Tuesday, 4/8/97
Non-conference game to provide break
Bruins hope to recover after weekend losses, revive for upcoming
battles
By Tim Yun
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA baseball team (29-9-1, 9-6), which dropped two out of
three games this past weekend at Arizona State, will take a brief
time-out from the tough Six-Pac schedule to battle 14th-ranked Long
Beach State (23-13) at Jackie Robinson Stadium tonight at 6
p.m.
A one-game break from the conference schedule is much
appreciated, as the Bruins’ next six games are league games against
conference powerhouses Arizona and Stanford. The team hopes to
start the series against the Wildcats on a positive note.
Tonight, the Bruins will be looking to rebound after their
effort last weekend. They are still smarting from their loss on
Sunday, a 15-14 defensive debacle in which they made a valiant
comeback by scoring five runs in the ninth inning, only to come up
one run short. That loss, combined with the 4-3 loss on Saturday,
cost UCLA its No. 2 national ranking, as it fell three spaces to
fifth in the nation in the latest Baseball America poll.
The 49ers (23-13) enter tonight’s contest on a roll. Last
weekend LBSU swept Pacific, outscoring the Tigers 31-7 in the
three-game series.
"This weekend our play was fairly solid," Long Beach State head
coach Dave Snow said. "Our offense was on track and our team played
good defense in the field."
Taking the mound for the Bruins will be right-handed freshman
Gabe Crecion (0-0, 3.86 ERA). He will try to limit the production
of the 49er lineup, led by outfielder Toby Sanchez (.416 batting
average) and third baseman Izzy Gonzalez (.357).
Long Beach will counter by sending junior right-hander Denny
Gilich (2-2, 6.61 ERA) to the mound. He will have his hands full
with a powerful Bruin lineup that includes seven players hitting
over .350. Juniors Troy Glaus and Peter Zamora and sophomores Jack
Santora and Jason Green – who are all hitting over .400 – lead
UCLA’s offensive surge. Glaus, who has hit 20 home runs so far this
season, is on pace to break UCLA’s single season record of 29, set
by Jim Auten in 1979.
"The Bruins have established themselves as one of the top teams
in the nation," Brown said. "They are really on top of their game
in both hitting and pitching."
As the team approaches the end of the season, and with the NCAA
regionals coming up, the Bruins need every win they can get.Charles
Kuo/DAILY BRUIN
Troy Glaus’ 20 homers this season leave him just nine shy of the
UCLA record.
… the Bruins’ next six games are league games against
conference powerhouses Arizona and Stanford.