April 29, 2000

Box Score

PULLMAN, Wash. -- UCLA sophomore starting pitcher Josh Karp threw five shutout innings and allowed only two hits to lead the Bruins to a 13-2 Pac-10 victory over the host Washington State Cougars in front of 587 fans Saturday afternoon at Bailey-Brayton Field.

The win improved the Bruins record to 27-20 and pulled to within one game of the Pac-10 lead with a 10-4 league mark. After losing seven of their previous eight games, the Bruins have now won two straight. The Cougars saw their overall record dip to 16-28 and are now 4-13 in the Pac-10. WSU is 1-11 at home this year.

Karp, a Washington native and son of a former Cougar player, dominated in his 82-pitch outing. He yielded only two hits over five innings and picked up the win to improve to 7-1 on the year. The 1999 Team USA member struck out seven and walked only one to lower his ERA to 3.45 on the year. Freshman left-hander Mike Kunes pitched effectively out of the bullpen, allowing only two runs in four innings to pick up his first career save.

WSU starter Todd Meldahl absorbed the loss on the mound, falling to 2-6 on the year. The senior, who made his 48th career start (2nd all-time at WSU), allowed nine runs in 5.1 innings and struck out six. A bright spot on the day for the Cougars was the performance of true freshman Tony Auckland. Auckland made his WSU debut with a scoreless and hitless ninth inning on the mound. The Everett, Wash., native was a two-sport star at Cascade High School, but never pitched during his prep career.

The Bruins didn't get to Meldahl until the middle innings, but received virtually all the runs they needed with a two-run second inning. Leadoff singles from designated hitter Adam Berry and third baseman Randall Shelley later came around to on consecutive singles from Josh Canales and Matt Pearl.

Behind the stellar pitching of Karp, the Bruins extended their lead to 9-0 with a three-run sixth inning. The Bruins dominated the middle innings, scoring in five consecutive innings from the fourth through eighth.

The Cougars scored their only two runs of the game in the bottom of the sixth. Senior Shawn Stevenson led the inning off with a sharp single and after a walk to Ray Hattenburg, right fielder Jordan Nilsen plated two runs with his 13th double of the year.

The Bruins were led by a preseason All-American Bill Scott, who went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and three RBI. Berry was 2-for-3 and Canales was 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI. The bottom three of the UCLA batting order (Shelley, Charles Merricks and Canales) stung Cougar pitching for seven hits and five RBI on the afternoon. Garrett Atkins was also 3-for-6 to contribute to UCLA's 17-hit attack.

WSU was led by Hattenburg's 22nd multiple-hit game of the year. The senior utility man played three positions Saturday (1B, 3B, LF) and upped his batting average to a team-leading .375 mark.

The Cougars and Bruins will play the final game of the three-game Pac-10 series at 1 p.m. Sunday at Bailey-Brayton Field. WSU senior Reggie Rivard will go to the mound for the Cougs against UCLA lefty Bobby Roe.

UCLA   020  133  220 - 13 17  0
WSU    000  002  000 -  2  6  1
Josh Karp, Mike Kunes (6), and Forrest Johnson, Ryan Hamill (8).
Todd Meldahl, Nick Kenyon (6), Sean Donlin (7), Tony Auckland (9), and Ryan Smith.
W - Karp (7-1),L - Meldahl (2-6), S - Kunes (1), HR - None.
T - 3:24,  A - 587.
UCLA Hits - Pearl 2, Atkins 3, Scott 2, Johnson, Berry 2, Shelley 2, Merricks 2, Canales 2.
WSU Hits - Stevenson, Hattenburg 2, Grove, Curran, Nilsen.
E - Knight (6).
2B - Pearl (7), Atkins (9), Scott 2 (18), Shelley (6), Nilsen (13), 3B - None.