College Baseball : Arizona, Now 20-3, Has Turned It Around in a Hurry

The most improved team in the country? Without a doubt, it’s Arizona. Of course, it wouldn’t have taken much for the Wildcats to better last season’s mediocre performance.

Arizona’s overall record of 22-36 was the worst in the 81-year history of the school. The Wildcats finished fifth in the six-team Pacific 10 Southern Division at 11-19, their poorest showing since joining the league in 1979.

But that was last year. Arizona raised its record to 20-3 Monday by defeating Westmont, 8-5. Over the weekend, the Wildcats swept a three-game series from highly regarded San Diego State, 13-2, 17-6 and 8-7. They didn’t get their 20th victory last season until April 21, when they beat USC, 8-7.

Arizona wasn’t expected to be a factor in the Southern Division this season, but the Wildcats now appear strong enough to contend for the title they last won in 1980. They will open conference play this weekend with a three-game series at UCLA.

UCLA wasn’t supposed to be a contender, either. At least that’s what Coach Gary Adams said before the season started. He cited the loss of his best players to pro signings or graduation, an unsettled lineup and questionable pitching.

But the Bruins are playing almost as well as Arizona. They opened league play last weekend by taking two of three games from USC, one of the teams Adams had picked as a possible title winner.

The Bruins have used timely hitting, effective pitching and good defense to run their record to 11-5. Sunday’s victory over the Trojans was their ninth in 10 games. Adams still isn’t ready to declare UCLA a title contender, but he is pleased.

“We still have a long way to go to be considered a contender,” he said. “But I can’t take anything away from what the players have done. They’ve done well.”

Nobody can accuse Cal State Northridge, the defending NCAA Division II champion, of playing a soft nonconference schedule to build up its record before starting California Collegiate Athletic Assn. play next month.

Of the Matadors’ 16 February games, 11 were against Division I teams. They began the week with a 6-3 record against Division I opponents, including wins over Arizona State twice at Tempe and USC at Dedeaux Field. They lost twice to Cal State Long Beach and once to UCLA.

UCLA has a coaching staff made up entirely of alumni. Head Coach Gary Adams was the Bruins’ second baseman in 1962, pitching coach Guy Hansen pitched on the Bruins’ 1969 Pacific 8 championship club, and hitting coach Dennis Delany was an all-conference catcher in 1976, ’77 and ’78. Recruiting coordinator-assistant coach Glenn Mickens didn’t play for the Bruins, but the former Dodger pitcher attended UCLA in 1951.

Until last Wednesday, Scott Marrett, a junior right-hander at Pepperdine, hadn’t really accomplished much during his career. In his first two years, he appeared in 20 games, starting nine and completing one. He was 4-4 with a 4.42 earned-run average. In 59 innings, he had yielded 54 hits, 36 runs (29 earned), walked 30 and struck out 32.

So Marrett was an unlikely candidate to pitch the first no-hitter of the season. But that’s what he did against La Verne at Malibu. The 6-4, 195-pounder from Calabasas High struck out 10, walked one and faced just two batters over the minimum as the Waves won, 2-0.

Those eight large blue metal objects encircling Jackie Robinson Stadium, looking sort of like television antennas or telephone poles, actually are light standards without the lights.

Some of the bulbs dropped out and, as a safety precaution, all the remaining bulbs were removed. UCLA Coach Gary Adams says they’ll be replaced, but the repair work must wait until funds are appropriated. So the Bruins will play only day games at home this season.

Baseball Notes

UCLA has won all eight of its games at Jackie Robinson Stadium. . . . First baseman Todd Trafton was the big gun in Arizona’s wins over San Diego State. He was 8 for 14 with 8 RBIs in the three games. For the season, he’s batting .423 with 3 homers and 30 RBIs. . . . UCLA’s Gary Berman, a junior who filled in at third base last season, has made a successful transition to first base. In 16 games, he has handled 155 chances and has yet to make an error. . . . UC Riverside is off to a good start. The Highlanders improved their record to 8-1 Monday by beating Arizona State, 9-8, in Tempe. . . .