Non-conference midweek game to be crucial test of Bruins’ mettle
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 16, 2001 9:00 p.m.
BASEBALL PREVIEW vs. Cal State Long Beach
BASEBALL Today 6 p.m. Jackie Robinson Stadium
By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Staff
The No. 29 Cal State Long Beach 49ers will be digging for gold
in the Bruins’ back yard tonight when they visit Jackie
Robinson Field for a midweek non-conference game.
The 49ers, a.k.a. the Dirtbags, have five starters batting over
.300 and are riding the crest of a 10-game win streak.
“They have another good team,” UCLA Head Coach Gary
Adams. “They’re pretty well balanced.”
UCLA will be hard pressed to stop a 49er team that is currently
undefeated in Big West Conference play.
Freshman Casey Janssen will get the start for the Bruins after
typical midweek starter Paul Diaz won game three of last
weekend’s series against the University of Washington.
Janssen has a couple of hits including a home run as a utility
player this year and will be making his eighth pitching appearance
of the season.
So far he sports a modest 3.18 ERA with one loss and one save.
Janssen has struck out 16 and given up just seven walks, but he
knows he is facing one of the better teams in the nation.
“They’re ranked pretty high,” he said.
“They’re a good ballclub with a couple of
All-Americans.”
Janssen is talking in particular about shortstop Bobby Crosby,
who was also Baseball America’s pick for Big West Conference
Player of the Year. Crosby is hitting .312 with six doubles and
four home runs. He also has seven of the Dirtbags’ 51 stolen
bases this year.
Outfielder Jeremy Reed leads the typical run-and-gun 49er attack
with 19 stolen bases in 24 attempts. He is hitting .318 and is a
constant menace on the base paths.
“My goal is to play my own game and get ahead in the
count,” Janssen said of his plan to stop CSULB. “I just
have to pitch and not concentrate on how good they are and just go
after them. If I can do that, hopefully good things will
happen.”
Janssen will be supported by a Bruin offense that, despite
recent stagnation, has kept up its end of the bargain throughout
the year. As a team, UCLA is hitting .305, led by designated hitter
Brian Baron with an even .500 average. Shortstop Josh Canales is
second on the team with a .358 average, followed close by catcher
Josh Arhart with a .343 clip. All three batting averages are higher
than the top Dirtbag average. But Long Beach’s strength has
always been its pitching.
“They always have deep pitching so even their midweek
pitchers are pretty good,” Adam Berry said. “Since
I’ve been here they’ve always been tough
games.”
The Long Beach pitching staff has 253 strikeouts compared to
just 122 walks, and has held opponents to a .267 average.
The game is important for the Bruins because RPI rankings at the
end of the season help decide which teams make the playoffs.
“(The game) matters a lot because our record in the Pac-10
isn’t so great, so our midweek games get our RPI
increased,” Berry said. “We’ve got to get a
win.”
