The UCLA baseball team has been winning games recently in the
last innings.
Tuesday, it won in the first.
With an impressive array of power, which has been largely absent
this year, the Bruins (19-14) throttled No. 5 Long Beach State,
11-1.
The game means much more than just an extra win in the win
column.
It serves as notice to the Pac-10 that this team is dangerous
and playing well.
“We played them earlier in the year and lost,”
designated hitter Wes Whisler said. “We made an adjustment as
a team though, and today we were clicking on all
cylinders.”
The Bruins pounced on the Dirtbags in the opening frame,
parlaying two walks, two singles and two doubles into four quick
runs.
Shortstop Ryan McCarthy and Whisler collected the doubles,
picking up one and two RBI respectively, and center fielder Chad
Concolino had an RBI single, his first of three hits on the
day.
Then UCLA made sure the highly touted Long Beach squad (23-9,
3-0 Big West), which sported a miniscule 2.44 ERA before the game,
never had a chance, putting up seven runs over the next five
innings.
Left fielder Sean Carpenter hit his first career home run, a
two-run shot in the third.
And while Carpenter hit a shot, first baseman Brandon Averill
and Whisler hit bombs of their own.
Averill launched one of the longer homers anyone will ever see
in the fourth inning, pulling it to left. The Dirtbag left fielder
didn’t even bother to budge.
“I just got a pitch to hit and just connected with
it,” Averill said.
Whisler’s homer did not travel as far as Averill’s.
But his appeared to have a five-minute hang-time, seeming to erase
any doubts about his ability to hit the ball in the air.
“I’ve just tried to go with the ball, and I got
under it well today,” Whisler said.
“We got the long balls tonight,” coach Gary Adams
said. “Three different guys, three home runs. It was our
night tonight.”
Mixed in between the offense was an impressive start by David
Johnson. Despite receiving the tough assignment of Long Beach
State, Johnson kept the ball on the ground and the Dirtbags off the
bases, allowing a lone run and all four Dirtbag hits in six
innings.
“Johnson pitched another good game, and that’s two
in a row,” Adams said. “We beat Pepperdine, the
first-place team in its league, and now (Long Beach State). So
those weren’t just easy teams that David beat.”
Kevin Brophy pitched a perfect seventh and Kyle Wilson breezed
through the eighth and ninth, striking out the side in the eighth,
to close the door.
“It was a big game,” Averill said. “And we
came out and built up a lot of confidence.”