Monday, February 24, 1997
Offense erupts in 13-run eighth inning
BASEBALL:
Sun Devils pummeled in Bruins’
2-of-3 series victoryBy Kristina Wilcox
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA baseball team scored 13 runs in one inning on Saturday
afternoon en route to a 16-5 rout of Arizona State and a 2-of-3
series victory.
Saturday’s game was a prime example of the team’s explosive
offense. Going in the bottom of the eighth inning, the
second-ranked Bruins (16-2-1, 2-1 Pac-10) trailed ASU.
Eighteen batters, 10 hits and 13 runs later, the game was well
out of reach for the eighth-ranked Sun Devils (10-8, 2-4) as UCLA
pulled out an astounding 16-5 come-from-behind win.
"I have never seen that happen," head coach Gary Adams  a
45-year veteran of the game  said of the wild eighth inning.
"If I knew what caused it, I’d bottle it and sell it."
"It took us awhile to get on track," hitting coach Vince
Beringhele said. "But when we got it going, it was good." He then
put on a big smile.
Every Bruin had the right to smile after Saturday’s outing. But
the one person who was smiling the most was lead-off hitter Jon
Heinrichs.
Heinrichs went 0-for-5 in Friday’s 10-inning, 4-3 victory. He
had a single Saturday before the huge eighth inning. Then, he tied
the game at five with a double.
Nine batters later, he cleared the bases with his sixth homer of
the season.
"I had a bad weekend up to that point," Heinrichs said. "I was
just trying to stay confident."
After Saturday’s game, the entire team should be confident in
its ability to hit.
First baseman Cassidy Olson led the eighth with a single off new
ASU pitcher Ryan Bradley (3-2). Bradley came into the game in place
of starter Ryan Mills, who had held the Bruins to only 3 runs (2
earned) in seven innings.
Rob Henkel (2-0) was impressive in 3 1/3 innings of relief. He
struck out six batters.
In Friday’s overtime victory, Glaus drove in the winning run on
a single. UCLA starting pitcher Tom Jacquez stifled ASU’s offense
with 2 earned runs and five strikeouts in eight innings.
"We needed the win because we came in wanting to win three
games," Heinrichs said.
ASU’s bats and UCLA’s gloves did not make a sweep a reality, as
the Sun Devils chipped away at a 12-1 Bruin lead to garner a 17-12
win on Sunday afternoon.
UCLA committed five errors in the loss.
GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily Bruin
Jon Heinrichs hit five RBIs in the eighth inning of Saturday’s
win.