April 4, 2000
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Loyola Marymount belted six home runs and racked up 24 hits to hand the UCLA baseball team a 23-12 loss in a four-hour slugfest at Jackie Robinson Stadium Tuesday evening.
With the loss, UCLA suffers only its second defeat in its last 15 games and snaps a five-game winning streak. The Bruins overall record drops to 20-12 overall and remains 5-1 in the Pac-10, while LMU improves to 21-12 overall, 9-3 in the West Coast Conference.
The Lions fell just one home run short of tying the school record set earlier this season vs. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Feb. 26. UCLA set a record of its own tonight, as six Bruin pitchers combined to hit a school record eight batters, the previous record being set at Cal State Fullerton on April 22, 1998.
UCLA pitchers retired LMU batters in order in just two innings, the sixth and the ninth, while the Bruins were only retired in order in the eighth and ninth innings.
Loyola Marymount took a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run homer by catcher Scott Walter off UCLA starter Paul Diaz. But the Bruins answered with seven runs in the bottom of the first. After a lead-off walk to junior shortstop Josh Canales, four consecutive hits and another walk later, redshirt freshman designated hitter Jim Hemming slugged the first grand slam of his career to give UCLA a 7-2 lead.
After UCLA added another run in the second on an RBI triple by junior right fielder Nick Lyon, LMU designated hitter Jeff Walker led off the third inning with a solo home run and second baseman Anthony Angel smashed a three-run home run to close in on the Bruins 8-6. The Bruins then inched away again, scoring two more runs on an error and an RBI single by junior first baseman Garrett Atkins in the bottom of the third.
LMU tbroke loose with seven runs in the fourth on a pair of two-run homers by third baseman Jason Aspito and first baseman Kris Zacuto, and three RBI singles to take a 13-10 lead. UCLA added its 11th run on Atkins' 11th home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth, but it was a small whimper in contrast to seven more LMU runs scored in the top of the sixth. In that inning, UCLA allowed six hits, including a double, and hit two batters.
Lion shortstop Mario Cordero rounded out the LMU home run barrage with a two-run shot in the top of the eighth.
Bruin reliever Mike Kunes (2-2) suffered the loss, as he allowed five earned runs on five hits through just two-thirds of an inning. LMU's Justin Abreu picked up the victory, pitching 3.2 innings in relief and allowing two earned runs on six hits.
Atkins led the Bruins with the bat, going 4-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI. UCLA junior second baseman Chase Utley was 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Junior left-fielder Bill Scott was 2-for-4, including a double, one run and one RBI, while junior catcher Forrest Johnson was 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and one RBI. Hemming racked up a career-high four RBI with one swing of the bat.
Walker and Aspito both finished the evening with four hits in six at-bats for Loyola Marymount, while Walter, Aspito and Angel each had four RBI.
The Bruins remain at Jackie Robinson Stadium this weekend, as the No. 10 USC Trojans visit Westwood for a three-game Pac-10 series. Southern California baseball bragging rights and first place in the conference will be at stake when these two teams clash April 7-9. Saturday's game will be televised live on Fox Sports Net at 1 p.m.