College Baseball / Bob Cuomo : UCLA Gets Hot, Takes Lead in Pac-10 Southern Division

Don’t look now, but the hottest--and perhaps the best--team in the Pacific 10 Southern Division is UCLA.

That’s right, UCLA, which hasn’t been much of a factor in the conference since it won the title in 1979 with a 21-9 record. The Bruins’ composite league record the last six seasons is 66-114, and their highest finish was third in 1980.

All UCLA has done lately is win 10 of its last 12 conference games, raising its record to 11-5. Two weeks ago the Bruins won two of three from preseason favorite and defending champion Stanford, tying the Cardinal for first place. Last weekend they swept USC, remaining tied for the lead as Stanford swept California.

Last year at this time, the Bruins were 5-10 en route to a 13-17 record and a fifth-place finish.

Gary Adams is one of the few people not surprised by UCLA’s performance. The Bruin coach had said at the start of the season that this team would play well. He didn’t predict a title, but said it definitely would contend. He cited experience, talent and overall improvement as the reasons for his optimism.

Adams said the other day that there now is an added ingredient, confidence. He also said it’s easier to win when a team is playing for first place instead of, say, fourth. It gives the team a more positive goal.

“We’re hungry,” he said. “Aren’t Bruins hungry after they’ve been in hibernation for six years?”

Of the team’s success, Adams said: “One important thing is that it’s been different guys who are picking us up. You have to have that. Torey Lovullo was hot against Cal. Jeff Osborn really helped us at Arizona. Now Steve Hisey and John Joslyn are hitting well.

“And look at Bill Haselman. He was the player of the game Friday night. He came through for us. . . . He sure hit the ball.”

Haselman, a redshirt freshman, never caught before this season, but he’s the backup catcher. He was pressed into service Friday because Todd Zeile had an injured ankle. Haselman, who had a homer and eight RBIs in 42 at-bats and was catching only his sixth game, had two hits in five trips, one a homer off Trojan ace Brad Brink, and drove in four runs.

UCLA will begin the second half of the conference schedule in the Bay Area, where the Bruins will play five games in four days. They will play Cal in a three-game series Friday, Saturday and Sunday, then Monday will play a doubleheader with Stanford. Three games were originally scheduled in early March in Palo Alto but two were rained out. Stanford won the only game that was played.

“Those are important games because we have to keep pace (with Stanford),” Adams said. “It’s kind of like turning the corner and heading into the stretch run. We have to be in a good position going down the stretch. I’d be happy with three wins. It doesn’t matter who they’re against. If we only win two, one has to be against Stanford.”

College Baseball Notes While UCLA is playing Cal at Berkeley, Stanford will play Arizona State at Palo Alto. The Cardinal had won 18 straight Southern Division series before losing two of three games to the Bruins at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The last team to win a conference series from Stanford was Arizona State, which swept three games at Palo Alto in April, 1984. . . . UCLA’s victory over USC last Sunday gave the Bruins their second consecutive series sweep over the Trojans. The Bruins have won seven straight and eight of the last nine games from USC. The Trojans, 8-12 in Pac-10 play, dropped to fifth place, five games behind UCLA and Stanford. . . . There might not be a more consistent hitter this season than USC’s Scott Sommers. The senior first baseman has hit safely in 32 of 36 games. He has 22 multiple-hit games, including three last weekend against UCLA. Sommers, the leading hitter in the Pac-10, went 8 for 15 in the Bruin series, raising his average to .430. Within reach is the USC single-season record of .435, set by Steve Kemp in 1975. The Pac-10 record is .464, set last season by Portland State’s Dan Lovell.

Just as it did in basketball, the race for the West Coast Athletic Conference baseball title has developed into a battle between Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine. Loyola leads the league with a 10-1 record. Pepperdine is 1 1/2 games behind at 11-3. Loyola and Pepperdine both will play at home this weekend against the third- and fourth-place teams. Loyola will open a three-game series with San Francisco (7-6) Friday, and Pepperdine will play Nevada Reno (5-5) in the first of three games. The Lions and Waves will meet next weekend in a three-game series that probably will determine the title. . . . Loyola’s 13-game winning streak was snapped by Cal State Sacramento, 8-6, last Saturday in the opener of a doubleheader at Loyola. But the Lions won the second game, 13-3, behind the six-hit pitching of Tim Layana. The victory gave Loyola a 31-7 record, the best of any West Coast team. The Lions, 15-6 at Page Stadium, are 17-1 on the road, having beaten UCLA Tuesday, 17-9, in a nonconference game at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Layana, a senior right-hander, is 10-2 with a 3.74 earned-run average. His next victory will be the 29th of his career, breaking the record set by Jim Kerker from 1966 to 1969. Junior left-hander Mark Stomp, 11-1 with a 3.70 ERA, leads the WCAC in wins and winning percentage (.917). His next victory also will set a school record. Rod Volk was 11-7 in 1973. Sophomore third baseman Chris Donnels leads the WCAC in homers with 10 and RBIs with 46 . . . Pepperdine is getting strong pitching from junior right-hander Mike Fetters, who is 8-3 overall with a 2.62 ERA. In WCAC play he has five complete-game victories, no losses and a 2.20 ERA.

Nevada Las Vegas swept three games from Cal State Long Beach, taking the lead in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. with an 8-1 record. The Rebels are half a game ahead of UC Santa Barbara, 7-2. Shortstop Matt Williams had a big series for the Rebels, going 7 for 13 with 3 homers and 7 RBIs. He also handled 19 fielding chances without an error. Williams, a 6-foot 3-inch, 205-pound junior, is batting .371. He leads the PCAA in RBIs with 67 and is second in homers with 16. Mike Oglesbee, the Rebels’ senior first baseman, leads the league in homers with 17 and has 54 RBIs. Nevada Las Vegas has hit 75 homers in 37 games. . . . Vince Teixeira of UC Santa Barbara is the PCAA’s leading hitter with a .425 average. The Gauchos have a .352 team average.