Senior season proves a bitter pill for Bruin pitcher to swallow

Published: Thursday, May 30, 1996

Thursday, May 30, 1996

Adjusting to middle relief proved tough for HeinemanBy Yoni Tamler

Daily Bruin Staff

Dreams and aspirations were ground into the artificial turf on Disch-Falk Field last weekend.

The UCLA baseball team staged a storybook run through the Central I Regional Playoffs, commandeering game-winning leads no earlier than the eighth inning in each of their three victories. All this only to get blown out in the regional final, a game that was decided before the fifth out of the ball game.

UCLA's (36-28) youth and inexperience were clearly factors in the Bruins' uphill climb throughout their four days at Austin, Texas. Miami was the most experienced and mature of the teams, starting just one player with less than three years of experience and he hit .480 for the season.

But the words "wait till next year" do little to mollify several UCLA players, particularly the ones who will be lost to either graduation or the draft. Senior Rick Heineman who, along with Zak Ammirato, comprise this year's senior class, is no exception.

"Honestly, I think this has been the worst single season I've had in my entire life as far as athletics," the 6-foot-4-inch right-hander said. "It just worked out that way. Sometimes these things happen I didn't do the things that I was able to do and should have done as far as helping the team."

Heineman came into UCLA groomed as a catcher, but coaches took one look at his size and converted him into a pitcher by his redshirt freshman year. Heineman reached his peak last season, when he led the club with seven wins and 90 innings of work.

The new year brought Heineman another role, that of the set-up man for UCLA closer Kevin Sheredy. Heineman ended up leading the team in appearances, but he never quite made the adjustment.

"With the team we had, I think if I'd had a better year, if I was able to produce in a couple different situations and help out the team a little bit, it really would have been a different year going into the playoffs," Heineman said. "No one person is going to bring the team down, but I know that I could have done a whole lot more."

With the major-league draft coming up in June, Heineman's future in the sport is in limbo. His last appearance in a UCLA uniform came in a 13-2 loss to Southwest Missouri State, when he was hit for five earned runs on 10 hits over 6 1/3 innings of relief.

"Right now being a senior I don't have too much leverage," Heineman said of the draft. "It's just a waiting game to see if someone wants to give you an opportunity to play in the next level. I don't really expect anything. You learn in this business, in the game of baseball not to expect anything."

(Rick) Heineman came into UCLA groomed as a catcher ...