Baseball Faces Arizona
May 10, 2000
LOS ANGELES - The UCLA baseball team (31-22 overall, 13-5 Pac-10) has won six of its last eight games, including the last three straight, as the Bruins play host to the Arizona Wildcats for three-game Pac-10 series at Jackie Robinson Stadium Saturday, May 13 through Monday, May 15. Saturday and Sunday's games are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., while Monday's first pitch is set for 6 p.m. This series concludes UCLA's home schedule for the 2000 season. With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Bruins enter the week in second place in the Pac-10, a half game behind first place Stanford and a full game ahead of third place Arizona State. Depending upon how the top three teams in the conference fair this weekend, the Pac-10 champion just might be determined on the field next weekend when the Bruins travel to Stanford for the final series of the regular season. Stanford has the conference bye this weekend, while Arizona State hosts Washington in Tempe. Last weekend, UCLA took two of three games from California at home and ended the series in dramatic fashion on a two-out base hit in the bottom of the ninth inning by junior shortstop Josh Canales, lifting the Bruins to an 8-7 victory in Game Three. The Bruins began the week with a 17-6 win over Long Beach State Tuesday evening in Westwood.
THIS WEEK:
Tues., May 9 - UCLA 17, Long Beach State 6
Sat., May 13 - UCLA (31-22, 13-5) vs. Arizona (22-25, 7-11), 1 p.m. Sun., May 14 - UCLA vs. Arizona, 1 p.m., JRS Mon., May 15 - UCLA vs. Arizona, 6 p.m., JRS
NEXT WEEK:
Fri., May 19 - UCLA @ Stanford, 6 p.m., Sunken Diamond
Live Radio - www.broadcast.com
Sat., May 20 - UCLA @ Stanford, 1 p.m., Sunken Diamond
Live Radio - www.broadcast.com
Sun.,May 21 - UCLA @ Stanford, 1 p.m., Sunken Diamond
Live Radio - www.broadcast.com
UCLA vs. Arizona-- Probable Pitching Match-up:
May 13: RHP Josh Karp, So. (8-1, 4.19) vs. RHP Ben Diggins, So. (9-3, 3.55)
May 14: LHP Rob Henkel, Jr. (5-2, 4.73) vs. LHP Rob Shabansky, Sr. (3-4, 7.94)
May 15: LHP Bobby Roe, Jr. (6-4, 5.15) vs. LHP Tony Milo, Sr. (5-6, 5.59)
2000 UCLA Expected Starters (By Position)
Pos. Player Class 2000 Stats (AVG, HR, RBI) C Forrest Johnson Jr. .362, 19, 63 1B Garrett Atkins Jr. .362, 15, 57 2B Chase Utley Jr. .392, 18, 60 SS Josh Canales Jr. .261, 0, 14 3B Randall Shelley So. .279, 3, 13 LF Bill Scott Jr. .433, 21, 69 CF Charles Merricks Jr. .244, 1, 26 RF Matt Pearl Jr. .384, 4, 31 DH TBA -- --
BRUIN BASEBALL NOTABLES:
- UCLA has reached the 30 win mark for the fourth time in five seasons, and for the 18th time in 26 seasons under head coach Gary Adams.
- With conference series still remaining with Arizona and Stanford, UCLA is aiming to capture its first Pac-10 title since 1986 and the sixth conference title overall.
- UCLA's 13 league wins match last season's total with six Pac-10 games still remaining.After hitting 10 home runs vs. California this past weekend and two vs. Long Beach State Tuesday, UCLA has hit a total of 99 this season.
- The UCLA regular season record is 126 and the season record (including post season play) is 142, both set by the 1997 team which went to the College World Series.
- Four Bruins have hit at least 15 home runs this season and rank among the top 10 in the Pac-10: Bill Scott (21), Forrest Johnson (19), Chase Utley (18) and Garrett Atkins (15).
- The Bruins have racked up at least 10 hits in the last nine games, and 24 of the last 27 games this season, UCLA has reached double figures in hits in all but 11 games in 2000.UCLA has hit an extra base hit in all but one game this season.
- UCLA entered the week among the top-three in nine major Pac-10 offensive categories: batting average (.330, 3rd), slugging percentage (.555, T1st), on-base percentage (.412, 3rd), runs (443, 2nd), hits (632, 1st), RBI (407, 2nd), doubles (118, 1st), home runs (97, 1st) and total bases (1063, 1st).
- JR LF Bill Scott has hit at least 20 home runs for the second straight season, becoming the Pac-10's second 20-home run man this season and 43rd all-time.
