Baseball hits end of the road
By Ross Bersot
UCLA baseball’s playoff aspirations were swept away by
California this weekend at Evans Diamond.
A three-game mauling at the claws of the Bears (30-23 overall,
18-12 Six-Pac) leaves the Bruins (25-26, 12-18) stuck in fifth
place in the Six-Pac at the conclusion of the conference schedule
and out of contention for an NCAA Regional Playoff berth.
After two straight losses, UCLA seemed to be back on track in
Friday’s opener against Cal. Single runs in the first, fourth and
seventh innings, highlighted by a Jon Heinrichs home run, gave the
Bruins a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the eighth.
Rick Heineman held the Bears scoreless for six innings, before
being replaced in the seventh by closer Pete Zamora. After closing
out the seventh, Zamora ran into trouble in the eighth.
A lead-off single by Cal right fielder Gavin Brown was turned
into a triple by two UCLA errors. Third baseman Zak Ammirato
allowed Brown the unearned run on an errant throw at home
plate.
Zamora then walked the bases loaded. With two outs, Bear left
fielder Jonathan Petke hit a two-run single to give Cal a 4-3 lead,
which is the way the game ended.
Mike Miller (3-0) took the mound in the top of the eighth and
blanked the Bruins for two innings to pick up the win in relief,
while Zamora (3-3) recorded the loss, giving up two hits and four
unearned runs.
Saturday proved another heartbreaker for the visitors. UCLA
trailed throughout the game, but tied it 8-8 in the ninth with five
runs. Troy Glaus punctuated the rally with a two-run bomb off of
eventual winner Drew Fischer (2-2).
Once again Cal had the last word. With two down in the bottom of
the ninth and Michael Caravelli (1-2) pitching for the Bruins,
first baseman Pat O’ Hara drove in the game-winning run with a
single.
O’Hara entered the game as a defensive replacement in the bottom
of the eighth, but proved an offensive threat as well. In addition
to his game-winning single, he hit a double in the eighth to go two
for two at the plate.
Despite Zak Ammirato’s four for four batting display, UCLA lost
Sunday’s finale 10-5.
Not even a solo homer in the third inning could spark the
Bruins, as the Bears finished the sweep, not with brooms, but with
their bats.
Losing pitcher Nick St. George (4-2) gave up five runs on eight
hits in two innings. Miller nailed his second win of the series
giving up one hit in one inning of work.