The UCLA baseball team will travel down the freeway in an
attempt to break its 17-game losing streak today against Loyola
Marymount. The Lions are 13-18, but have been playing well
recently, upsetting then-No. 1 Cal State Fullerton last Tuesday and
winning two out of three games against West Coast Conference foe
Portland this past weekend. LMU has a potent offense that is
scoring nearly six runs a game, which is a concern for UCLA coach
John Savage. “They have a tough middle of the lineup with
(Joe) Frazee and (Jon) Oller, and they always have a lot of offense
at home,” Savage said. But the Lions’ pitching staff is
allowing almost seven runs a game, which could give a ripe
opportunity to reawaken a UCLA offense that scored just one run in
three games against crosstown rival USC over the weekend. This is
the first meeting of the year between the two clubs with a second
match-up slated at Jackie Robinson Stadium on May 17.
SMITH INJURED: Junior Sean Smith is not expected to return to
UCLA’s lineup for another two weeks. The second baseman, who
sprained his shoulder on a check swing in a recent game against
Arizona, took an MRI that did not show a need for surgery.
“We were afraid it might be a tear of the labrum, which would
have put him out the rest of the season, but there is no tear and
(it is just) a sprain,” Savage said. Savage noted that Smith
could return earlier, but he did not want to risk further injury to
the player and will likely hold Smith out until the Bruins meet the
Sun Devils on April 22-24. Prior to his injury, Smith was second on
the team in doubles and fourth on the team in batting with a .301
average. “We can’t rush him back. He is too valuable
for us with the bat to push him back too soon and then risk losing
him for longer,” Savage said. Junior utility player Sean
Carpenter has been filling in for Smith at second base since the
injury.
SHARP STARTS: Senior catcher Matt Sharp started twice over the
weekend against USC in place of struggling starter Chris Denove.
Sharp had not started a game since 2003, and had only three starts
in his UCLA career before the past weekend. Savage was looking to
shake things up in a lineup that has only scored 47 runs during the
17-game losing streak, and only eight runs in the last seven games.
“We’re trying to do everything we can to get out of
this (losing) streak,” Savage said. “Chris has been
struggling and we thought Sharp would be a good match-up against
(Ian) Kennedy and (Zack) Kalter (the Trojan starters on Saturday
and Sunday).” Sharp went 1-for-7 in his two starts, but
played solid defense behind the plate.