- Scott and JR 1B Garrett Atkins rank one and two on UCLA's all-time batting average list: Scott with a .391 (209-for-534) career clip and Atkins with a .373 (261-for-699) all-time batting average.
WHERE'S ALDO.:
Senior Aldo Pinto became the first player in UCLA baseball
history to play all nine positions in a single game Tuesday night in the Bruins'
17-6 landslide victory over Long Beach State. Pinto played a different position
in each inning, starting at third base, then moving to first base, catcher,
shortstop, second base, all three outfield positions and finished the game on
the mound in the top of the ninth. Pinto did not allow a hit and struck out one
batter, and for good measure went 2-for-5 at the plate with three RBI on a
two-run double and a sacrifice fly.
UTLEY TIES PAC-10, UCLA HIT RECORD, CLOSING IN ON MORE UCLA, NCAA RECORDS:
Aldo Pinto's performance may have overshadowed the game itself, but he wasn't
the only Bruin to enter the record books Tuesday night. Junior second baseman
Chase Utley went 6-for-6 vs. the 49ers, tying a Pac-10 and UCLA record for hits
in a single game. The last Bruin to go 6-for-6 was first baseman Mike Mitchell
vs. Arizona in 1993, while the last Pac-10 player to accomplish the feat was
Washington State's Jeff Scherer vs. New Mexico State Feb. 14, 1999. With
Utley's six singles Tuesday, he has now singled in eight straight at-bats dating
back to Sunday's game vs. Cal and is three hits away from the UCLA record for
consecutive hits set by Chad Matoian with 11 in 1996. The NCAA record is 14
consecutive hits, set by Larry Patterson of Gonzaga in 1977. Utley has also
reached base safely in 13 of the last 14 straight plate appearances. He has run the bases 14 straight plate appearances, reaching base on a fielder's choice and later scoring.
BRUINS BEGIN WEEK WITH 17-6 VICTORY OVER LONG BEACH STATE:
Thanks to the
efforts of Utley and Pinto, as well as an outstanding pitching performance from
freshman LHP Mike Kunes and home runs by junior LF Bill Scott and junior DH
Forrest Johnson, UCLA cruised to a 17-6 victory over the 49ers Tuesday night at
Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins jumped out to as much as an 8-1 lead after
three innings and a 12-2 lead after seven innings. Junior 1B Garrett Atkins
was 2-for-5 with three RBI including a two-run double, while Scott went 3-for-5
with two singles and a three-run home run. Kunes picked up the third victory of
his career, and pitched three and a third shutout innings, retiring the first 10
batters he faced. Kunes came in for starter Nick Lyon, the junior outfielder
who made his first collegiate start on the mound and allowed one run on two hits
and struck out four in the first two innings. Kunes even tually gave up five
runs, all on home runs including a solo shot by 49er shortstop Bobby Crosby a
nd a grand slam by left-fielder Jeff Jones.
BRUINS TAKE TWO OF THREE FROM CAL:
The Bruins won their fifth conference series
last weekend and ninth overall, taking two of three games from the visiting
California Bears by scores of 7-13, 18-7 and 8-7. UCLA went 44-for-116 (.379)
with 33 runs scored, 32 RBI, two doubles and 10 home runs in the series. In
Game One, UCLA squandered as much as a 6-2 lead and with the scored tied 7-7
after seven innings, gave up six runs in the top of the eighth. The Bruins came
back to tie a season-high with 18 runs and came up just one home run shy of
matching the school record for home runs in a single game, in Game Two. Junior
C Forrest Johnson and junior 1B Garrett Atkins each had a pair of homers, while
junior 2B Chase Utley and sophomore 3B Randall Shelley each hit one home run a
piece. Sophomore RHP Josh Karp (8-1) picked up his sixth straight victory,
while junior RHP Paul Diaz threw four scoreless innings to pick up the save.
Game Three featured a dramatic come-from-behind victory by the Bruins. UCLA
came back from a 6-1 deficit and evened the score on back-to-back home runs by Atkins
and junior LF Bill Scott. UCLA went ahead in the eighth on a run-scoring single
by Utley and after Cal came back to tie in the top of the ninth, the Bruins
pulled off the victory on a two-out RBI single by junior SS Josh Canales.
Junior RHP Jon Brandt allowed one hit and one run through six innings of relief
to pick up the victory.
