GOOD LUCK HELPS BRUINS SHINE SUN MELTS DELAWARE; CYCLE FOR ATKINS UCLA 13, DELAWARE 12.

Byline: John Helsley Special to the Daily News

OKLAHOMA CITY - One Bruin hit for the cycle and drove in five runs, and collectively UCLA banged out 20 hits and scored 13 runs Friday in its NCAA regional opener.

And it was enough - barely, thanks to two fly balls that Delaware outfielders lost in the sun, allowing the top-seeded Bruins to escape with a 13-12 win.

``The baseball Gods were with UCLA today and that was the biggest factor in our win,'' said Bruins coach Gary Adams. ``They say that good teams take advantage of mistakes and opportunities. And our hitters did that.''

UCLA, now 36-24, advances to today's 1 p.m. winner's-bracket game to face the winner of Friday night's late Oklahoma-Oral Roberts game.

Garrett Atkins hit for the cycle for the Bruins, although his two-out, bases-loaded triple in the fourth was a fly ball lost in the sky by right fielder Chris Kolodzey, who backed off as the ball struck him in the chest.

Atkins finished 4 for 6 with five RBI, and Forrest Johnson and Chase Utley also homered for the Bruins. Johnson had three hits and three RBI, and Utley added three hits, two RBI and scored three times.

Delaware carried a 12-10 lead into the bottom of the ninth, when UCLA scored three runs, helped when Blue Hens outfielder Casey Fahy lost Bill Scott's one-out fly in the sun.

That scored Utley, who had doubled to lead off the inning, and sent Scott to second with a double. Johnson followed with a run-scoring double down the left-field line to tie the game.

Delaware reliever Vic Sage then walked pinch-hitter Adam Berry,and Charles Merricks blooped a single into shallow center to load the bases. And with the outfield drawn in, Randall Shelley lofted a long fly ball to score the game-winner.

``I don't have any answers,'' said Blue Hens coach Bob Hannah. ``But I do have a lot of questions. How is it not possible to mix in a catch in the outfield once in a while?''

UCLA committed six errors, got a shaky starting effort from pitcher Rob Henkel and trailed 12-6 in the sixth. But reliever Bobby Roe gave the Bruins four strong innings of relief, and the offense kept coming.

``Things weren't going our way and the defense didn't help much,'' said Atkins. ``We got lucky with the sun balls. But the entire season has been like this game and we have never given up.''

Roe earned the win to improve to 7-5, after Henkel struck out nine but allowed nine runs and seven hits in five innings.

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UCLA left-hander Rob Henkel, delivering a pitch against Delaware, struggled early and got little help from his defense.

Jerry Laizure/Associated Press