Above all else, a pitcher needs to be able to command his
pitches. For the UCLA baseball team, however, throwing strikes
consistently has been a problem throughout the season. And
that’s one of many reasons why the Bruins (11-33, 1-14
Pac-10) have won just a single conference game so far this year.
“We’ve just walked too many guys as a whole,”
said first-year coach John Savage, who built his reputation in the
sport by developing national-caliber pitching prospects at USC and
UC Irvine. “There have been way too many deep counts.
It’s been frustrating, because I work with the pitching
staff. We need to throw a lot more strikes.” The Bruins have
walked 202 batters and hit 48 batters in only 382 innings. Outside
of Hector Ambriz, no Bruin has an ERA below 5.40. The bullpen has
been unable to hold most leads ““ but for the most part, the
starting pitching has had trouble giving them leads to hold.
“Garett White and a lot of those guys in the bullpen
don’t have a whole lot of experience,” Savage said.
“In the next few years, there’s going to be very
different pitching around here.”
UPCOMING GAME: The Bruins head down to UC Irvine to take on the
Anteaters tonight. The game will be the second against UCI this
season, but, more importantly, it will be the first for Savage
against his former team in his former stadium. “I’m
looking forward to it,” Savage said. “It holds a very
special place for me. I know that entire roster, and I have a lot
of old friends there.” The outcome of the first meeting
between the two teams, a 3-1 victory for the Bruins, pulled UCLA
out of a five-game losing streak. To score a second consecutive win
over the Anteaters would hold extra-special meaning for the Bruins.
“We really came out firing on all cylinders last time,”
Ambriz said. “It’d be really nice to get him a victory
up there against his old team.” Savage is on the brink of his
100th career win, and the Bruins said they would like to get him
that win against his former squad tonight. But for Savage, the
milestones aren’t as important as turning UCLA into a
consistent baseball powerhouse. “It’d be nice to get
the 100th win up there,” Savage said. “But we’re
just trying to make this program better. Sooner or later the win
will come.”