BARON WATCH Tracking UCLA designated hitter and
semifinalist for the Rotary Smith Player of the Year Award Brian
Baron’s run at the record books At-Bats Hits Average Last Week 15 4
.267 Season Totals 224 100 .446
By Scott Bair
Daily Bruin Contributor
Two roads diverge in the desert. One road leads to the unlimited
promise of a second season in the NCAA playoffs. The other is a
dead end.
By Sunday night, after the UCLA baseball team finishes its final
regular season series in Tempe against rival Arizona State, the
Bruins will have taken their fateful step down one of the two
paths.
At many points during the season, the Bruins have lost must-win
contests and have taken the first step down the dead-end road. But
throughout the season’s ups and downs, the Bruins have kept
themselves within striking distance of their playoff dreams.
“We still see there’s a chance,” junior third
baseman Randall Shelley said. “A lot of people say there
isn’t. Our task at hand is to get wins. We have to work
hard.”
Coming off a lackadaisical effort in a loss to UC Santa Barbara,
the Bruins must play at their peak to contend with a strong Sun
Devil squad.
Arizona State features ace Jon Switzer and his 5-4 record and
3.84 ERA, but the team’s pitching prowess doesn’t stop
there. Former Pac-10 Player of the Week Mike Esposito and a stellar
bullpen give the Sun Devils a fighting chance against any team.
But the Arizona State hurlers will find that the Bruin bats have
been in full swing lately. Six members of the Bruin starting lineup
are hitting .300 or above going into this weekend’s contests.
The team is led by designated hitter Brian Baron’s .446
batting average and Josh Canales’ 21-game hitting streak. The
addition of Brandon Averill to the starting lineup has added some
much needed power in the middle of the order.
The starting pitching rotation, which has been in disarray the
past month, will finally be complete again, matching ace Josh Karp
and senior Jon Brandt against the Sun Devils’ finest.
For the seniors and many of the juniors, this weekend’s
series is the last regular season series of their collegiate
careers.
“Sometimes freshmen and sophomores say, “˜We always
have next year,'” said Canales, a senior. “But
what I like is that these underclassmen play just as hard and are
trying to win games for the seniors.”
As far as the players are concerned there is no special formula
for the Bruins to get into the playoffs. They have the 48th highest
RPI going into the weekend. In 1993, the Bruins got into the
playoffs with an 11-13 conference record, which is what
they’ll have if they take three this weekend.
“We have to give the selection committee a reason for
taking us. A reason would be getting three wins at Arizona
State,” UCLA Head Coach Gary Adams said. “A solid
reason would be to take two of three games.”
Many times this season the Bruins have been wounded and their
playoff hopes left for dead. But, as they proved by coming from
behind against Oregon State last weekend, the Bruins will show that
the wounded animal is the one that will fight the hardest to
survive.