Friday, January 23, 1998
Rookies will start in opener
GAME PREV.: Highly-touted recruits hope to fill gaps left by
talented Bruin graduates, professionals
By Kristina Wilcox
Daily Bruin Staff
There is always a first for everything, and the first game of
the 1998 regular season is a fine time to make one’s collegiate
debut on the baseball diamond.
Three freshmen will be in the starting lineup on Saturday
afternoon when UCLA opens the season against California State
University, Dominguez Hills at Jackie Robinson Stadium, while a
sophomore left-hander makes his first career start on the
mound.
The Bruin coaches put together the top-ranked recruiting class
in the nation over the off-season, according to a collegiate
baseball poll. They brought in 15 freshmen to try and replace
several key players from last year’s College World Series team who
signed professionally or graduated.
Chase Utley will try to fill the big shoes of Angels’ prospect
Troy Glaus at shortstop this season. Utley was drafted by the
Dodgers in the second round of the June amateur draft, after
hitting .525 during his senior year at Long Beach Poly High School.
He will be in the lineup on Saturday.
Right-handed pitcher Chad Cislak will also see some playing time
this weekend when he makes an appearance out of the bullpen for
head coach Gary Adams. He will be the second UCLA pitcher in the
game, following starter Rob Henkel, the ace left-handed reliever
from the 1997 team.
Henkel will be in a new role this year at the college level,
since he has not opened a game since high school. He is already
projected to be the first pitcher in the Hawaii series starting on
January 29. At the Midwest Regional last May, Henkel earned the
save in the championship game versus Oklahoma State by pitching
three innings in the 22-2 blowout.
He will follow in the footsteps of former Bruin left-handers Tom
Jacquez, Jim Parque and Peter Zamora, by being in the starting
rotation under Adams.
Left field will also be the scene of another ‘first’ for a
talented player by the time the game is over. There is a three-way
race between freshmen Matt Pearl and Bill Scott and sophomore
Michael Hymes for the starting job in left. All are likely to see
playing time throughout the season.
* * *
The Bruins will face the Cal State Dominguez Hills team in the
opening game of the regular season. UCLA is 20-7 versus their
Southern California opponents during Adams’ 23-year tenure as head
coach, with last year’s contest resulting in a 21-10 victory for
the Bruins.
In the same time frame of Adams’ career, opening day has been
especially fruitful. The program has won nine of the last 11 season
openers.
* * *
The season has not even started, and some key players are
already among the walking wounded. For precautionary reasons, last
year’s second baseman Nick Theodorou will not appear in Saturday’s
game. He sprained his knee in a collision during an intrasquad
game. It’s likely that he will return by the second game of the
Hawaii series.
Reliever John Phillips is also out with a stress fracture in his
left foot. Once he rehabilitates the injury, he should contend for
a spot in the starting rotation.