March 28, 1998

STANFORD, Calif. - Junior right-hander Jeff Austin (Kingwood, TX/Kingwood HS) threw a complete game eight-hitter to lead top-ranked Stanford (23-4-1 overall, 8-2 in the Six-Pac) to a 4-1 win over visiting UCLA (11-19, 5-10) on Saturday afternoon at Sunken Diamond.

Austin is now 8-0 with a 1.75 ERA overall, and 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA in conference play. He allowed just one earned run, while walking one and striking out nine en route to his third complete game of the season. Austin is 4-0 in his career against UCLA with a 2.68 ERA.

Junior Jody Gerut (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook HS) put the Cardinal on top for good in the bottom of the first with a solo homer to right. The Cardinal extended the lead to 3-0 on an RBI double by senior Jay Pecci (Novato, CA/San Marin HS) in the second and a run-scoring two-bagger by sophomore Nick Day (Las Vegas, NV/Green Valley HS) in the fourth. Stanford then concluded its scoring on an RBI single by freshman Joe Borchard (Camarillo, CA/Camarillo HS) in the fifth.

UCLA avoided its first shutout of the season when Eric Valent (Anaheim, CA/Canyon HS) blasted a solo homer to center in the sixth.

Offensively for the Cardinal, Day went 3-for-4, while the Bruins received a 3-for-3 effort from senior Nick Theodorou (Rialto, CA/Eisenhower HS).

Linescore                   R   H   E
UCLA        000 001 000 --- 1   8   3
Stanford    110 110 00x --- 4   11  0
    Diaz, Thielemann (6) and Green; Austin and Alvarado. 
    WP - Austin (8-0). LP - Diaz (0-1). 
    2B - Byrnes (UCLA), Theodorou (UCLA), Gerut (STAN), Pecci (STAN), Day (STAN). 
    HR - Gerut (STAN) 1st inning, none on; Valent (UCLA) 6th inning, none on. 
    Records - UCLA 11-19 overall (5-10 in the Six-Pac), Stanford 23-4-1 (8-2).