Both the UCLA and UC Irvine baseball teams are coming off of
home weekend series against ranked Texas schools. But while the
Anteaters are riding high after sweeping No. 25 Baylor, the Bruins
(11-5) are reeling after winning just one out of three against No.
14 Texas A&M, losing Saturday and Sunday amid a slew of errors.
“There were some not-so-bright spots, and we need to fix
that,” coach Gary Adams said. The two UC’s face off
today at 6 p.m. in Irvine. UC Irvine (12-3-1) seems to be a program
on the rise under third-year coach John Savage, whom Athletic
Director Dan Guerrero hired before leaving for UCLA. “I know
a few players over there, and I’ve heard they have a pretty
good team,” junior Ryan McCarthey said. “I’m sure
they’ll be ready to play us. We have a good team and any team
is going to try and knock us off.” Sophomore Hector Ambriz
(2-1) will get the start for the Bruins a week after his best
outing of the year against UC Santa Barbara. He went five and a
third innings without giving up a run, lowering his ERA to 4.76.
“His last three outings have been pretty good,”
pitching coach Tim Leary said. “Last time he gave up no runs,
and the two times before he pitched strongly until he got knocked
out of the game, which was partly my fault for not getting him out
of there sooner.” CLEMENS AWARD: Junior
left-handed starting pitcher Wes Whisler has been named on the
Roger Clemens Award Watch List. The award, in its first year, will
be given at the end of the year to the nation’s top pitcher
as voted by Division I coaches, selected members of the national
media and past winners of the now-retired Rotary Smith Award.
Whisler made the list because he was selected to be a member of the
second-team pre-season All-America selection by Baseball America.
He is 1-1 with a 4.64 ERA in 21-1/3 innings.
SHORT HOPS: The Bruins were 0-for-5 Sunday with
runners in scoring position. … UCLA pitchers balked home runners
both Saturday and Sunday. … Sophomore Adam Simon picked up his
team-high second save of the year Friday.