By Jeff Agase
Daily Bruin Staff
Gary Adams is, by all accounts, a patient man.
The UCLA baseball coach has been in Westwood for over 27 years
now, and he’s presided over his fair share of young,
struggling teams.
So when the Bruins (8-9) came into the week with a six-game
losing streak and a cross-country road trip ahead, it came as
little surprise that his tone of voice remained calm and
sagacious.
“I like our effort,” he said before the Bruins beat
UCSB on Tuesday to end their skid. “We’re not far apart
from our opposition, and other than two games, we’ve been in
every game.”
Separating UCLA from consistent victory thus far has been that
oft-cited “killer instinct” ““ the ability to come
up with a clutch two-out hit when it means the difference between
victory and particularly frustrating defeat.
Virtually every UCLA game this season has at some late point in
the game been close, so don’t be surprised if the Bruins get
another couple chances to develop their edge against Tulane in New
Orleans.
And all youth aside ““ the Bruins throw a freshman and two
sophomores on the mound this weekend ““ delivering a knockout
blow to a guy named Ray Liotta (no joke, the name of Tulane’s
Sunday starter) might be a tall order.
But the win over UCSB was crucial to a team quickly seeing its
confidence ground out.
“It was absolutely essential to get a win to build some
positive momentum going into a game with a very difficult Tulane
team,” said senior right fielder Adam Berry, who launched two
home runs in the win.
Adams is well aware that he’ll have to take the lead in
helping his players brave the valleys of what may be a testing
season. But he might also be well served to learn that, 7-3 as they
may be, the Green Wave isn’t exactly drawing raves from its
coach, Rick Jones.
“Certainly, we’re not happy where we are at this
point,” Jones said. “We’re not pitching well
enough to offset the fact that if we aren’t hitting, we
struggle.”
Maybe he should take a cue from Adams and keep it cool.