Hurricanes take wind out of baseball’s sail

Tuesday, May 28, 1996

Bruins lose regional final, 8-4, as Miami heads to OmahaBy Brian
Purcell

Daily Bruin Contributor

AUSTIN, Texas — Just prior to the start of Sunday night’s
Central I Regional championship game between UCLA and Miami, a
plane flew overhead bearing the sign, "Go UCLA, Omaha bound."

While this gesture seemed to fire up the players and definitely
excited the crowd, the only luck it brought was bad, as the Bruins
fell short in their attempt at a fourth consecutive
come-from-behind victory, falling to the Hurricanes, 8-4.

The Bruins fell behind early in the game that would have given
them their first-ever berth in the College World Series, giving up
five runs in the top of the first inning. But unlike previous games
in the regionals, this time UCLA couldn’t pull a rabbit out of its
hat.

In order to make it to the championship game against the No. 2
Hurricanes, the Bruins had to win two games on Saturday. They
accomplished the task by beating Sam Houston State, 10-8, and
Southwest Missouri State, 9-4, in 10 innings. They were both tough
games, as each victory needed late-inning heroics to come to
fruition.

Front and center in the two victories ­ as well as the win
over Texas on Thursday ­ was All-Regional catcher Tim
DeCinces.

Against Sam Houston State, DeCinces came to bat in the eighth
inning with runners on second and third, with one out and the
Bruins trailing, 8-6. He promptly lashed a single into left-center
field, just over the glove of shortstop Gabe Beltran, to tie the
score at eight.

Senior Zak Ammirato followed with a single and Pete Zamora
brought both runners in with a long double to center field, giving
UCLA its first lead of the game. They would hold onto the lead with
freshman Dan Keller, who improved to 7-3 in four and one-third
innings of scoreless relief.

That victory sent UCLA to the semifinal game against Southwest
Missouri State, a team that beat UCLA, 13-2, Friday night.

Again DeCinces would come up big, but not before his teammates
came up with some clutch play of their own.

Junior Kevin Sheredy started the game on the mound for the
Bruins, and although he was the team’s closer for most of the year
and had not thrown more than five innings in any game, he came up
with a gutsy nine-inning performance against Southwest Missouri,
keeping the Bruins in the game by allowing just four runs and
striking out nine.

Still, the Bruins were not hitting Bears’ pitcher Dave Tignor,
who appeared to have some of the worst stuff that UCLA has faced
all year.

"He was so bad," DeCinces said. "It is unbelievable that we
weren’t hitting him better."

Tignor eventually tired in the eighth, so with one out, Ammirato
at the plate and All-Regional left fielder Jon Heinrichs on first
base, the Bears brought in Scott Geitz to protect a 3-2 lead.
Ammirato greeted Geitz by hitting his second pitch over the left
field fence to give UCLA a 4-3 lead. It was a lead they would
shortly relinquish, and then regain.

The Bears tied the score in the ninth, and had the bases loaded
with two outs when Sheredy got Jason Hart to fly to left field,
sending the game into extra innings.

The Bruins jumped on Geitz immediately in the 10th, as Brett
Nista singled and Heinrichs tripled high off the left-centerfield
wall to bring him around.

"We knew what we had to do," Heinrichs said after the game. "We
were just trying to pick him (Sheredy) up."

Heinrichs’ near-home run gave the Bruins a 5-4 lead, but they
weren’t nearly finished. Geitz proceeded to walk Ammirato and Troy
Glaus, bringing up DeCinces with the bases loaded.

Geitz got two quick strikes on DeCinces, but the catcher
battled, fouling off a series of pitches from the sidearmer, and
eventually working the count to 3-2.

"I was trying to do anything I could to stay alive," DeCinces
said. "I knew sooner or later he was going to come in."

DeCinces was right-on with his assumption, and when Geitz
finally did come in, DeCinces blasted his offering approximately
420 feet to right-center field. The grand slam gave the Bruins a
9-4 lead that reliever Rick Heinemann had no trouble holding on to
in the bottom of the tenth.

DeCinces downplayed his incredible run of clutch hitting,
indicating that, to him, it’s just part of the game.

"If you don’t want to be up with the game on the line, you
should find something else to do," DeCinces said. "That situation
is why you play baseball."

Unfortunately for UCLA, that situation did not arise against
Miami. It could never quite recover from the quick five Miami hung
on the scoreboard, and although they made it interesting, Miami’s
bullpen was too tough.

Scott Weibl (13-3) got the win for the Hurricanes, and freshman
Robbie Morrison picked up his ninth save. UCLA actually brought the
tying run to the plate in the eighth inning, but Morrison struck
out Chad Matoian to end the threat.

UCLA’s ace left hander Jim Parque turned in a strong relief
outing for the Bruins, coming back just two days after throwing 172
pitches in a complete game victory against Texas to throw three and
two thirds innings of one-run ball against Miami,

But it wasn’t enough, and the ‘Canes are off to Omaha for the
second year in a row.

"Except for the first inning, I thought we played great," UCLA
head coach Gary Adams said. "I’m proud of the way our guys battled
here … (but) I wanted more. I’m not happy with just making it to
the championship game."

* * *

Three UCLA players were named to the All-Regional team. They
were DeCinces, Parque and Heinrichs. Heinrichs led the team in
hitting with a .474 average, DeCinces hit .350 with nine RBIs, and
Parque was 1-0 with 14 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings.

SUSIE CHU/Daily Bruin

Catcher Tim DeCinces was named to the All-Regional team after
knocking in nine RBIs in five games, including a 10th-inning grand
slam against Southwest Missouri State.