Baseball Faces Pepperdine Before Opening Final Homestand Of The Year
May. 1, 2000
THIS WEEK:
Tues., May 2 - UCLA (28-20, 11-4)@ Pepperdine (29-19, 17-6), 3 p.m.
Fri., May 5 - UCLA vs. California (24-24, 10-11), 6 p.m., JRS
Live Radio - www.broadcast.com
Sat., May 6 - UCLA vs. California, 1 p.m., JRS
Sun., May 7 - UCLA vs. California, 1 p.m., JRS
Live Radio - www.broadcast.com
NEXT WEEK:
Tues., May 9 - UCLA vs. Long Beach State, 6 p.m., JRS
Sat., May 13 - UCLA vs. Arizona, 1 p.m., JRS
Sun., May 14 - UCLA vs. Arizona, 1 p.m., JRS
Mon., May 15 - UCLA vs. Arizona, 6 p.m., JRS
ON DECK FOR THE BRUINS:
Following a three-game sweep of the Washington State
Cougars in Pullman last weekend, the UCLA baseball team (28-20, 11-4 Pac-10)
enters the week with a second place standing in the Pacific-10 Conference, just
a half game back of No. 3 Stanford and one game ahead of No. 5 Arizona State.
The Bruins have now swept two Pac-10 series this season, the first coming against Oregon State in Corvallis March 30-April 2, and five weekend series overall this season. UCLA will travel to Malibu to take on Pepperdine (29-19, 17-6 West Coast Conference) for a midweek matchup Tues., May 2 at 3 p.m. at Eddy D. Field Stadium, before opening a seven-game homestand this weekend. The California Golden Bears (24-24, 10-11 Pacific-10) come to Westwood for a three-game series beginning Friday, May 5 through Sunday May 7 at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Friday's game begins at 6 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday are set for 1 p.m. Friday and Sunday's game will be broadcast live on the internet at www.broadcast.com.
UPCOMING SERIES NOTES:
The Bruins will face Pepperdine for the second time this
season, having defeated the Waves at home 11-7 on Feb. 22. UCLA leads the
all-time series since 1975, 26-21-3. Last year, Cal took two of the three-games
from the Bruins in Berkeley and leads the all-time series 153-149. But UCLA
leads the series under head coach Gary Adams since 1975, 87-62.
UCLA vs. Pepperdine -- Probable Pitching Match-up:
May 2:
RHP Jon Brandt, Jr. (4-5, 4.70) vs. RHP Steve Schenewerk, Sr. (4-2, 4.66)
UCLA vs. California-- Probable Pitching Match-ups:
May 5:
LHP Rob Henkel, Jr. (5-2, 4.46) vs. RHP Trevor Hutchinson, So. (4-3, 4.96)
May 6:
RHP Josh Karp, So. (7-1, 3.45) vs. RHP David Cash, Jr. (7-4, 5.15)
May 7:
LHP Bobby Roe, Jr. (6-4, 4.83) vs. RHP Jon Shirley, Sr. (2-3, 5.53)
2000 UCLA Expected Starters (By Position)
Pos. Player Class 2000 Stats (AVG, HR, RBI) C Forrest Johnson Jr. .354, 15, 52 1B Garrett Atkins Jr. .362, 12, 45 2B Chase Utley Jr. .369, 17, 52 SS Josh Canales Jr. .248, 0, 11 3B Randall Shelley So. .255, 2, 12 LF Bill Scott Jr. .416, 17, 60 CF Charles Merricks Jr. .252, 1, 25 RF Matt Pearl Jr. .412, 4, 29 DH TBA -- --
SCOTT NAMED PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
For the sixth time this season, a Bruin
has been named Pac-10 Player or Pitcher of the week, as junior left fielder
Bill Scott (Granada Hills/Alemany HS) earned the honor this week after his
offensive explosion at Washington State. Scott went 8-for-14 (.571) with 12
RBI, three doubles, a triple, two home runs and five runs scored throughout the
three-game sweep. Scott's big day came in the series finale, as he went 4-for-6
with two three-run home runs and a two-run triple while knocking in a Pac-10
season high eight RBI. It was the second multiple-home run game for Scott this
season and he shares the team lead in homers with Chase Utley with 17. Scott
leads the Bruins and is second in the league with a .416 average. The Player of
the Week honor is the third of his career. Last week, sophomore RHP Josh Karp
was named Pitcher of the Week, while junior LHP Rob Henkel and junior catcher
Forrest Johnson have twice earned weekly conference honors this season.
