Thanks to a victory over UNLV (9-11) Tuesday night, the UCLA
baseball team (12-11) is above .500 for the first time since early
last year. Considering their strength of schedule and the fact that
they are not even halfway through this season, it’s a success
that the Bruins are already three wins away from their win total of
all last season. Even better, the Bruins are right where coach John
Savage wants them to be. “It’s a big thing (being above
.500),” Savage said. “We are playing very well right
now. We’ve been swinging the bats well, and our pitching has
been very consistent.” On Tuesday, the Bruins essentially
demolished the Rebels of UNLV 16-2 behind home runs from freshman
Brandon Crawford, senior Brett McMillan and junior Eric Taylor. The
team has hit 26 home runs this year, five more than they hit all of
last season. “In college baseball, you have to be able to
pitch and play defense, obviously,” Savage said. “But
you also have to be able to hit line drives over the fence.
We’ll take the line drives we’re getting any
day.” The Bruins had 15 hits in the explosion against UNLV
and scored 10 runs in the first three innings, effectively ending
the game while holding the Rebels scoreless. That kind of offensive
performance is just what junior pitcher Brian Schroeder wants to
see when he goes out on the mound. Schroeder, who took the loss
last week in a disappointing game against Pepperdine, came back
Tuesday and helped sustain the momentum of the weekend series
victory over Ole Miss. “It’s always nice to bounce back
and win,” Schroeder said. “You try to throw out the
previous week, and just go out there and pitch. And it’s
always easier when your guys go out and put six runs on the board
before you’ve pitched the second inning.” The team has
won seven of its last nine and closes out nonconference play at the
end of the month. This kind of tear that the Bruins are on is
something Crawford thinks is sustainable. “I think
we’re playing well in every aspect of the game,”
Crawford said. “We’re pitching and playing defense, (as
well as hitting). I think we can put up some more games like
this.”
UPCOMING GAME: The Bruins will face San Diego
State at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Friday at 6 p.m. to open a
three-game series. If the Bruins win the series, they clinch a
winning nonconference record. “For the last eight to 10
games, we’ve played really well. When there are 17 new faces
on a team, it’s tough for a while. But now we’re
starting to come together as a team, and you can see the
results,” Schroeder said. “This series is going to be
big. We just have to keep swinging the bats and keep
pitching.”