Fullerton, CA (5/4/02) – The UCLA Alumni Associaiton of Sigma Pi Fraternity hit the 2002 Sigma Pi World Series this past May. The format of the tournament was changed from a double elimination style to a round robin.
This year’s team consisted of a few new faces in recent graduates. Jeff Brown, Phil Farias and Dustin Beckley made their Alumni debuts with little pomp and circumstance. Same crafty vets returned to round out the squad including Matt Malone, Dave Canty, Dan Romero, Matt Bradley, Omar Vallejo, and Dwain Jefferson.
The Bruins drew an 8:30 game vs. OCAA #8 at Titan Field.
After falling behind 2-0, the Bruins took advantage of a couple early errors from #8. They tied the game at two a piece going into the second inning. A leadoff double by Romero was followed up by singles from Vallejo and Bradley. Matt “MAY DAY” Malone completed the scoring with a two-run HR for a five run inning. The Bruins went on to plate a few more runs here and there, and walked off with a 11-4 victory. Dwain Jefferson and Romero combined to go 6 for 6 in the game, splitting Player of the Game (P.O.G.) honors.
Game two brought on the USC Alumni squad… the Bruins natural cross-town rivals. Much like years past, this rivalry was quickly reduced to a thumping as the Bruins put nine runs on the board in the top half of the first inning. Jeff Brown had a HR, a double and four RBI in the first. Upsilon continued to cruise, until they walked off with a 21-3 victory. P.O.G. honors went to Brown, who finished the game with a 4 for 4 game with a HR and 5 RBI’s.
The third game brought the LONG BEACH STATE alumni into the fold. This has been a heated rivalry for quite some time. Long Beach State even got into it with the UCLA active squad last year. “For the most part, they are solid guys, but there are always 2-3 guys on that team that talk sh*t. I don’t get it.” said Mike McKenzie.
After allowing three runs in the top of the first, the Bruins jumped all over the 49ers with 12 big runs in the bottom half of the inning. Aside from Matt Bradley (Walk), every Bruin got a hit in the inning, highlighted by a three-run homer by Phil Farias. the LBC would have none of it though, and plated five unearned runs in the top of the 2nd. Again, the Bruins responded with three of there own. Again, the LBC bats came at Upsilon, with six runs in the top of the third… and again, the Bruins responded, this time with six big runs of their own. Omar Vallejo did the most damage with a 2 run scoring triple to RCF.
The top of the 4th brought some controversy. After recording two outs, a sharply hit ball went to 3B Dan Romero. He attempted to step on third for the final out, but was beat to the bag by the runner. According to Bruin statition Brad Layous and Shonda Murphy, the 49ers scored six runs. However they told the umpire they scored eight… and eight runs they got. “I know they got six because I counted every run after I didn’t get to third on time. I could have ended the inning, but instead all those runs came in. I had six, Layous had six, Shonda had six. What can you do… not sure why people would cheat in rec league softball, but whatever.” said Romero.
The eight runs tied the ball game, however the Bruins still had the HAMMER. They scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to regain a two-run lead. Things were not comfortabl though as the LBC had scored 3, 5, 6, and “8” in the previous four innings… not a comforting trend. Pitcher Matt Malone was able to buckle down, and the defense nutted up. With one run across, and two outs, Malone delivered a wicked 1-2 off-speed pitch that the LBC player took looking. “BACKWARDS K” yelled Dustin Beckley after the ball hit the plate. The Bruins finally got the Long Beach monkey off their back with a big 23-22 victory. The Bruins were 0-3 vs. Long Beach in the previous two years. Omar Vallejo took the P.O.G. falling a double short of the cycle. (4 for 4 with a 3B, HR and 5 RBI).
The victory put the Bruins in first place in their bracket at 3-0, earning them the #1 seed from their pool. They were matched up against the UCI active squad which also went 3-0 in their heat, but took the #2 seed due to run differntial. The UCI squad was defintely revamped from the group the Bruins saw in 2000. These boys could HIT! With some beligerant drunk actives holding true some past traditions, they talked junk that players could not back up. The Bruins held a brief 1-0 lead after one inning, and that was the end of that. UCI went on to the 17-2 mercy rule victory through six innings, and moved on in the playoffs. Brown earned P.O.G. in this bad boy by going 2 for 3.
Again, the Bruins had a succesfull and fun year out at Cal State Fullerton. Many thanks to David DeFillipo and the other Cal State Fullerton Alumni /Actives who put the tournament together. Hopefully 2003 UCLA will be able to field two squads for some more Bruin fun! Special thanks also to our fans who came from all over SoCal to cheer us on. Jared Frandle, Tim Howell, Brad Layous, Shonda Murphy, Erik Stern, Bruce MacDonald and Mark Shroekenstein earn the vaunted 11th man award. Good times, as per usual, were had by all.