HOW UCLA STACKS UP AGAINST THE NATION:
Junior lefty Rob Henkel ranks second in
the nation with 13.4 strikeouts per game, while Bill Scott is 13th with his
.429 batting average through May 7. In the home run race, Scott is 8th with .38
homers per game, while Forrest Johnson ranks 15th with .35 home runs per game
and Chase Utley ranks 19th in the nation with .35 per game as well.
BRUIN POWER SURGE:
UCLA has slugged a Pac-10 leading 99 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
six home runs in a game once, five homers on three occasions, and four in two
games. Consequently, four Bruins rank among the top 10 home run hitters in the
Pac: Bill Scott (21), Forrest Johnson (19), Chase Utley (18) and Garrett Atkins
(15). Here's a look at the Bruins' home run breakdown for 2000:
Solo HR: 53 (Utley 10, Atkins 9, Lyon 7, Johnson 8, Scott 7,
Berry 3, Hemming 3, Pearl 3, Reece, Hofman:Shelley)
2-Run HR: 29 (Scott 10, Utley 6, Atkins 6, Johnson 5, Shelley 2)
3-Run HR: 15 (Johnson 5, Scott 4, Utley 2, Hamill, Pearl, Lyon Merricks)
Grand Slam: 2 (Johnson, Hemming)
NCAA REGIONAL SITES, BRACKETS TO BE ANNOUNCED:
As the end of the regular season
draws near and the Bruins remain in a hunt for a Pac-10 title, post-season play
is a possibility for UCLA. The 16 sites for the NCAA regionals will be
announced at 12 p.m. PT on Monday, May 15. The selection show for the 64-team
bracket and regional pairings will be televised on ESPN Monday, May 22 at 12
p.m. PT. Twenty-nine of the 64 teams will be automatic qualifiers as conference
champions, including from the Pac-10.
SENIOR SALUTE:
The lone senior on the active roster for the Bruins, Aldo Pinto,
will be recognized for his contributions to the UCLA baseball program in a
special pre-game ceremony prior to Sunday's game with Arizona.
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.
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 53 home
runs rank third among UCLA career hitters and is tied for 7th in the Pac. Utley
has 49 career home runs ranking him for fifth highest among UCLA home run
leaders and 11th among all-time Pac-10 sluggers.
THIS WEEKEND'S STARTING ROTATION:
- SO RHP Josh Karp (Bothell, Wash./Bothell HS) has won six straight deci sions vs. Oregon State, USC, Cal State Northridge, Arizona State, Washington State and most recently vs. California. With his eighth victory of the season, he matches his season high set last year as a freshman. Karp is holding opponents to a .211 average (third among conference starters). Karp struck out a career-high 12 batters vs. USC April 8. Until giving up seven runs on eight hits in his last start vs. Cal, Karp had allowed just nine hits and three earned runs, while striking out 35 in the previous 25.1 innings pitched. Karp is 8-1 and 74 Ks.
- JR LHP Rob Henkel (La Mesa/Monte Vista HS) has gone four starts without a decision and five since earning a victory. Henkel has yet to pitch more than 5.2 innings in a game after his back-to-back complete game victories vs. Washington and Oregon State. In his last start vs. California last weekend, Henkel allowed five runs on three hits while striking out nine and walking a season-high eight batters through 5.2 IP. In 72.1 IP, Henkel is 5-2 with a 4.73 ERA and 108 strikeouts (third in the Pac-10 and second in the nation with a 13.4 per game average). Prior to his fourth 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.
- JR LHP Bobby Roe (Plano, Tex./Plano HS) had probably his best outing of the
season 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 picked up a no-decision vs. Cal on Sunday,
allowing four runs on five walks and two hits through 2.1 IP. Roe enters
Monday's start with a 6-4 record, a 5.15 ERA and 56 strikeouts. Roe has hit 20
opposing batters this season, breaking a single-season UCLA record set (15) by
Rick Heineman in 1995. He is closing in on the NCAA record for hit batters
which is 25 set by Marc Valdes of Florida in 1993. He struck out a career and
season high nine batters in the second game of a double header vs. Harvard March
18.
