The Bruin baseball team brought the rain with them from
California to Hawaii this past weekend, and luckily, their bats
came too. In four mostly windy games, UCLA (9-3) took full
advantage of a weak opponent in routing Hawai’i-Hilo (4-18)
10-4, 14-1, 11-0 and 12-1. “We’re going to see some
better teams, but baseball is one of the games where you can play
your own game, and not just play the other team. You still have to
play correctly against bad teams,” coach Gary Adams said. The
series produced a slew of stars, both offensively and on the mound.
Thursday, juniors Billy Susdorf and Ryan McCarthy homered, junior
Wes Whisler had three hits and three runs, and sophomore Adam Simon
shut the door with three perfect innings. Friday, Matt Thayer hit
for the cycle, taking care of the more difficult legs ““
doubling, tripling and homering ““ before capping the cycle
off with a seventh-inning single. Weather was the only thing
stopping the Bruins’ offense, as the game was called after
seven innings. Senior Casey Janssen quietly continued his
early-season dominance, going six innings, allowing one run and
striking out eight. Sunday, Whisler hit his first home run of the
season, and sophomore Brett McMillan almost repeated Thayer’s
feat, short only by a double. Not that they needed much offense, as
junior Bryan Beck threw a complete-game shutout, allowing only four
hits. “To my knowledge, it’s our first (shutout) since
’78, when Tim O’Neill beat USC,” Adams said.
“I thought our pitching throughout all four games, from
starters to relievers, was outstanding.” The weekend went so
well for the Bruins that they decided to remain an extra day and
fly home after making up Saturday’s rain-out Monday morning.
Of course, their decision was probably aided in large part by the
good chance of boosting their record. Monday, the weather finally
improved, but the Vulcans’ fate stayed the same. Sophomore
Hector Ambriz homered, and even reserves Mike Svetlic and Anthony
Norman got in on the action, contributing a two-run double and a
two-run triple, respectively. “This was a business trip. We
came over here to win four ball games, and we did,” Adams
said. “I think the guys really enjoyed their experience on
the field.”
TODAY: The Bruins have no time to relax after a
long weekend of games, as they play UC Santa Barbara at home today
at 5 p.m. Ambriz will throw for UCLA on four days rest after
starting Thursday. “(The Gauchos) might be one of best
hitting teams in Southern California, if not the best,” Adams
said.