in the national tournament, it certainly didn’t
help.
Two weeks ago, the team was swept by Cal in a do-or-die
three-game series that severely crippled its playoff hopes. Any
loss from that point on would separate the Bruins even more from
their distant goal. UCLA responded by winning three of its next
four.
On Tuesday, however, the Bruins stumbled. Or rather, they
didn’t even get the opportunity to stumble. By all accounts,
the team never got off its rear end to play.
The Bruins arrived in Santa Barbara uninspired, and nothing
awakened them from their comatose state.
“I was a little disappointed,” said Head Coach Gary
Adams. “We usually have a little more fire than that. That
wasn’t the team I had seen all year.”
UC Santa Barbara starting pitcher Matt Vazquez held the Bruins
to just two runs (neither of them earned) on three hits in his
seven-inning appearance, despite throwing far more slowly than many
of the hurlers they have seen this year.
“We were a little impatient,” said Bruin shortstop
Josh Canales, who was 1 for 4 and extended his hitting streak to 21
games. “His fastball looked pretty enticing to hit and he got
us to ground out a lot.”
Meanwhile Vazquez’s counterpart, UCLA senior Paul Diaz,
gave up four runs on nine hits in five innings. Doug Silva, who
relieved Diaz, fared no better, allowing four earned runs in one
inning.
“I don’t think we were nervous,” said UCLA
second baseman Randall Shelley. “It’s just that no one
really got into the game. It was a strange day.”
The Bruins now have only a three-game series against Arizona
State this weekend left on their regular-season schedule.
Another “strange day” and that can be it.