When the Heat Is On, DeCinces Gets Hot

If the heat doesn’t get you, Tim DeCinces probably will.

Both have been a lot--sometimes too hot--to handle during the NCAA Central I Regional at Disch-Falk Field. But heat can’t hit game-winning home runs.

DeCinces can and has for UCLA, as well as much more in this double-elimination tournament. Fate pushed DeCinces into pressure-packed situations, so he pushed back--and won.

The Bruin catcher thrives during those tense moments when others shy away, or simply choke. DeCinces said you can learn a few things growing up as the son of a successful major leaguer and playing prep ball in Orange County. DeCinces certainly did.

UCLA (36-27) plays for the regional title at 5 p.m. today, facing the winner of the Southwest Missouri State-Miami game.

DeCinces embraces such opportunities. Saturday night, DeCinces’ 10th-inning grand slam was a big reason UCLA rallied to a 9-4 victory Southwest Missouri State.

“I love hitting in the clutch,” said DeCinces, son of former Angel third baseman Doug. “For whatever reason, I get sharper when everything is on the line . . . more focused.

“I wish I could be more consistent. It just seems like when there’s a big situation, I have a tendency to be more ready.”

Well, he’s not exactly a stiff when things are cozy either. But he does his best work when it means most.

Just ask Texas. Not only the baseball team, try anyone in the state.

Longhorn sports are followed with a single-minded devotion. And folk ‘round here now know who DeCinces is, and they don’t like what they see.

DeCinces hit a two-out, two-run homer in the eighth inning Thursday night to help UCLA defeat tournament-host Texas, 5-2, in an opening round-game. The shot, approximately 390 feet to left field, broke a 2-2 tie and left 6,649 at Disch-Falk Field without an appetite for their barbecue. That loss helped eliminate Texas’ beloved Longhorns.

“I feel good every time I’ve gone up there [in the regional],” DeCinces said. “My swing feels good and I feel confident. It just seems like the pitches I’m getting to hit are coming at the right time.”

And DeCinces wasn’t done messing with Texas just yet. Next on the late-inning hit list was Sam Houston State.

The Bruins and Bearkats played in an elimination game Saturday afternoon. The Bruins initially didn’t seem to know, though, as the Bearkats--a sub-.500 team--held an 8-4 lead going into the bottom of the sixth.

Then UCLA realized it could be heading home. UCLA scored six runs in the inning, and DeCinces drove in two runs to tie score with a single to left. UCLA won, 10-8.

“We were like, ‘Oh, my God! What’s going on? These guys are beating us?’ ” DeCinces said. “Once you get down to a team like that, you start thinking and trying to do more than you can do.

“You just have to relax and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to hit the ball when this guy throws it to home plate.’ Then you roll and good things happen.”

Said Bruin Coach Gary Adams: “Timmy, as usual, did a good job in the clutch.”

If DeCinces has political aspirations, Texas isn’t the place to give it a shot. Sam Houston Coach John Skeeters definitely won’t miss DeCinces.

“DeCinces? Ah, shoot. If you find out how to get him out, let me know,” Skeeters said. “That ball he hit was a rope. People use the word ‘rope’ too freely. If you want to know what a rope is, that was it.”

This isn’t news to the UCLA contingent. A junior, DeCinces (6 feet 2, 195 pounds) was selected first-team All-Pacific 10 Southern Division.

DeCinces bats .336. He leads UCLA with 18 homers and 67 runs batted in, ranking among the conference leaders in each category.

His father taught him how to handle pressure.

“My dad was a real good clutch player,” he said. “What I’ve gotten from my dad is that the key to it is not trying to do too much.

“Too many guys get up there and think about what’s going to happen if I do this or that. What you need to do is just tell yourself to hit the ball hard somewhere, and whatever happens happens.”

The student impresses the teacher.

“I’m real proud of him,” said Doug, attending the regional. “Tim has always risen to the occasion, I mean all year long.”

A standout at Corona del Mar High, DeCinces said playing in the county prepared him to face anything in college baseball. After all, DeCinces said, he had already faced the best.

“A lot of the guys I’m playing against now, I’ve played against before,” he said. “You learn how to handle good pitchers and good hitters because you’re growing up and maturing with them. From there, it’s just about making adjustments to keep moving on.”