Suspensions throw curve ball into matchup

Friday, April 26, 1996

Baseball travels to the Farm for Six-Pac game sans Adams,
ZamoraBy Brian Purcell

Daily Bruin Contributor

With second place in the Six-Pac hanging in the balance during
this weekend’s three-game set at Stanford, the No. 13 UCLA baseball
team could probably think of a better time to be missing its head
coach and second pitcher of its starting rotation.

This is the hand they’ve been dealt, however, as Gary Adams and
Pete Zamora will both miss this weekend’s set as part of their
respective six-game suspensions.

Both have already served three games, and coach Vince Beringhele
has gone 3-0 in Adams’ stead, with the team outscoring its
opponents by a 40-14 score. The wins, however, have come against
the likes of Division II opponents Westmont and Cal State Dominguez
Hills, as well as Division I patsy Loyola Marymount.

Stanford (28-17 overall, 13-11 Six-Pac) should provide a much
tougher challenge, as they are just three games behind the second
place Bruins and are coming off last weekend’s sweep of
California.

"Stanford played well last weekend, but they always play well,"
Beringhele said. "When you go to Sunken Diamond, it’s going to be
tough to win."

Despite his very recent promotion to the position of head coach,
Beringhele is not worried about his own performance, believing
that, as usual, the outcome of the games depends on the players,
not on the coaches.

"I’m not nervous about coaching in a series like this,"
Beringhele said. "It’s not really going to be much different than
usual, although it will change some of the responsibilities during
the game. If I’m nervous about anything, I’m nervous for the
players."

Stanford head coach Mark Marquess is unsure about the effect
that Adams’ absence will have on UCLA, though he is concerned that
playing without their coach will give the Bruins a symbol to rally
around.

"Sometimes something like this will pull a team together,"
Marquess said. "They may be tougher than ever."

All involved seem to agree that Zamora’s absence will be nothing
but a negative for the Bruins. Zamora has gone 5-0 on the mound for
UCLA this year and is the team’s starting first baseman when not on
the hill.

Zamora usually starts the Sunday game of a weekend series, but
he will be replaced this weekend by one of several different
candidates, the most likely of whom is right-handed freshman Dan
Keller (5-2). Ace Jim Parque (8-0) will start Friday night’s game,
and senior right-hander Rick Heinemann (1-4) will start on
Saturday.

"Anytime you lose a starting pitcher it’s a big blow,"
Beringhele said. "We’ll take each game on an individual basis, and
won’t decide on Sunday’s starter until the first two games have
been played. We will use whoever we need during the first two games
to get wins."

There are only six games left for teams in the Six-Pac, and
although both UCLA and Stanford are surely bound for the regionals,
their seedings will be determined based on the stretch run. USC is
currently in first place in the Six-Pac with a 20-4 record, four
games ahead of UCLA.

"We feel like we can still make a run at USC," Beringhele said.
"At the start of the year, we thought we would need 22 wins to win
league, and if we win the rest of our games, we would have 22."