May 8, 1998

LOS ANGELES -- The UCLA baseball team took an early 3-0 in the first inning and never looked back, downing UC Santa Barbara 16-4 at Jackie Robinson Stadium Wednesday.

After scoring the game's first three runs, the Gauchos clawed their way back to make the score 3-2. The Bruins then used their bats to score the next 11 runs in the game and UCSB never threatened again.

Eric Valent led the way for UCLA, batting five-for-five with two homers, five RBI and four runs scored. Chase Utley and Eric Byrnes also added their offensive firepower, as both players hit an identical two-for-four with a homer and four RBI.

Matt Klein (3-1) earned the win for the Bruins while Craig Shara (2-2) took the loss. UCLA improved to 24-30 as UCSB fell to 16-27-2.

The win was the final home game of the season for UCLA. The Bruins will close out the season with three games at Oregon State May 8-10.