UCLA baseball to host NCAA playoff regional

The UCLA baseball team was just announced as one of 16 hosts for the upcoming NCAA Division I Baseball Championship regionals. The Bruins also hosted a regional, and subsequent super-regional, on their way to a College World Series runner-up finish.

The Bruins are surging at the right time, having won six-of-eight after dropping three straight, including consecutive wins over Arizona State. Coupled with four straight Oregon State losses, that has propelled UCLA to the top of the Pac-10 with at least a share of the conference title, the team’s first since 2000.

The fact that the Bruins, who have the lowest win-loss record among the 16 regional hosts, were selected to host along with the Sun Devils and Beavers and nearby rival Cal State Fullerton, speaks to the strength of the conference. It doesn’t hurt that the Bruins have perhaps the toughest 1-2 punch in the nation in Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer.