Errors haunt baseball in 7-4 loss to San Diego
By Ruben Gutierrez
One practice is worth a thousand words.
The impromptu baseball practice performed after Wednesday
night’s 7-4 defeat at the hands of the University of San Diego said
it all. Long after the scoreboard lights had gone off, UCLA
infielders were busy honing their fielding skills with head coach
Gary Adams.
The Bruins were the victims of a sloppy game in which they
committed four errors and utilized five pitchers. It was the fourth
straight loss for UCLA (23-21 overall).
The Bruins cruised out to an easy 2-0 lead in the second inning.
Second baseman Gar Vallone was a Bruin bright spot, sending a pitch
over the 365 feet sign in right field to get things started.
Designated hitter Chad Matoian’s single scored left fielder Mike
Seal, who had followed Vallone’s homer with a double of his own. In
the fifth, Seal scored Troy Glaus to make it 3-0 in the Bruin’s
favor.
Starter Nick St. George pitched well for UCLA, allowing only two
hits in five scoreless innings from the mound.
In the sixth, however, closers Mike Caravelli and Jeff Howatt
gave up four runs on two doubles and two singles.Caravelli had
given up three runs to go along with no outs when he was pulled in
favor of Howatt in the sixth. Suddenly, UCLA trailed 4-3.
Things got worse in the seventh, as Howatt gave up two more runs
to make it 6-3, Toreros. A Tim DeCinces double in the eighth to
score Jon Heirichs made it 6-4, USD and gave the Bruins a fighting
chance.
UCLA could manage no more, though. The scoring closed in the
ninth when Torero shortstop Dave Romero doubled to score center
fielder Larry Williams, making it a final of 7-4, USD. Romero
safely reached base in all five at-bats, hitting three singles and
reaching twice on errors.
The four errors were a season-high for the Bruins. Two of the
four were committed by third baseman Glaus, the team leader in that
category. To make matters worse, the Toreros effectively stole
bases all night to advance runners into scoring position. UCLA had
baserunning problems, as Matoian was caught in a pickle and tagged
out falling between third base and home plate, further diminishing
chances for a Bruin comeback.
UCLA’s playoff chances were affected little by the loss. The
team will, however, have to win virtually all of its remaining
conference games to qualify for the regional playoffs.