Baseball season playoff hopes devoured by Wolfpack
By Daily Bruin Staff
May 19, 1996 9:00 p.m.
Monday, May 20, 1996
Bruins drop two-of-three in Reno to end regular seasonBy Yoni
Tamler
Daily Bruin Staff
The UCLA baseball team went into this weekend’s series against
Nevada with everything to lose, but apparently that was not enough
motivation.
With their entire season hanging in the balance, the Bruins
(33-26) dropped two games to the host Wolfpack (30-19) to end the
regular season and what looks like all chances of making the
playoffs.
Last week the Bruins regarded their post-season chances as
probable, a near guarantee by default of their third-place finish
in the Six-Pac. If anything, the Bruins have now almost guaranteed
themselves a final exams week without distractions.
On Sunday, the Bruins vented their frustration on the home team,
scoring a season-high 23 runs for the only UCLA win of the weekend
at Peccole Park in Reno. Junior Tim DeCinces went five-for-six with
a pair of homers, bringing his total to a club-leading 16. Zak
Ammirato also homered twice to close out his injury-marred season,
and Eric Valent added his 12th home run, the most ever for a UCLA
freshman.
In a game with abundant run support on both sides, starter Nick
St. George(2-3) threw for six innings and picked up the win. Matt
Klein succeeded St. George for the remainder of the 23-10 rout.
Saturday’s 9-8 loss to the Wolfpack was a blow-out until the
eighth inning when, down 7-1, UCLA hammered Nevada relievers Luke
Drakulich and Rico Lagattuta for five runs. After the Wolfpack
answered with one run in the bottom of the inning, the Bruins tied
the game up at eight a piece in the ninth.
In the bottom of the inning, Jake Meyer was yanked for freshman
Dan Keller after giving up a single to the first batter he faced.
Meyer (1-2) had allowed just one earned run in his five innings of
relief, striking out 11 batters in the span. But once Keller took
the mound, everything fell apart. Two passed balls and a wild pitch
later, Nevada sent a runner across the plate for the
game-winner.
Friday’s game was the same story: UCLA waited until the late
innings to score while its relief pitching did not hold up, this
time falling 8-6.
In the sixth inning the Bruins rallied from a three-run deficit
to take the lead 5-4, when starter Jim Parque came out of the game
for Rick Heineman, the club-leader in appearances with 23. Heineman
(1-6) struggled to shut the door on Nevada, allowing it to score a
run in the seventh.
Heineman found no reprieve in the following inning. With two
outs and the Bruins still up by one, Nevada shortstop Darren Baugh
hit a three-run homer — his third of the year — to put Nevada up
for good. UCLA was shut out in the ninth to preserve the win.
Where a month ago it seemed impossible for UCLA not to make the
NCAA Regionals, now the Bruins — losers of six straight in league
and five out of six to end the year  must hope their untimely
collapse will not overshadow a once-excellent conference season.
ESPN will broadcast the 1996 NCAA Regional selections today at
12:30 p.m.
FRED HE/Daily Bruin
Pitcher Jake Meyer allowed just one in five innings of relief
Saturday, but the Bruins lost, 9-8.
If anything, the Bruins have now almost guaranteed themselves a
final exams week without distractions.
