Friday, 4/18/97 Battle for Six-Pac title begins tonight
Second-ranked Bruins hope to continue winning streak
By Sierra Roberts Daily Bruin Contributor The Six-Pac title is
on the line this weekend, as Stanford hosts UCLA in a three-game
series. Second-ranked Bruins (32-10-1, 12-6) will enter tonight’s
battle against the fifth-ranked Cardinal (28-11, 13-5), trailing
Stanford by a single game for first place. "This is probably the
biggest series of the year so far," pitcher Tom Jacquez said.
"We’re just going to play how we’ve been playing and see how it
goes." The two teams will enter Sunken Diamond tonight heading in
opposite directions. The Bruins are on a roll, having swept the
University of Arizona in a three-game set at Jackie Robinson
Stadium last weekend. Stanford, on the other hand, will try to
reclaim some lost pride after a disappointing sweep by Arizona
State on its home turf. Regardless, both clubs will be bringing
strong pitchers to the mound. UCLA currently leads the Six-Pac in
team pitching with a team ERA of 3.89. Stanford came in fourth with
a team 4.41 ERA. In the Bruin corner on Friday will be Jim Parque
(11-0). Parque was voted Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week for April 15.
He brings to Palo Alto a 2.27 ERA and has thrown complete games his
last two outings. Other starting pitchers for the Bruins will be
Jacquez (8-1) on Saturday. Jacquez leads the Six-Pac with 81.2
innings pitched and maintains a 2.31 ERA. Peter Zamora (3-2, 5.46
ERA) will get the nod for Sunday’s finale. Facing off against these
strong arms will be Stanford’s own set of powerhouses. Conference
strikeout leader Kyle Peterson (6-2, 3.94 ERA) will start the
series, followed by Chad Hutchinson (3-2, 6.67 ERA) on Saturday,
and Brent Hoard (7-2, 4.34 ERA) on Sunday. As for batting, there
will be no real advantages for either team. UCLA leads Stanford
.344 to .343 in the team battling race. Stanford has scored in
double digits in 17 of its 39 games, while the Bruins are averaging
10.16 runs per game, and have hit 93 home runs in 43 games. In
order to take over first place, they’re just going to have to keep
it up. GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily Bruin Jim Parque is set to pitch
today. A Baseball Media Guide