Bruins must stay focused down stretch

Tuesday, March 4, 1997

BASEBALL:

With tough second half looming, team has to pool talentsBy Tim
Yun

Daily Bruin Contributor

Is 1997 the year for Bruin baseball?

If the team’s play so far is any indication, UCLA has the talent
necessary to advance to the championship game of the College World
Series (CWS).

Nearly atop the NCAA with a No. 2 ranking, the team heads into
the second half of the season on a high note. Knowing that two
losses in the regional tournament would cost them a trip to the
CWS, the Bruins will need to remain focused if they hope to make it
to the championship game.

In their path is a tough second half of the season with league
games against such top-10 teams as Arizona State, USC and
Stanford.

"The stretch run of the season is coming up for us," assistant
head coach Vince Beringhele said, "The Pac-6 portion of the
schedule will be very tough for us."

This stretch run should provide a great tune-up opportunity for
the NCAA regional playoffs, where the Bruins suffered their
season-ending defeat at the hands of the University of Miami
Hurricanes last season.

"The majority of the team played last year in the regional
finals," Beringhele said. "They look to last year as motivation to
get to the world series this year. That experience will help the
team remain focused in their goal to reach the College World Series
this season."

The return of pitcher Nick St. George will shore up the pitching
staff and should help the Bruins through the regionals. Using the
first half of the season as a gauge, the Bruin pitching staff
should receive tremendous run support.

U.S. Olympian Jim Parque will continue to lead the talented
staff through the second half of the season, having posted nine
wins thus far.

The bullpen should be solid since junior Jake Meyer (2-1, 1.89
ERA, 4 saves) has shown flashes of brilliance as a closer in the
first half of the season.

Left-hander Tom Jacquez has also been pitching well. He also
leads the Bruins with two complete games on his record. He is
second on the team with seven wins.

Although starting the season at third base, Parque’s Olympic
teammate, Troy Glaus, has been playing shortstop due to Jack
Santora’s foot injury. Santora’s projected return for the second
half of the season will allow Glaus to return to his original third
base position, taking some of the defensive pressure off of
him.

With all of this potential for greatness during the second half,
the pressure is on the team to pool its talent and come up with its
first World Series championship in UCLA baseball history.

But, they have to remain focused.