Before the year began, most of college baseball expected the
UCLA baseball team to be hanging around Westwood right now, resting
after a fourth straight mediocre season out of the postseason. But
the Bruins, who turned in one of the nation’s most surprising
seasons, are happily in Oklahoma City, preparing for tomorrow
night’s opening NCAA Regional contest against No. 20
Oklahoma. The impending retirement of coach Gary Adams has
overshadowed a team that has followed through on its season-long
insistence that it was better than billed. Led by an experienced
squad heavy with juniors and seniors, UCLA surprised the Pac-10 by
storming through league play and basically giving the NCAA no
alternative but to add them to the regionals. “This was
definitely one of my more memorable regular seasons,” Adams
said. “There was too much ado about this being my last year
instead of how great this team was performing, especially since no
one expected them to go on.” Before the season, Pac-10
coaches chose UCLA to finish seventh. At 14-10, though, the Bruins
claimed sole possession of third, just two games behind No. 1
first-place Stanford. “After having never been ranked in any
poll this year, here we are, two games away from Stanford,”
Adams said. “It’s a great story, and it’s the
players’ story.” So as the Bruins prepare to redirect
their focus from a 60-game journey to a weekend sprint, they can
take a moment to enjoy the satisfaction of exceeding negative
expectations. After that, though, they must prepare to make some
more heads turn. “I told the team that every game from the
first game to the 60th game has been a big fight for survival, so
let’s not change anything,” Adams said.
“We’re now into phase two of our goal.”
PAC-10 HONORS: On Wednesday, the Pac-10
announced its 2004 conference awards, and UCLA was prominent among
the honorees. Adams received Coach of the Year, his third of his
30-year UCLA career. Senior starter Casey Janssen and junior
shortstop Ryan McCarthy both were named to the conference’s
first-team, each’s first Pac-10 honor. Adams guided the
Bruins to third place after back-to-back losing seasons and to the
postseason for the first time since 2000. Janssen led the team with
nine wins, was fourth in the Pac-10 in strikeouts with 96, third in
ERA at 3.40, and second in opponents’ batting average at
.213. In addition to exceptional fielding, McCarthy paced UCLA in
home runs with 13 and RBI with 45, while racking up a .301 average.
Seniors Brandon Averill, Preston Griffin and Mike Svetlic, juniors
Matt Thayer and Wes Whisler and sophomores Chris Denove and Brett
McMillan all picked up all-conference honorable mention.
HELPING OUT: While the team was in Corvallis to
play Oregon State last Friday, trainer Andy Liu learned his father
had passed away. As Liu made arrangements to fly home, the players
took up a collection of $500 to help Liu pay for the last-minute
ticket.
WHISLER ON THE RISE: Battling back after a
rough start, pitcher/first baseman Whisler has been one of the
Bruins’ key contributors lately. He has won two of his last
three starts and received a no-decision in the other, in which he
threw well enough for a win. “He’s pitching with a lot
more confidence, with all of his pitches,” catcher Denove
said. “His confidence level is so high, he’s able to
throw pitches in certain counts he wasn’t doing
before.” The second-team preseason All-American’s
production at the plate also peaked toward the end of the season,
as he finished with a .280 average, was third on the team in hits,
and fell just one RBI short of McCarthy for the team lead.
“I’ve had a rough year,” Whisler said. “But
I’ve been making adjustments from pitch to pitch, at-bat to
at-bat.” SUSDORF RETURNS: Regular right
fielder Billy Susdorf is back and nearly at full health after he
had to sit out for much of the past few months due to a leg injury.
“He’s close to 100 percent,” Adams said.
“He was certainly a big contributor, so it’s nice to
have him back.” The junior started all three games last
weekend and leads the team with a .337 average over 32 games.