UCLA BATS WREAK HAVOC ON THE NORTHWEST:
In their first trip to Pullman since
1971, the Bruins had their way with Washington State, sweeping the Cougars in
three straight games last weekend by scores of 14-10, 13-2 and 14-1. The Bruins
exploded for the most runs and hits in any three-game series this year, scoring
41 runs on 58 hits. For good measure, UCLA raised its team batting average from
.316 to .326, going 58-for-125 (.464) through the three games. The Bruins had a
season high 25 hits in the season finale vs. the Cougars. Extra base hits were
plentiful as well, as UCLA combined for 11 doubles, two triples and four home
runs.
BRUIN BASEBALL NOTABLES:
The Bruins enters the week hitting .326
(575-for-1763), third highest in the Pac-10?UCLA ranks among the top three in 11
offensive categories in the conference including home runs (1st, 86), doubles
(1st, 113), slugging percentage (2nd, .549), runs scored (2nd, 404), hits (3rd,
575), and RBI (2nd, 369)?The UCLA the pitching corps has held its opponents to
just a .272 average, third in the Pac-10?the UCLA pitching staff has combined
for a 5.68 ERA ?Junior LF Bill Scott leads the league in hits with 84 hits,
while junior 2B Chase Utley is second with 80?Scott and Utley are tied for third
in the Pac with 17 homers?Sophomore RHP Josh Karp is second in the conference
with a .195 opposing batting average?UCLA has yet to be shutout this season, the
last time coming with back-to-back scoreless losses at Hawaii to open the 1999
season?The Bruins have had at least one extra basehit in all but one game this
season, that game coming at Cal State Northridge April 15?UCLA has scored in
double-figures in 21 games, and has tallied double-figure hits in 37 games?UCLA is 18-3
when scoring at least 10 runs in a single game, and 3-12 when held to five runs
or less.
WHO'S HOT:
JR LF Matt Pearl (Bakersfield/Garces Memorial), in the midst of a career-high 10-game hitting streak, went 9-for-13 (.692) with seven runs scored, five RBI, a double, a home run and a triple during the three-game series at Washington State. He racked up a career-high four hits in the finale Sunday, in addition to two RBI, a solo home run and four runs scored. Pearl's fourth homer of the season led-off the game, the fourth lead-off homer for the Bruins this season.
JR 1B Garrett Atkins (Irvine/University HS) also piled up the hits vs. the Cougars last weekend, going 9-for-16 (.563) with five runs scored, three RBI and two doubles. In the midst of an eight-game hitting streak, Atkins had a career-high five hits in Game Three vs. the Cougars Sunday, to go along with three runs, two RBI and a double.
RS-JR DH Jim Hemming (Pasadena/ St. Francis HS) went 6-for-10 (.600) in two games vs. WSU, setting and matching a career-high with three hits in the first and third games of the series. In Game One, he was 3-for-5 with four RBI, a home run, a double and three runs scored.
KARP INVITED TO USA BASEBALL NATIONAL TEAM TRIALS:
Sophomore right-hander Josh
Karp has been invited to participate in the 2000 USA Baseball National Team
Trials to be held in Tucson, Ariz. June 16-21, USA Baseball announced April 19.
Karp is one of three players (USC's Mark Prior and Stetson's Len DiNardo) from
the 1999 National Team that have been invited back to participate in the trials
this year. The National Team will be selected from a pool of 35-40 players at
the trials and USA Baseball will announce the names of the remaining players to
be invited by the end of May. Other Pac-10 invitees include Stanford's Brian
Sager and Arizona State's Jon Switzer.
