ONLINE EXTRA: Baseball team stays cool under pressure
By Jeff Agase
Daily Bruin Staff
Gary Adams is, by all accounts, a patient man.
The UCLA baseball coach has been in Westwood for over 27 years now, and he’s presided over his fair share of young, struggling teams.
So when the Bruins (8-9) came into the week with a six-game losing streak and a cross-country road trip ahead, it came as little surprise that his tone of voice remained calm and sagacious.
“I like our effort,” he said before the Bruins beat UCSB on Tuesday to end their skid. “We’re not far apart from our opposition, and other than two games, we’ve been in every game.”
Separating UCLA from consistent victory thus far has been that oft-cited “killer instinct” – the ability to come up with a clutch two-out hit when it means the difference between victory and particularly frustrating defeat.
Virtually every UCLA game this season has at some late point in the game been close, so don’t be surprised if the Bruins get another couple chances to develop their edge against Tulane in New Orleans.
And all youth aside – the Bruins throw a freshman and two sophomores on the mound this weekend – delivering a knockout blow to a guy named Ray Liotta (no joke, the name of Tulane’s Sunday starter) might be a tall order.
But the win over UCSB was crucial to a team quickly seeing its confidence ground out.
“It was absolutely essential to get a win to build some positive momentum going into a game with a very difficult Tulane team,” said senior right fielder Adam Berry, who launched two home runs in the win.
Adams is well aware that he’ll have to take the lead in helping his players brave the valleys of what may be a testing season. But he might also be well served to learn that, 7-3 as they may be, the Green Wave isn’t exactly drawing raves from its coach, Rick Jones.
“Certainly, we’re not happy where we are at this point,” Jones said. “We’re not pitching well enough to offset the fact that if we aren’t hitting, we struggle.”
Maybe he should take a cue from Adams and keep it cool.
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