UCLA faces Hawai’i this Friday in rubber match

By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Staff

The UCLA baseball team plays the second game of its three-game
set against Hawaii today, looking to shake off an opening season
loss.

Last week, the Bruins dropped their season opener to UC
Riverside in a game that was the Highlander’s first-ever as a
Division I team.

“It’d be nice to get into the win column,”
Bruin head coach Gary Adams said of the upcoming series.
“That’s what we’re over here for.”

Junior Josh Karp started the UCR contest and opened last
night’s series opener. He faced Hawai’i’s Jeff
Coleman. Results of the game were not available at press time.

Friday’s game pits UCLA senior Jon Brandt against
Hawai’i junior Sean Yamashita. Senior Bobby Roe will start
the rubber match on Saturday.

Going into the series, the Rainbow Warriors were 2-1 this
season. They won their first game of the year in the bottom of the
11th inning, won the second 5-1 and dropped the third 11-8. All
three games were played against the Sacramento State Hornets.

Last season, the Rainbows finished with an even record of 28-28.
They took fifth place in the WAC with a 15-15 record. The team
returns 19 players this year.

A year ago, the Hawai’i series was very successful for the
Bruins. UCLA swept the Rainbow Warriors, and senior Eric Reece hit
for the cycle in the first game.

Last year, the Bruins hit four home runs and scored at least
nine times in each game. This year’s Bruin team will look to
win in a very different fashion.

UCLA was without a homer against UC Riverside, and will be
forced to play more fundamentally sound baseball if the Bruins hope
to beat the Rainbow Warriors.

The top offensive performers for the Bruins have been Randall
Shelley and Matt Pearl. Shelley went 3 for 4 against UCR with a run
scored and Pearl went 3 for 5 with an RBI. Junior leftfielder Adam
Berry ended the day 2 of 4 with a triple.

“We have to cut down on our strikeouts,” shortstop
Josh Canales said. “But we’re getting our bunts down
and our execution down.”

“We’re working on execution and we did it (in the
Riverside game),” Shelley added. “We’re going to
keep on doing it.”

On the mound Josh Karp and Paul Diaz turned in the best
performances. Karp struck out three in two innings without giving
up a run, while Diaz pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Taking at least two games from Hawai’i will leave UCLA
with a .500 record and some confidence heading into a busy week
that features Loyola Marymount and UNLV.