May 2, 1998

LOS ANGELES - Freshman designated hitter Chase Utley hit a solo home run in the second inning and then singled home two runs with the bases loaded and two outs in the third inning in leading UCLA to a 4-3 victory over Portland State on Saturday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. Freshman first baseman Eric Reece knocked home the other run for UCLA. Freshmen Paul Diaz and Chad Cislak limited the Vikings to three runs.

Diaz allowed two earned runs in five innings and earned the victory to improve to 2-4. Cislak pitched four shutout innings, extending his scoreless inning streak to nine. Diaz and Cislak had teamed up on Tuesday in a 4-2, 10 inning win at Long Beach State with Diaz allowing two runs in five innings and Cislak pitching five shutout innings.

Only freshmen have appeared on the mound for UCLA so far in this two-game series. Freshmen pitchers have accounted for 305.2 innings this season, 67.4% of the team's total innings.

After Utley homered in the second inning, the Vikings tied the game in the third when junior center fielder Rusty Keith stole home as part of a double steal with junior second baseman David Ferres.

UCLA scored three runs with two outs in the third inning to regain the lead. Utley singled home two and then Reece followed with an RBI-single.

Portland State scored two runs in the fourth inning on a two-run home run by junior designated hitter Beau Boudreau.

The Vikings threatened to tie the game in the sixth inning. Junior left fielder Rick Southall led off the inning with a double to greet Cislak who had just entered the game. Cislak then threw a wild pitch. Senior catcher Casey Cloud chased the ball down, pretended that he could not find it and then threw the ball to Cislak who was waiting to apply the tag on Southall. Cislak proceeded to retire 10 in a row before a two-out single in the ninth inning by senior catcher Neal Andrade. Pinch-runner Rudy Zarfas, a junior, took second on a passed ball. Cislak then retired junior third baseman Erik Remington on a fly out to right.

Senior righthander Scott Oyler (2-4) suffered the loss despite pitching well. He tossed a complete game, allowing just four runs.

The teams will conclude the three-game series on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Senior righthander Tony Righetti (1-0, 3.38) is scheduled to start for UCLA and junior lefthander Adam Flohr (4-8, 8.34) is scheduled to start for Portland State.

   
                                 R   H   E
Portland State      001 200 000  3   7   0
UCLA                013 000 00X  4   8   1 

Portland St: Oyler (2-4) and Andrade; UCLA: Diaz (2-4), Cislak (6) and Cloud
Doubles: Portland State - Southall (21); 
UCLA - Byrnes (18)
Home Runs: Portland State -Boudreau (2), two-run shot, fourth inning; 
UCLA - Utley (10), solo shot, second inning
Records: Portland State (13-31); UCLA (22-30)