Tuesday, 5/13/97 Bruins look to end stellar season with win
against CSUN BASEBALL: UCLA needs to break Tuesday trend of
post-weekend burnout
By Tim Yun Daily Bruin Contributor Tonight the fourth-ranked
Bruins will close the book on one of the best regular seasons in
school history. UCLA faces off against Cal State Northridge in the
final game of the 1997 campaign at 7 p.m. at Jackie Robinson
Stadium. Under the command of head coach Gary Adams, the 1997
Bruins are poised to finish with their best record, 40-17-1, since
the 1979 season, in which they finished with a 43-18 record. The
Bruins and Matadors (41-20-1) played to a 9-9 tie Feb. 5, when the
Matadors put forth a furious six-run rally in the ninth inning
before the game was called on account of darkness. That was before
UCLA started its Tuesday-game skid. It is difficult to tell which
Bruin team will be on the field tonight. There are two
possibilities. Either the team that took two of three games from
Pac-10 Southern Division champion Stanford over the weekend, or the
team that lost to non-conference opponent Long Beach State last
Tuesday, will emerge. UCLA’s play in midweek games is not the
result of a weird curse or voodoo; rather, according to head coach
Gary Adams. Part of the reason the team does not fare as well in
Tuesday games is because the weekend league games take so much out
of the team, both mentally and physically. "It’s natural to feel a
bit of a letdown after the league games (over the weekend)," Adams
said. Having lost three of their last four games played Tuesday
nights, the Bruins hope to reverse the recent trend. Although they
have secured a berth in postseason play, a win would help the team
enter the regional playoffs on a positive note. UCLA will send
sophomore right-hander Dan Keller (3-4, 5.03 ERA) to the mound in
hopes that he will clinch the team’s 41st victory. In last
Tuesday’s outing against the 49ers, Keller lasted five innings,
giving up three hits and three earned runs. With their chances for
a regionals appearance on the line, the Matadors will counter with
junior left-hander Drasmo Ramirez (10-5, 4.96 ERA), the staff ace.
Half of his wins have come against ranked opponents. The Matadors
have been hot lately, as they make a late-season push toward the
postseason. Winning 12 of their last 15 games, the Matadors hope
that a strong showing against the Bruins will help their cause. "We
have played very well down the stretch," Northridge head coach Mike
Batesole said. "We started playing our freshmen after our game
against Hawaii, and they have responded well to the pressure." * *
* Junior shortstop Troy Glaus, the No. 2 pro prospect in the nation
according to Baseball America (outfielder J.D. Drew of Florida
State is the top prospect), will be making his final home-game
appearance of the season when he takes the field tonight. It will
be, in all likelihood, his last game at Jackie Robinson Stadium,
since he will be picked early in the June draft. * * * The sites
for the NCAA Regionals were announced Monday afternoon. Alabama,
Florida State, Louisiana State, Miami of Florida, Mississippi
State, Oklahoma State, Stanford and Texas Tech will host regional
action Memorial Day weekend, May 22-25. Each of the eight teams,
except Oklahoma State, is in the top eight in the nation, and
therefore will be the the No. 1 seed for its region. UCLA will
probably be the No. 1 seed at Oklahoma State, but the official
announcement will not be made until May 19. CHARLES KUO/Daily Bruin
Troy Glaus broke the all-time Pac-10 record for career home runs
during Friday’s victory over Stanford, hitting his 57th as a Bruin.
Related Links: The Daily Sundial, CSUN’s student newspaper.