Monday, 4/21/97 UCLA slides into tie for first with Stanford
Team wins two out of three over Cardinal to share Six-Pac lead
By Kristina Wilcox and Sierra Roberts Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Not even a Friday rain-out or a Saturday doubleheader could stop
the Bruins from moving into a first-place tie with Stanford in the
Six-Pac this weekend. UCLA (34-11-1, 14-7 Six-Pac), who went into
the weekend ranked second in the Baseball America national poll,
took the rubber game in the three-game series from fifth-ranked
Stanford (29-13, 14-7) with a 5-3 victory in Palo Alto on Sunday.
Bruin starting pitcher Peter Zamora (4-2) held off the Cardinal
offense for 8 2/3 innings. He struck out a career-high 11 batters
while walking only one. Zamora allowed seven hits and only three
runs. The runs started early for the Cardinal as junior catcher Jon
Schaffer hit an RBI single in the first inning and sophomore third
baseman Josh Hochgesang drove in a run with a second-inning single.
Stanford was unable to score again until the bottom of the ninth,
when they got a rally going against Zamora, forcing him out of the
game in favor of closer Jake Meyer, who earned a save for his brief
appearance. Senior left fielder Jon Heinrichs established the lead
for the Bruins in the seventh when he hit an RBI double. Heinrichs
went 2 for 5 and had 2 RBI. Eric Valent (2 for 4) hit the only home
run of the day in the eighth, giving the Bruins a 4-2 lead.
Cardinal starting pitcher Chad Hutchinson (3-3) allowed six hits
and three runs with nine strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings of play.
Friday night’s game was postponed because of rain until Saturday,
when the two teams played an afternoon doubleheader. Stanford won
the series opener, 7-4, but the Bruins took the second game, 8-5.
Left-handed starting pitcher Jim Parque (11-1) lost his first game
of the season to open the series on Saturday. He remained on the
mound for eight innings after getting off to a rough start,
allowing three runs to cross the plate in the first inning. He
allowed 12 hits and seven runs (five earned) and struck out six
batters. Kyle Peterson (7-2) was the winning pitcher for Stanford
in the opener. In 7 2/3 innings, he allowed five hits, four runs
and struck out six. The Bruins were able to start the game off with
two runs in the first inning and another in the third. However they
were thwarted by Peterson, who stopped the Bruin offense for the
last four innings. Junior shortstop Troy Glaus, who went 1 for 3 in
the first game, hit his 22nd home run of the season. Third baseman
Aldo Pinto hit his first home run in the game as well. By Saturday
evening, the Bruins turned up the offensive volume. They were able
to dominate the game with a 8-5 victory. Right fielder Eric Byrnes
and Heinrichs opened the game with back-to-back home runs, giving
the Bruins a lead that they would not relinquish. Byrnes went on to
hit a two-run homer in the third. Glaus, who went hitless on
Sunday, hit his 23rd home run Saturday night. Left-hander Tom
Jacquez was the winning pitcher in the second match-up. He went
eight innings, allowing 10 hits and only four runs. The two teams
will wrap up their season series on May 9-11 at Jackie Robinson
Stadium. UCLA Sports Info Eric Byrnes