by Ryan Rogers
BATON ROUGE — The UCLA Bruins come to Tiger Town for a best-of-three game series in an attempt to defeat LSU and keep the Tigers from returning to Omaha, Neb.
LSU was knocked out of the Super Regional by Alabama last year in Tuscaloosa, Ala. LSU hopes to fare better this year against the Bruins.
UCLA (35-22) is a very talented team. They will force LSU to play their best in order to win the series.
The Bruins struggled early in the year defensively but have since turned it around. UCLA has committed 112 errors on the season.
“Its a good thing we decided to start playing defense or else you wouldnt be interviewing me today,” said head coach Gary Adams. “We made some plays this year that Ive never seen in baseball in all my years of coaching. Sometimes we had to out-hit our opponents by three times to win.”
“We wont out-hit LSU this weekend, thats for sure.”
Coach Adams spoke of Brad Cresse whom he once recruited to attend UCLA.
“I liked Brad and I thought he was a good player. We were handcuffed with limited scholarships and we couldnt spend all of our money on the catcher spot. He made the right decision in coming to LSU. This is a great place for him to be and Im sure hes gotten a lot better under Skips tutelage.”
Coach Adams mentioned his interest in watching LSUs Wally Pontiff play.
“I coached his father, Wally Pontiff Sr., when he played for the Rapid City Chiefs in the Basin league back in 1971. He was one of my favorite characters that Ive met.”
UCLA seemed relaxed and ready to play baseball in practice yesterday afternoon. The Bruin players went through their practice exercises smoothly.
“Its up to them (players) to win the game, not me. Thats why Im not uptight.”
Coach Adams couldnt predict what type of baseball fans should expect to see this weekend. His team always seemed to have pitching duels when he thought they were going to hit and vise versa, he said.
The Bruins has a very powerful lineup throughout. They are one of the better hitting teams in the nation. Leading the pack is left fielder Bill Scott. He has pounded out huge numbers this season including a .430 batting average, while hitting 21 home runs and 75 RBIs.
Second baseman Chase Utley has also had a big year. His .389, 21 home runs and 67 RBIs have been pivotal to UCLAs big production.
Forrest Johnson, a catcher, .356, 22 home runs, and 76 RBIs is the Bruins biggest power hitter. He is a lot like a traditional LSU power hitter, anxious to hit balls over the fence.
Garret Atkins is a fourth Bruin with impressive numbers. He has batted .360, with17 Hrs and 72 RBIs.
On the Mound UCLA is solid at the top. Josh Karp, 10-1, 4.72 ERA, was a pre season All-American selection. He is one of the best looking young pitchers in the PAC-10. Only a sophomore, Karp has performed like a veteran all year long.
John Brandt, 7-5, 4.02 ERA, has multiple pitches which with he confuses hitters. He throws a lively fastball, curve ball, change-up and adds a slider to the mix making him very tough to read.
Rob Henkel, 6-3, 5.59 ERA, could cause LSU the most problems. He is a knuckle ball style pitcher, which is something LSU is not use to seeing. Henkel is expected to start Friday night. If the Tigers cant get a read on his off-speed pitches, they will struggle to win.
LSU and UCLA will square off at 7 p.m. Friday night at Alex Box Stadium in game one of the series.