Thursday, March 13, 1997
BASEBALL:
Team effort overcomes umpiring, tight strike zoneBy Kristina
Wilcox
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Usually one opponent is enough to keep any team busy.
But baseball head coach Gary Adams got a great effort out of his
players Tuesday night when they battled two foes  the
home-plate umpire and unranked Cal State Fullerton (13-11). They
triumphed over both in a 7-6 contest.
Coaches and players complained all night about the umpiring, the
biggest problem being the strike zone.
"It’s not very often that I’ll say anything about the umpire,"
Adams said after the third-ranked UCLA team moved to 22-5-1 on the
year. "But in this case, for both sides equally, the strike zone
was very small. If you just look at the scorebook, the fact is our
pitchers walked too many guys.
"However, you had to know how the umpire was calling balls and
strikes to really appreciate what was going on."
Pitching coach Tim Leary agreed and said the calls affected
starting pitcher Tom Jacquez’ outing.
"Today the zone was a little tight, so he didn’t get as many
called strikes as he could have," Leary said.
The strike zone was not the only thing questioned. The Titans
complained about the ruling on UCLA shortstop Troy Glaus’
seventh-inning home run (his 13th of the season).
Glaus fouled a 2-1 pitch off his left knee, falling to the
ground in obvious pain. After trainers and coaches looked him over
he once again stood in the batter’s box. The next pitch he saw he
lined over the corner of the left-field fence for a solo homer, one
of four solo shots the Bruins hit in the game.
"I just try to regain my focus and take the pitch where it is,"
Glaus said.
But wait  was that a fair or foul ball?
"I didn’t see it," Glaus said. "I was just trying to make it
look like I knew it was fair."
The umpires discussed the call while Glaus rounded the bases.
Despite the arguing of Titan head coach George Horton, the umps
decided that yes, it was a home run.
This run proved to be the difference in the game as the Titans
mounted a small rally in the top of the ninth inning against closer
Jake Meyer bringing the score to a one-run margin. Meyer saved the
game for Jacquez (5-1), who pitched five great innings (five hits,
one run) on only three days’ rest.
"He knows how to pitch," Leary said. "He’s been great for
us."
Another player who has been great for the team is first baseman
Peter Zamora. He had three hits in the game, including a solo homer
(his eighth homer on the season).
Leadoff hitter Jon Heinrichs got the Bruin offense off to a
quick start with a solo homer to right, his 12th homer thus far.
Eric Byrnes followed Heinrichs with a home run to left, his fifth
overall.
UCLA 7,
Cal State Fullerton 6PATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin
Eric Byrnes after belting a solo homerun.