Having started the season surprisingly well, the UCLA baseball
team has hit its first prolonged rough patch of the year.
Already mired in a five-game losing streak, the Bruins lost
their sixth, falling to Cal State Northridge 6-2 on Tuesday.
“It was a carbon copy of the last five games,” said
coach John Savage. “We didn’t make plays and we
didn’t make pitches when we needed to.”
Sophomore Brant Rustich (1-2), who was shelled for nine runs
against Cal State Fullerton on Sunday, picked up the loss. He gave
up two runs and struck out five batters in his three innings of
work.
“How we react to [these losses] is the test,” said
Savage. “We just need to get good, sound defense and timely
pitching and hitting.”
Not many balls were going where the Bruins (7-10) wanted on
Tuesday. They had only seven hits off of the Matador pitchers.
Matador starting pitcher Kyle Jean (1-0) threw five scoreless
innings and gave up only three hits.
“Balls just weren’t bouncing the right way,”
said sophomore designated hitter Hector Ambriz. “We
didn’t have much timely hitting.”
The only player in the Bruin lineup to provide any punch was
once again Ambriz, who went 2-for-4 on the day, scoring a run and
an RBI.
“I just try to put the bat on the ball,” said
Ambriz. “Sometimes it goes where I want it to go.”
The Bruins didn’t score until the eighth inning, when
Ambriz singled in a run and then scored on an error. By then,
though, the game was mostly out of reach.
“Hector has performed at a high level every day,”
said Savage. “We need to have more guys step up and do well,
and we will. Guys are going to do better.”
Ambriz was added to the Brooks Wallace Award watch list on
Tuesday. The award goes out to the nation’s top player. As of
now, there are only 38 players included on the list.
The Bruins head to College Station this weekend to face No. 9
Texas A&M. While some might see it as a bad place to go in the
midst of a losing streak, Savage sees it in a better light.
“There is no better time for this opportunity,” said
Savage. “We’re going in with nothing to lose, and a lot
to gain.”