BRUIN POWER SURGE:
UCLA has slugged a Pac-10 leading 86 home runs so far this
season, an average of 1.8 per game. The Bruins have gone deep at least once in
all but 10 games and earlier this season set a single-game school record with
seven home runs vs. North Carolina Feb. 18. UCLA equaled the feat just three
weeks later with another seven homers vs. Bradley March 10. The Bruins have hit
five homers in a game on three occasions, and four in two games. Consequently,
three Bruins rank among the top 10 home run hitters in the Pac: Chase Utley
(17), Bill Scott (17), and Forrest Johnson (15). Here's a look at the Bruins'
home run breakdown for 2000:
Solo HR:
47 (Utley 9, Atkins 8, Lyon 7, Johnson 7, Scott 5, Berry 3, Hemming 3, Pearl 3, Reece, Hofman)
2-Run HR:
24 (Scott 9, Utley 6, Atkins 4, Johnson 3, Shelley 2)
3-Run HR:
13 (Johnson 4, Scott 3, Utley 2, Hamill, Pearl, Lyon, Merricks)
Grand Slam:
2 (Johnson, Hemming)
HOW THE BRUINS STACK UP AGAINST THE NATION:
Junior lefty Rob Henkel ranks
second in the nation with 13.6 strikeouts per game, while Bill Scott is tied
for 44th with his .411 batting average through April 23. In the home run race,
Chase Utley ranks 10th in the nation with .37 long balls per game, while Scott
is tied for 12th with .36 and junior catcher Forrest Johnson is tied for 14th
with .35 homers per game.
UTLEY, SCOTT CLIMBING UCLA, PAC-10 CAREER CHARTS:
Junior second baseman Chase
Utley and junior left fielder Bill Scott are climbing their way up the Pac-10
and UCLA all-time home run charts as the season progresses. Scott's 49 home
runs rank fourth among UCLA career hitters and 10th in the Pac. Utley has 48
career home runs tying him for fifth highest among UCLA home run leaders with
Eric Byrnes (95-98) and 11th among all-time Pac-10 sluggers.
ATKINS, SCOTT CAREER BATTING LEADERS:
Bill Scott and junior first baseman
Garrett Atkins sit atop the UCLA all-time batting average list at one and two
respectively. Scott has a .383 all-time average (196-for-512), while Atkins
enters the week with career .374 clip (252-for-674).
THIS WEEKEND'S STARTING ROTATION:
JR LHP Rob Henkel (La Mesa/Monte Vista HS) picked up his second straight no-decision, the last coming at Washington State. Henkel allowed eight runs, seven earned, on eight hits through 4.2 innings, hit shortest outing since Feb. 20 vs. North Carolina. In 66.2 IP, Henkel is 5-2 with a 4.46 ERA and 99 strikeouts (sixth in the Pac-10). Prior to his third to last start vs. USC April 7, Henkel picked up four consecutive victories including back-to-back complete games vs. Washington and Oregon State. During that string of four straight wins, Henkel struck out 61 batters in 31 innings and gave up just four walks, while setting a school record with 18 Ks vs. Washington March 25.
SO RHP Josh Karp (Bothell, Wash./Bothell HS) was won five straight deci sions vs. Oregon State, USC, Cal State Northridge, Arizona State and most recently Washington State. Against the Cougars, he allowed no runs on two hits while striking out seven and walking one in five IP. Karp has moved up to sixth in the Pac-10 in ERA (3.45) and is holding opponents to a .195 average (best among conference starters). Karp struck out a career-high 12 batters vs. USC April 8. He has allowed just nine hits and three earned runs, while striking out 35 in his last 25.1 innings pitched. Karp is 7-1 and 69 Ks.
JR LHP Bobby Roe (Plano, Tex./Plano HS) had probably his best outing of the season Sunday at Washington State, tying a career-high with an eight-inning performance and allowing just one run on six hits en route to picking up his sixth victory of the season. Roe held the Cougars to just one extra base hit and retired the side in order four times. He enters Sunday's start with a 6-4 record, a 4.83 ERA and 55 strikeouts. Roe has hit 19 opposing batters this season, breaking a single-season UCLA record set (15) by Rick Heineman in 1995. He struck out a career and season high nine batters in the second game of a double header vs. Harvard March 18.
