It’s getting to be crunch time on the diamond.
The Bruins travel up the 101 Freeway to take on UC Santa Barbara
(20-23, 6-9 Big West) today for a final tune-up before hosting
crosstown rival USC over the weekend.
UCLA (25-19, 8-7 Pac-10) is coming off a 9-4 win in a
continuation game against UC Riverside, but the team has lost three
of its last five games, including an 11-8 loss to UC Santa Barbara
on April 25.
The Gauchos, meanwhile, are coming off a close series loss
against No. 4 Cal State Fullerton, in which they led by one run in
the ninth inning of the rubber game before eventually falling
7-5.
Taking the mound for the Bruins in his second start of the year
will be freshman right-hander Jason Novak (2-1). In his first start
on April 18, Novak went 2.2 innings to capture the win against
local power Long Beach State. The right-hander also saw action
against UC Santa Barbara earlier this season, coming on in the
sixth inning and striking out four of the seven batters he
faced.
One of those strikeouts came against junior shortstop Chris
Valaika, who has been a big threat hitting third for the Gauchos.
Valaika is batting .349 with 48 RBIs and had an impressive Saturday
against Cal State Fullerton with a home run and five RBIs.
In that earlier matchup against the Gauchos, the Bruins were
down 9-3 after six innings and almost came back to steal the game
from their Big West neighbors to the north. UCLA mounted a big
comeback with five runs in the eighth, going into the ninth inning
with the score at 9-8. The Gauchos took the wind out of the
Bruins’ sails with two runs in the ninth, taking the game by
a final score of 11-8.
The “dog days of spring” are coming to a close for
UCLA as it gets ready to fight against the big dogs of the Pac-10.
There are only three weekend series left for the third-place
Bruins, but they include the two teams above them in the division
standings: USC and defending Pac-10 champion Oregon State. The
baseball team hopes to leave Santa Barbara with a win and some
momentum before they come home to compete for the Pac-10 title.