Borderline UCLA heads to San Diego
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 29, 1996 9:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 30, 1996
Baseball must bolster non-league record as regionals approachBy
Yoni Tamler
Daily Bruin Staff
A sense of urgency guides the UCLA baseball team as it heads
towards the border to play San Diego today and San Diego State on
Wednesday.
Hard as it is to imagine, the Bruins have put themselves in the
unenviable position of potentially missing the NCAA Regionals with
their recent conference skid. Though UCLA cannot finish lower than
third place in the Six-Pac, if the Bruins get swept by USC and
Arizona State sweeps Arizona, the eyes of the NCAA selection
committee may not look favorably upon the blue and gold.
In fact, the Bruins’ weak non-league record (8-9 against
Division I non-conference opponents) could spell disaster when it
comes time to select teams for the regionals. UCLA will be a lock
with a second place finish, but if it slips into third, the Bruins
may get overlooked because of their non-league blunders.
So the Bruins find themselves needing to collect wins over
legitimate teams in the next couple of weeks to bolster their
record as well as their confidence.
USD will administer the first test for the Bruins (28-20
overall) this afternoon at Cunningham Stadium. The 3 p.m. game is
an opportunity for Bruin left-hander Ryan Lynch to get his first
victory this year, while the Toreros plan to throw several
different players throughout.
Considering the Toreros (21-23-1) are in the midst of a race for
the WCC title and face league opponent Pepperdine next weekend, the
Bruins should feast on USD.
"We’re playing so-so right now, just getting by, but I
definitely think we can win the conference," USD catcher Mickey
Lippit said. "It’ll be good to go out and get a win against UCLA,
but we’re mainly focusing on this weekend."
Lippit also mentioned what his UCLA counterpart, Tim DeCinces,
did to the Toreros when the two teams split a pair of games last
season.
"DeCinces hit a couple bombs against us last year," Lippit
recalled.
* * *
Tomorrow, Pete Zamora will make his first start since his
six-game suspension as San Diego State hosts UCLA in a 5 p.m.
contest at Aztec Stadium. The Aztecs (31-21-2) defeated UCLA 8-7
two weeks ago at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
PATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin
Pitcher Pete Zamora will start against San Diego State.
