Squad recovers confidence, prospers in two vs. Vulcans

Friday, January 29, 1999

BASEBALL: Both offense, defense shine as UCLA dominates Hawaii-Hilo

By Dylan Hernandez

Daily Bruin Contributor

Having been blasted off of Oahu by the University of Hawaii, UCLA's baseball team took refuge on the Big Island after dropping all three games against the Rainbows.

The Bruins regrouped and salvaged their pride by picking apart lowly Hawaii-Hilo to snag a pair of wins in a double header.

The UCLA pitching staff, which struggled in the Hawaii series, was sound, allowing only one walk in each of the two games.

Coach Gary Adams' squad upped its offensive production as well, transforming the Vulcan hurlers into a set of human launching pads.

The first contest, a make-up from the day before, saw UCLA pitchers Dan Keller and Brian Strelitz hold Hawaii-Hilo to two runs and four hits in the shortened seven inning duel.

Keller, a fourth-year junior recovering from a shoulder injury, tossed three solid innings (one earned run, one hit, two strikeouts) to earn the win before giving way to Strelitz, who finished the game. Strelitz made his debut at the collegiate level a memorable one, yielding just one unearned run in the 7-2 victory.

Redshirt freshman Adam Berry jump-started UCLA's attack, going 2-3 with a walk. Brian Baron, a junior transfer from Northwestern, also had a couple of hits, while left fielder Bill Scott drove in two runs.

In game two of the double header, Bruin starter Jon Brandt blanked Hawaii-Hilo in his seven innings of work. The sophomore surrendered just one hit.

Fellow sophomore Ryan Carter overpowered the Vulcans in the final two innings, fanning five batters to preserve the 5-0 shutout.

Six different Bruins collected hits and Scott, though 0-3, again had two RBIs.

Adams was satisfied with his team's performance. "It was really uplifting. We got a little bit of our confidence back. It was good to end the road trip on a high note," he said.

"The pitching was outstanding. We did a particularly good job of going after hitters and challenging them."

UCLA's runs came in bundles, despite the apparent batting slumps of All-American candidates Garrett Atkins and Chase Utley, both who are batting around .200. The coaching staff, however, warned that the numbers were not accurate measures of the two stars' performances.

Hitting instructor Vince Beringhele said, "We're not the least bit concerned. Atkins drove a lot of balls deep, but the wind and wooden bats wouldn't give him the results. And Chase Utley hit better than anyone else on the team. He lined out five or six times."

Looking ahead to next week, when the Bruins meet Pepperdine and No. 7 Georgia Tech, Adams said, "We're hoping to get some wins. It's going to be a good test for our team."

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