Three games not a charm for young team

Tuesday, January 26, 1999

Three games not a charm for young team

BASEBALL: Promising Bruins plagued by control problems, drop
series to unranked Hawaii

By Evan Lovett

Daily Bruin Staff

What promised to be a trip to paradise ended up being a foray
into hell.

The 16th-ranked UCLA baseball team went into this weekend with
high expectations for the season opening three-game series against
the University of Hawaii. The youthful yet highly touted Bruin
squad was supposed to prove that they belong in the upper echelon
of collegiate baseball teams in the nation.

It turns out that they may be just as overrated as they are
young.

With only two senior starters in the lineup, the Bruins (0-3)
showed their age, mustering three runs in the three games, the
lowest output in a three-game series in the 25-year tenure of coach
Gary Adams.

"They beat themselves," Adams said.

A series plagued with blown opportunities and mental errors
forced the Bruins to chase the Rainbows (3-0) throughout the
three-game set.

Sophomore left-hander Ryan Carter had the opening day assignment
for the Bruins and pitched fairly well, allowing only four hits and
striking out seven over five innings. His lack of control was what
hurt UCLA, though, walking five, leading to the first two of the
three Rainbow runs.

The Bruins were hurt by a controversial call on the first run,
when right fielder Forrest Johnson caught a line drive for what was
apparently the third out. The umpires ruled that he trapped the
ball, and the run held up.

That run was all that Hawaii southpaw Jaime Aloy would need, as
he pitched a masterful seven shutout innings, striking out eight
while allowing only five hits.

Senior shortstop Jake Santora and sophomore left fielder Bill
Scott were the only bright spots in the Bruin offense, as they had
three and two hits respectively in the 3-0 Bruin loss.

The second game was more of the same as 1,194 fans came out to
find out if the Rainbows could find the pot of gold.

But the Bruin bats were silenced once again as Hawaii
left-hander Brandon Ho tossed seven scoreless innings with nine
strikeouts while giving up only two hits, one apiece to
All-American second baseman Chase Utley and freshman third baseman
Randall Shelley.

Making his first collegiate start, 1998 Freshman All-American
Bobby Roe suffered the loss in the 6-0 drubbing, pitching five
innings and allowing four runs. The strong winds wreaked havoc on
his offspeed pitches, forcing him to attempt to nibble at the
corners with fastballs.

The loss for the Bruins marked the first time since 1984 that
UCLA was shutout in back-to-back games. It was also their 10th
consecutive loss in televised games.

In an attempt to salvage some respectability against the
unranked Rainbows, UCLA turned to freshman phenom Josh Karp to turn
around the Bruin fortunes in game three.

Karp was victimized by control problems, walking five and
striking out only one in four innings of work. He allowed all five
Rainbow runs in the 5-3 loss.

Scott once again paced the Bruins on offense, collecting two
hits and a walk. He also threw out a runner at home plate, adding
to freshman Kurt Birkins outstanding outing.

Birkins pitched four shutout innings in relief of Karp, allowing
only three hits.

The Bruins also lost two key players to injury when Johnson and
center fielder Nick Lyon collided while chasing down a fly ball in
the fifth inning. Both are expected to miss at least two games.

The three Bruin runs marked their only runs of the series,
making this the lowest offensive output for UCLA in any three-game
series since 1970.

UCLA attempts to make the most of this paradise today and
Wednesday, as they face Hawaii-Hilo in a two-game set before
returning home to face Pepperdine on Feb. 2.

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