UCLA beats Cal State Bakersfield to stave off elimination

As the ball tipped over the glove and into the outfield, the UCLA fans cheered.

They had good reason. With the top-seeded Bruins baseball team facing elimination in its own NCAA Regional, a fielding error at shortstop helped extend their season a little longer.

In a 9-1 win over Cal State Bakersfield on Sunday evening at Jackie Robinson Stadium, UCLA turned a one-run lead into a six-run cushion — batting in five unearned runs after Mylz Jones mishandled a likely groundout in the top of the seventh.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to catch a 120-mile per hour knuckleball,” said CSUB coach Bill Kernan. “That’s what that was.”

It was Jones’ 12th error of the season, and likely the most costly of them all. Continue reading “UCLA beats Cal State Bakersfield to stave off elimination” »

After upset loss to Maryland, UCLA needs to lean on bullpen

UPDATE: UCLA will start right-handed pitcher Cody Poteet today against Cal State Bakersfield. The junior was the Bruins’ midweek starter most of this season, and has a 6-1 record to go with his 2.65 ERA.

***

After losing to Maryland, 4-1, on Saturday night, UCLA baseball needs to win three straight games to advance and host an NCAA Super Regional. For a team that entered the field as the No. 1 overall seed, it’s not where the Bruins expected to be.

The key decision looming for John Savage, recently named Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the first time, will be managing his deep pitching staff. With regular Sunday starter Griffin Canning sidelined for the postseason by a stress fracture in his back, Savage has not yet decided who to start against Cal State Bakersfield.

Throwing out the 4 p.m. first pitch against the Roadrunners could be Hunter Virant (0-1, 3.28), Cody Poteet (6-1, 2.65), or Grant Dyer (4-1, 1.86). Should it win, UCLA will also need to play 8 p.m. games on both Sunday and Monday against Maryland to win the NCAA Regional. Continue reading “After upset loss to Maryland, UCLA needs to lean on bullpen” »

UCLA opens NCAA Regional with 7-2 win over CSU Bakersfield

Coaches, as John Savage explained recently, want a little bit of adversity. The 50-year-old is no exception. Currently in charge of what could be the best team in his 11 years at UCLA, the last thing he needs is for wins to come too easily, for the Bruins to start coasting.

But he also needs his team to bounce back from any stumbles — and at this time of the year, to bounce back quickly. He got that on Friday night.

Opening the NCAA Regional as the No. 1 overall seed, UCLA gave up an early one-run lead to Cal State Bakersfield. The Bruins then scored for six straight innings, methodically building a 7-2 victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Continue reading “UCLA opens NCAA Regional with 7-2 win over CSU Bakersfield” »

UCLA baseball picked as No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament

UCLA baseball is going into the postseason with a huge target on its back.

The Bruins, who just finished one of their most successful regular seasons ever, received their first-ever No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament this morning. They will host the Los Angeles Regional starting on Friday, playing their first game at 8 p.m. (ESPNU) against Cal State Bakersfield.

The winner will advance to face either Ole Miss or Maryland, who play beforehand at 4 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

After missing the postseason entirely last year, UCLA (42-13, 22-7) set a new school record for conference wins this spring and clinched its third Pac-12 title in five years. It enters the field of 64 with the nation’s lowest ERA (2.16).

This is the fifth time in six seasons that the Bruins are starting the postseason at home, and the third time they have earned a top-eight national seed since 2010. Should they advance to host an NCAA Super Regional, they could very well face USC. The Trojans are playing in the Lake Elsinore Regional, in a four-team field that includes Virginia, UC Santa Barbara and San Diego State.