By Dylan Hernandez
DAILY BRUIN SENIOR STAFF
[email protected]
All of the Bruins in uniform, with the exception of those that
were playing, stood at the edge of the dugout throughout the whole
game, looking as if they were ready to explode onto the field at
any moment.
Head coach Gary Adams clapped without rest, tirelessly
shouting.
Hitting coach Vince Beringhele did the same; only he did so from
his port along the third-base line.
All this for a Tuesday non-conference game.
In front of a crowd of less than 300.
Against UC Riverside.
The scene at Jackie Robinson Stadium will undoubtedly be very
similar this weekend, when the UCLA baseball team (25-29, 8-10
Pac-10), one of the most spirited sub-.500 clubs in the country,
take the field against the No. 7 Stanford Cardinal (35-15, 11-7) in
a three-game set that begins today and ends on Sunday.
The Bruins are continuing to fight, even though it appears there
is little to fight for. They haven’t lost hope, even though
there is little to hope for.
Only”¦
“We have hope we can make the (NCAA) playoffs,” said
pitcher Chris Cordeiro, who pitched the final three innings of
Tuesday’s win over UCR.
Pardon?
“We have the top two teams in the conference coming
in,” Cordeiro said, referring to Stanford and USC, which UCLA
will face the week after. “Anything can happen.”
So seems to be the genuine sentiment in the Bruin clubhouse,
where a game log with plenty of “L”s on it is hung on a
wall.
The Bruins, while looking ahead, are looking back to the 1999
season, in which they finished the regular season an even .500, yet
still made the NCAA tournament. That season, UCLA started slow and
closed with a string of big conference wins.
Few of the players on this year’s team were on that
’99 squad, but in a sport where myth, folklore and tales of
the past are everything, it doesn’t matter.
“The so-called experts have us losing all six (remaining)
games in conference,” Adams said. “USC and Stanford are
a cut above the rest of the league in terms of talent. But our guys
are close enough. And with their heart, I don’t put it past
them to do some good things.”
This team has never given up all year. I don’t inspire
them, they inspire me.”
“We want to finish up the season strong,” said
freshman first baseman Wes Whisler. “Luck is coming our way.
We’ve kept our spirits up.”
Whisler, who will be the Bruins’ starting pitcher for
tomorrow’s game, is ready to face plenty of resistance from
Stanford, which is hitting a collective .322. Taking the mound
today for UCLA will be junior southpaw Mike Kunes.
Offensively, the Cardinal is paced by outfielder Jason Cooper
(.347, 10 home runs, 43 RBI), a probable first-round selection in
next month’s professional baseball draft.
Stanford’s pitching is among the best in the conference,
if not the country, as well.
Today’s starter, Jeremy Guthrie (8-1, 2.91 ERA), like
Cooper, is expected to be a first-round selection.
John Hudgins, who throws tomorrow, is 8-1 and Tim Cunningham,
the last of the three Cardinal starters, is the reigning Pac-10
Pitcher of the Week.
Over the past three seasons, UCLA is 3-6 against Stanford. The
Bruins have dropped two of three games against the Cardinal in each
of those years.
This afternoon’s contest is set to begin at 6 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday’s contests will start at 1 p.m.
Ңbull;Ӣbull;Ӣbull;
UCLA NOTES
“¢bull; Senior outfielder Adam Berry, who leads the Pac-10 with
16 home runs, has been named one of 40 semifinalists for the Dick
Howser Trophy, which is awarded to the top collegiate baseball
player in the country. Berry is hitting .299 and has scored 43
runs. His average of 0.36 home runs per game ranks 18th in the
country.
“¢bull; UCLA has won four of its last five games. The solitary
loss in that span was a 10-inning, 10-9 defeat to Arizona last
Friday.
“¢bull; Whisler, who has hit 13 home runs this year, is two shy
of the UCLA freshman record for most in a season. The record of 15
was set in 1998 by Chase Utley, who is now one of the Philadelphia
Phillies’ top minor league prospects.
Whisler, last week’s Pac-10 Co-Player of the Week, has
overcome a slow start and now ranks third in the conference in home
runs and sixth in slugging percentage (.646). No player has hit
more dingers in conference competition than Whisler (9).
While Whisler admits that he has thought of the record, he
hasn’t let it change his approach to the plate.
“Home runs just happen,” he said. “I try not
to think about it because it’s not like I can hit one
whenever I want.”