This one stings a lot less. The UCLA baseball team’s 11-8
loss to UC Santa Barbara (17-20, 3-6 Big West) on Tuesday comes
after a strong spring that has put the Bruin program on the map.
This time last year, the ball club was nowhere near the map.
UCLA coach John Savage was feeling pretty low last April. A year
ago to the day, UCLA lost 24 of its last 25 games, the worst
stretch of any baseball team in school history.
Savage was in his first year at the helm of a ship that
couldn’t seem to right itself. The Bruins were just swept by
Arizona State on the road. They were 8-28 on the season and 0-9 in
the Pac-10.
What a difference a year makes.
This past Sunday, No. 22 UCLA (23-17, 7-5 Pac-10) beat No. 16
Arizona State in extra innings at Jackie Robinson Stadium to win
its third straight conference series. With the win the Bruins have
changed their ranks.
They cracked the top 25 this week for the first time since March
of 2001.
Westwood is a very different place to be playing baseball this
year.
“It’s a completely different team. There’s a
whole new attitude. Last year we came to the park, and we thought,
“˜Oh, were going to lose again,'” senior
outfielder Chris Jensen said.
“Now we come to the park and think we can beat
anybody.”
Savage’s direction as a coach, but more importantly as a
recruiter, may be the reason for the drastic turnaround in such a
short time.
Instead of sitting through a slow and painful rebuilding
process, the second-year coach restocked the team with a number of
junior college transfers in the offseason. Savage commented he went
with the transfers to replenish a barren lineup that needed an
influx of talent.
The team put its trust in the changes to the roster and has made
a complete turnaround. It is not the same team wearing the blue and
gold this season ““ and not the same results.
“We have a bunch of depth this year,” Savage said.
“It’s a completely night-and-day deal from last
year.”
Among the names added to the roster were junior left hander Dave
Huff from Cypress Community College and junior right hander Tyson
Brummett from Central Arizona Community College. Huff and Brummett
have made an immediate impact as the No. 2 and No. 3 starters for
the Bruins behind ace Hector Ambriz.
With the two imports, UCLA boasts one of the deepest rotations
in the country. Brummett and junior Brian Schroeder are the No. 3
and No. 4 starters, but essentially could be aces on Bruin staffs
of years past.
“The starting pitching is much better,” Jensen said.
“They give us a chance to win every night.”
Looking to the future of the program, the Bruins may have a hole
on the mound to fill in the offseason.
Savage is anticipating Huff to leave school early if drafted
high enough in the MLB Draft in June, and there is a possibility
that Ambriz could go as well.
At the plate the Bruins are strong and, more importantly, young.
Shortstop Brandon Crawford leads a freshman class that has already
had a presence and gotten some clutch game-winning hits. The
shortstop is leading the team with 52 hits and is right behind
Ambriz in batting average, hitting .323 for the season.
The core of the team is set in the middle of the diamond.
Catcher Ryan Babineau, infielder Jermaine Curtis and outfielder Tim
Murphy have started most of their rookie season and loom large in
the resurrection of the Bruin program.
It is these younger players that Savage is focusing on trying to
build the program around. In his second year, he looks at signing
the younger guys out of high school as an indicator of the health
of the program. If this April is any indication, Savage’s
medicine already has the Bruins with a clean bill of health.