February 17, 1999
SANTA BARBARA, CA ---- The #29 UCLA Bruins (6-8) scored two runs with two outs in the top of the ninth, but left the tying run at the plate as the UCSB Gauchos (5-5) came away with a 12-9 victory at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. Down 12-7 with two down in the ninth, sophomore dh Forrest Johnson tripled home sophomore lf Bill Scott, who walked earlier in the inning. Senior ss Jack Santora received a base on balls, making way for junior utl Aldo Pintos RBI single that brought home Johnson and made the score 12-9. The rally ended, however, as junior rf Brian Baron went down on a highly questionable third strike. Johnson and Pinto had their best games of the year at the plate as they went 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored and 3-for-5 with 3 RBI, respectively. Scott launched his third homerun of the season, a solo shot to right in the seventh.
The Bruins fell behind 5-1 at the end of three innings but rallied to take a 6-5 lead going into the bottom of the fifth. A double by Pinto that brought home two runners, an RBI single by sophomore cf Matt Pearl, and a sacrifice fly by sophomore 2b Chase Utley keyed a four-run fourth that knotted the Bruins and Gauchos at five. UCLA would take the lead on a groundout by Santora that brought home Berry, who had doubled earlier in the inning. However, the lead was short-lived as the Gauchos would go ahead for good on a three-run homerun by c Bill Duplissea in the bottom of the fifth, making it 8-6 UCSB. Pearl left the game after his RBI single in the fifth due to an ankle injury and was replaced by Baron. Sophomore 1b Garrett Atkins committed his first error of the season, snapping a 13-game errorless streak.
The Bruins will make a second trip to Santa Barbara to take on the Gauchos, tomorrow February 17 at 2:30 p.m. Sophomore RHP Jon Brandt (2-1, 3.20) of UCLA is scheduled to go up against Gaucho junior LHP Troy Kinto. Brandt is coming off a record-breaking performance against McNeese St. in the Big Ball Sports Tournament hosted by Rice University in Houston. On February 12, Brandt struck out an UCLA-record 17 batters in only seven innings of work. He shattered the previous record of 14 set by Tom Jacquez in February of 1997. Despite his brilliance, the Bruins lost 8-5 and Brandt was saddled with his first loss of the year. Tomorrows contest is the make-up game for the rain-out on February 9 in Santa Barbara. It will be the schools final meeting of the season.