SCOUTING PEPPERDINE:
The Waves are coming off a three-game sweep at Portland by
scores of 9-1, 7-3 and 5-1 last weekend and have won seven of their last 10
games. Pepperdine, coached by Frank Sanchez in his fourth season, has an
overall record of 29-19 and 17-6 in West Coast Conference play. The Waves are
in first place in the conference's West Division, five games ahead of San Diego
with seven league games remaining. A victory over the Bruins Tuesday would give
Pepperdine its 23rd consecutive 30-win season. The Waves were boosted by the
play of Dane and Duke Sardinha at Portland last weekend as the duo combined for
nine hits, five RBI and three home runs in a Saturday double header. Senior
outfielder Jeremy Coronado leads the Waves with a .385 clip, while Dane Sardinha
is hitting .352 with a team-high 15 home runs and 61 RBI.
SCOUTING CALIFORNIA:
Cal is 24-24 overall and tied for fifth place in the
Pac-10 with a 10-11 league record. The Golden Bears, led by first-year coach
David Esquer, will face San Francisco on the road Tues., May 2 before traveling
to Westwood for the weekend series. Last weekend, Cal lost two of three from
No. 3 Stanford by scores of 7-5, 6-10, 11-12, but snapped the Cardinal's
eight-game home winning streak last Friday in an 11 inning victory. Junior
third baseman Xavier Nady has already broken the school record for career home
runs (51) and now has 56, tying him for third all-time in the Pac-10. Nady
leads the team with a .342 average, 18 home runs and 54 RBI, while junior
catcher Mike Tonis is hitting .328 with 12 homers and 42 RBI. The other Golden
Bear in double figure home run numbers is junior first baseman Clint Hoover with
13 long balls to go along with a .318 clip and 41 RBI. Cal leads the Pac-10
with a .974 fielding percentage.
HEAD COACH GARY ADAMS
- UCLA's All-Time Winningest Baseball Coach: In his 26th
year at the helm of the UCLA baseball program, head coach Gary Adams begins the
new millennium having added yet two more milestones to his resume in 1999. With
a 12-3 victory over then-No.2 Georgia Tech on Feb. 6 at Jackie Robinson Stadium,
Adams secured his 800th win as the skipper of the Bruins. Just over a month
later, Adams earned all-time career victory #1,000 March 2 at Arizona. Adams
is the all-time winningest head baseball coach in UCLA history, a feat
accomplished March 2, 1997 with win #748 coming at the Hormel Foods Classic in
the Metrodome in Minnesota. Adams has compiled a 856-694-7 (.552) record at
UCLA. Thirty-three of Adams' former UCLA players have reached the major leagues.
Former Bruins have made their major league debut in each of the past two seasons. Last year, Dave Roberts become the latest Bruin to make his major league debut with the Indians. 1998, Troy Glaus and Jim Parque, who were teammates on UCLA's 1997 College World Series team, reached the majors. Adams was the head coach at UC Irvine for five years before coming to UCLA and guided the Anteaters to back-to-back NCAA Division II national championships in 1973 and 1974. In 1974, Adams was named as the Division II Coach of the Year. Adams' career record is 1,044-764-12 (.577). He played second base for the Bruins in 1959, 1960 and 1962. As a senior, he was selected team captain and MVP. Adams is assisted by Vince Beringhele, Rob Hinds and Tim Leary.
REECE HITS FOR THE CYCLE:
In his first collegiate opening-day start and only his
fourth career start at first base, Eric Reece (El Dorado Hills/Oak Ridge HS) hit
for the cycle against Hawaii at Rainbow Stadium Feb. 3. He was the first Bruin
to hit for the cycle since current Philadelphia Phillie Eric Valent did it in
1998. Reece led off his 2000 season with a run-scoring triple and then led off
the second inning with a solo-shot to right-center, becoming the first Bruin to
homer at Rainbow Stadium since Jason Green went deep on Jan. 31, 1998. After
singling in the fourth, Reece waited until the top of the ninth inning to
complete the cycle when he lined a run-scoring double to right center. For the
game, Reece went 4-5 with three runs and three RBI and finished the three-game
series going 8-16 with four runs, seven RBI, three doubles, one triple and one
home run. He doubled in each of the three games vs. Hawaii.
