Last night, UCLA wasted two leadoff doubles and a leadoff triple. I talked to Coach John Savage before today's game about the lack of clutch hitting. I know the fans and media like to criticize when players fail to deliver in the clutch, but is there any way to coach that?

"The best way to coach it," Savage said, "is to not talk about it."

What he meant was that drilling it into his players' heads might not be the best thing to do. He said the players have to trust themselves and use the middle of the field. He also stressed that it's too early in the season to get worked up over anything.

I have a feeling UCLA is going to have a few more frustrating nights this year because they play one of the toughest schedules in the country, but it's going to pay off when tournament time comes.

Right now it's about 6:15, and I've been taking some laps around the still-being-renovated Mark Light Field. The few fans that are here this early are already pleasantly surprised. Why? Because the UM men's basketball team won today! That doesn't happen too often these days. In fact, the average height of the baseball team is probably within a few inches of that of the basketball team.

Here's another thing that the UM baseball and basketball teams have in common: An inability to score.

The Canes are hitting just .245 in the first three games of the season. Preseason All-American and Team USA member Jemile Weeks is hitting .091, while home run threat Dennis Raben is hitting just .154. I spoke to Hurricanes Head Coach Jim Morris, and he didn't seem concerned at all. Morris is confident his guys will come around.

Here's a preview of tonight's starting pitchers:

UCLA: LHP Brendan Lafferty (1-0, 7.36 ERA) makes his second career start tonight. He missed last season with academic issues and earned a win last Sunday with two innings of relief work, allowing three runs on four hits. Lafferty is 6 foot 4 inches and throws in the upper 80s.

Miami: RHP Danny Gil (0-0, 8.31 ERA) served as UM's set up man last season before moving to the starting rotation toward the end of the year. He pitched poorly last weekend vs. Mercer. The key for Gil, according to Jim Morris, is located his nasty splitter. That's his best pitch by far, and it sets up his fastball.