With three new weekend starters going into this season, it
appeared that starting pitching would be the biggest weakness for
the UCLA baseball team. Instead, the starters for the Bruins have
been the foundation of the team’s surprising 6-3 start. The
three weekend starters, Hector Ambriz, Bryan Beck and Brant
Rustich, all have ERAs under 3.00. Rustich in particular showed
huge strides in his last start, throwing a complete game in his
last start in the Bruins’ 7-1 win at Cal State Northridge.
“This is a credit to his progression, and I think this could
be the tip of the iceberg for the rest of the season and even on to
later years for him,” UCLA coach John Savage said. The win
was Rustich’s first as a Bruin starter and earned him Pac-10
Pitcher of the Week honors. Needing only 113 pitches, he gave up
zero runs while allowing eight hits and two walks to go along with
five strikeouts. His performance was in stark contrast to his
earlier starts this season where the 6-foot-6-inch right-hander
from El Cajon struggled with his control. In his first start of the
season against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Rustich lasted only three
and two-thirds innings, giving up two runs mainly due to five walks
he issued. His second start was at Fresno State, where he pitched
four and two-thirds innings and gave up seven walks. Yet with his
nearly flawless effort against the Matadors on Sunday, Rustich
leads the group of weekend starters with a 2.08 ERA. Meanwhile,
Ambriz boasts a strong 2.16 ERA, and Beck closely follows with an
ERA of 2.70. The three starters have been very tough to hit for
opponents, as Rustich and Ambriz have held opponents to an
under-.200 batting average while Beck has allowed opponents to hit
only .220 off of him. However, all three starters have had some
control problems, allowing 29 walks combined in 44 innings pitched
between the trio. But that has been partially offset with their 39
strikeouts. In the eight starts for the group, the three have
averaged 5.5 innings per start, and no opponent has scored more
than two runs off them.
UTAH COMING UP: Utah comes into town Friday for
a three-game series at Jackie Robinson Stadium, and despite the
Utes’ 0-6 record, Savage stressed that the Bruins will not
look past their struggling opponent. “We can’t overlook
anyone. We are going to continue to strive to get better,”
Savage said. “At this point in the season we just look at the
team and not the record to get a gauge on them.” Utah has not
played a home game yet this season due to the frigid winter
weather, which can partly attribute for its early struggles.