ROSTER NOTES:
Senior outfielder Brian Baron (Newhall/Hart HS) will redshirt the
2000 season, after re-aggravating a knee injury at UNLV Feb. 13 and undergoing
surgery ... Junior CF Charles Merricks (Oxnard/Channel Islands HS) has switched
his uniform number from #20 to #42, effective 3/10/00 ... Freshman C Shane
Miranda (Camarillo/Camarillo HS) has switched his uniform number from #16 to
#20.
ATKINS, KARP, SCOTT, UTLEY SELECTED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS:
Junior leftfielder
Bill Scott was named to Collegiate Baseball's preseason All-America first-team
and Baseball America's second team. A freshman phenom on the mound a year ago,
sophomore right-hander Josh Karp was named to Baseball America's first-team
All-America list. Junior third baseman Garrett Atkins was chosen by Baseball
America as a second-team All-American and by Collegiate Baseball as a third-team
All-American, while junior second baseman Chase Utley earned Baseball America
first-team honors and Collegiate Baseball third-team honors.
TOUGH OPPONENTS IN 2000:
UCLA will face eight opponents ranked in Top 25
preseason polls this year including two of the top teams in the nation:
Stanford (#1, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, Baseball Weekly), Cal State
Fullerton (#2, BA, CB, BW), USC (#11 BA and BW, #15 CB), Loyola Marymount (#17
BA), Arizona (#19 BA and CB, #21 BW), Arizona State (#22 BA, BW), North Carolina
(#20 CB) and Long Beach State (#22 CB).
UP NEXT FOR THE BRUINS:
The UCLA baseball team continues its final homestand of
the season as the Bruins host Long Beach State Tues., May 9 and the Arizona
Wildcats Sat., May 13 through Mon., May 15. Saturday and Sunday's games are
scheduled for 1 p.m., while Monday's game is set for 6 p.m.
BRUINS ON THE RADIO:
Selected UCLA baseball games will be broadcast live on the
internet at www.broadcast.com. Jeff Blank will call the play-by-play, with
former Bruin Cassidy Olson doing the color commentary.
UCLA MISC. RECORDS
Overall Record: 28-20
Pac-10 Record: 11-4
Non-Conference Record: 17-16
Home Games: 14-9
Away Games: 14-11
Neutral Site Games: 0-0
Day Games: 21-9
Night Games: 7-11
On Grass: 25-20
On Turf: 3-0
Vs. Ranked Teams: 3-12
Vs. Unranked Teams: 25-8
Vs. Right-Handed Starters: 22-12
Vs. Left-Handed Starters: 6-8
UCLA Scores First: 18-9
Opponent Scores First: 10-11
UCLA Scores In First Inning: 14-7
Opponent Scores In First: 7-9
One-Run Games: 5-5
Two-Run Games: 2-2
Scoring 5+ Runs: 18-6
Opponent 5+ Runs: 11-18
Shutouts: 0-0
Leading after 6 Innings: 22-6
Trailing after 6 Innings: 3-13
Tied after 6 Innings: 3-1
Leading after 8 Innings: 25-2
Trailing after 8 Innings: 0-15
Tied after 8 Innings: 3-2
Extra Innings: 1-1
Last at-bat wins: 2
Largest Winning Margin: 13
Largest Losing Margin: 16
Out-hit Opponent: 25-5
Out-hit by Opponent: 2-12
Equal Number of Hits: 0-3
Fewer Errors Than Opponent: 13-4
More Errors Than Opponent: 10-14
Equal Number of Errors: 5-2
UCLA Starters Get Decision: 20-12
Bullpen Gets Decision: 8-8
Monday: 1-1
Tuesday: 3-6
Wednesday: 2-1
Thursday: 1-1
Friday: 7-4
Saturday: 9-4
Sunday: 5-3
February: 7-8
March: 11-3
April: 10-9
May: 0-0
Last 5 Games: 3-2
Last 10 Games: 4-6
Current Streak: W3
Longest Win Streak: 8 (3/10-3/25)