Freshman hitter swats Yellow Jackets

Monday, February 8, 1999

Freshman hitter swats Yellow Jackets

BASEBALL Berry’s three homers spark struggling squad, provide
momentum to top Georgia Tech

By Rocky Salmon

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

With a vaunted offensive powder keg, the Georgia Tech offense
was supposed to inject venom into a young UCLA team last
weekend.

What the Yellow Jackets did not realize was that the Bruins had
their own killer bee: Adam Berry.

The redshirt freshman designated hitter blasted three home runs
over the series, ending UCLA’s six game homerless drought.

What was even more impressive was that each homerun ignited an
important rally.

In the first game on Friday against All-American pitcher Chuck
Crowder, Berry took a pitch in the bottom of the seventh and mashed
it over the 365 sign and into the trees.

The homer would ignite a UCLA six run barrage which would
include three walks, three doubles and six hits – and would give
the Bruins a lead.

The big surprise would come a day later against a Yellow Jacket
pitcher, Cory Vance, who had not surrendered a run in seven innings
of pitching.

Berry would step up to the plate with the Yellow Jackets holding
a one run lead. Vance got the count 2-2 but made a fatal mistake in
throwing a change up – which Berry creamed once again over the 365
foot sign.

"He threw me a change-up low and away for the first pitch,"
Berry said. "Then he came at me with a fastball so I knew that he
would come back at me with that change-up and was sitting on
it."

With a runner on, the Bruins would take a lead.

But this killer bee was not content with one homer on the
day.

Once again, in the bottom of the seventh, Berry displayed his
cannons by blasting a first pitch fastball to the opposite side for
another two run shot.

This homer would ignite a seven run seventh inning that would
give the Bruins a lead they could coast home with.

"It may not be the … prettiest swing you ever want to see –
but it is efficient," hitting coach Vince Beringhele said about
Berry’s emergence. "He is big and strong and when he swings good
things happen.

"He’s got a swing that I would call a survival technique."

It was Berry’s survival swing that helped the Bruins defeat the
mighty Yellow Jackets in the series.

In an amazing game, Berry had one more shot to end the game with
three homers, a trifecta that rarely graces across UCLA’s record
books.

In the bottom of the eighth, with the bases full Berry sat
watching two batter’s behind. Billy Scott would end up hitting into
a double play and then Jason Green would ground out to second and
Berry would be left standing with a smile left on his face.

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