Baseball starts strong,
fizzles out in Palo Alto
By Ross Bersot
April showers may have rained out Friday’s scheduled opener at
Sunken Diamond, but UCLA baseball faced a different kind of storm
in Saturday’s double header and Sunday’s finale with Stanford.
After an opening game victory by the visitor, the Cardinal
(21-14 overall, 12-5 Six-Pac) exploded for 23 runs, in taking two
straight games to close out the series.
In Saturday’s first game, the Bruins (10-17, 7-11) continued
their torrid offensive pace, routing the home team 9-1. Eric Byrnes
paced UCLA, going four for five with two runs scored, while Gar
Vallone tallied three RBIs on a double, a single and two walks.
Stanford starting pitcher Dan Reed (3-4, 4.70 ERA) was pulled
with two down in the third inning after giving up six runs Â
five earned  on five hits.
Winning pitcher Jim Parque (2-5) worked eight innings for the
Bruins, striking out seven and giving up 10 hits but only one run
as Stanford stranded a season-high 15 baserunners.
UCLA managed only four runs on 13 hits in the second game. The
home team evened the double header with a 7-4 win.
Junior southpaw Mike Robbins (3-0, 2.98 ERA) picked up the
victory for the Cardinal, going seven and two-thirds innings.
Right-handed Brendan Sullivan retired the final four Bruin batters,
earning his fourth save of the season.
"I thought we played well both games," UCLA head coach Gary
Adams said. "I was proud of the way we played. I thought we played
two real good games, it’s just that they came out on top in the
second one."
On paper, Sunday’s rubber match appeared to be a pitcher’s duel
but Stanford pelted the Bruins 16-3, highlighted by third baseman
Steve Carver’s four for four performance at the plate. Carver hit
two dingers, a triple and a double and drove in five runs in
leading the Cardinal’s washout of Bruin hopes for a second Six-Pac
series victory.
Both teams started their aces but the home team tallied 15 hits,
including seven earned runs on only three hits off of John
Phillips, UCLA’s top hurler.
Freshman Kyle Peterson (7-1, 3.05 ERA) remained unbeaten in the
Six-Pac by defeating the Bruins. In pitching his fourth complete
game of the season, Peterson allowed three runs on eight hits and
struck out five.
Phillips, who has lost two in a row after beginning the season
with five wins, was pulled with two outs in the second inning only
to see three more UCLA pitchers give up nine more runs.
Tim DeCinces and Troy Glaus provided the lone offensive
highlights for the Bruins with solo home runs, while Byrnes
continued his consistency at the plate, going two for three with a
single, a double and one RBI.