SCOUTING ARIZONA:
The Bruins and the Wildcats face-off in a rare Saturday, Sunday, Monday series as Arizona has final exams this week. In fact, the Wildcats have not played since the weekend of April 28-30 vs. Cal State Northridge in Tucson. Arizona, led by head coach Jerry Stitt in his fourth season at the helm, is in the midst of a season-high four-game winning streak and needs to win four of its last six games to post its fourth straight winning record. When the Wildcats last saw action, they swept CSUN at home by scores of 6-1, 12-8 and 9-7. Junior first baseman Ernie Durazo leads the team with a .402 batting average, and is attempting to become the 18th Wildcat in school history to hit .400. Durazo also has 11 home runs and a team-leading 51 RBI. Sophomore RHP/DH Ben Diggins is a threat on the mound and with the bat, as Diggins is hitting .376 with nine home runs and 34 RBI to go along with a 9-3 pitching record and a 3.55 ERA. Diggins is attempting to become the first player in Arizona history and just the second-ever in the Pac-10 to post double-digit totals in home runs and wins. The Wildcats are second in the conference with a .336 batting average and last with a 7.21 ERA. The Bruins lead the all-time series with Arizona 112-95-1 (.541), but lost two of three in Tucson last year by scores of 6-4, 1-6 and 8-7. Under UCLA head coach Gary Adams, UCLA leads the series 68-63.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 859-695-7 (.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 1,047-765-12 (.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.MITCHELL SPLITTING TIME BETWEEN THE GRIDIRON AND THE DIAMOND:
One of the top wide-receivers on the football team this year for the Bruins, Mitchell is spending his "off-season" on the baseball diamond. Mitchell made his first collegiate baseball start Feb. 12 vs. UNLV and picked up his first career hit and RBI by legging out an infield ground ball. The Bruins will look to Mitchell's speed on the basepaths this season.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.HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION...:
Bill Scott, Josh Karp and Jon Brandt spent the summer of '99 playing with the USA Baseball Team, that finished with a 24-15 overall record. Team USA's travels took these Bruins as far as Japan, where Scott was named USA's most outstanding player of the five-game USA-Japan series held June 23-29. Scott hit .300 (6-for-20) with three home runs during the series. Despite his efforts, the Japanese Collegiate All-Star Baseball Team completed the five-game sweep. Scott started 34 of Team USA's 39 games, and played in a total of 35. He finished second on the squad in home runs (9), RBI (32), total bases (87) and hits (48), while hitting .340. Right-handed hurler Karp, one of the youngest players on Team USA, won a team-high four games and dropped two, while posting a 3.72 ERA. In 36.1 innings, he racked up 35 strikeouts and allowed just 13 walks. Brandt, a junior right-hander, went 1-2 with a 7.12 ERA. Despite arm troubles suffered at various points during the season, Bra ndt managed to fan 26 batters and allow just 13 walks in 30.1 innings pitched.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 road ahead only brings more challenges for the UCLA baseball team, as the Bruins finish up the regular season with a three-game series at Stanford Friday, May 19 through Sunday, May 21. Depending on what happens this weekend, a Pac-10 championship could very well be on the line. All three games will be broadcast live on the internet at www.broadcast.com. Friday's game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday will begin at 1 p.m. at Stanford's Sunken Diamond.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: 31-22
Pac-10 Record: 13-5
Non-Conference Record: 18-17
Home Games: 17-10
Away Games: 14-12
Neutral Site Games: 0-0
Day Games: 23-10
Night Games: 8-12
On Grass: 28-22
On Turf: 3-0
Vs. Ranked Teams: 3-12
Vs. Unranked Teams: 28-10
Vs. Right-Handed Starters: 24-14
Vs. Left-Handed Starters: 7-8
UCLA Scores First: 20-11
Opponent Scores First: 11-11
UCLA Scores In First Inning: 16-9
Opponent Scores In First: 8-10
One-Run Games: 6-6
Two-Run Games: 2-2
Scoring 5+ Runs: 21-8
Opponent 5+ Runs: 14-20
Shutouts: 0-0
Leading after 6 Innings: 24-7
Trailing after 6 Innings: 4-14
Tied after 6 Innings: 3-1
Leading after 8 Innings: 28-2
Trailing after 8 Innings: 0-17
Tied after 8 Innings: 3-2
Extra Innings: 1-1
Last at-bat wins: 3
Largest Winning Margin: 13
Largest Losing Margin: 16
Out-hit Opponent: 28-7
Out-hit by Opponent: 2-12
Equal Number of Hits: 0-3
Fewer Errors Than Opponent: 15-4
More Errors Than Opponent: 10-15
Equal Number of Errors: 6-3
UCLA Starters Get Decision: 21-12
Bullpen Gets Decision: 10-10
Monday: 1-1
Tuesday: 4-7
Wednesday: 2-1
Thursday: 1-1
Friday: 7-5
Saturday: 10-4
Sunday: 6-3
February: 7-8
March: 11-3
April: 10-9
May: 3-2
Last 5 Games: 3-2
Last 10 Games: 6-4
Current Streak: W3
Longest Win Streak: 8 (3/10-3/25)