Freshman Jason Novak came in from the bullpen to make his debut
as a starting pitcher in UCLA’s 4-3 loss to UC Santa Barbara
on Tuesday. He earned the opportunity while sharing the closing
duties with redshirt senior Josh Roenicke in Brant Rustich’s
absence due to injury. Novak will assume the No. 4 job in the
starting rotation for the rest of the year, as junior Brian
Schroeder moves permanently to the bullpen. The move will give UCLA
another dependable left-handed pitcher to go along with Paul
Oseguera. But it is what Novak figures to bring the Bruin pitching
staff in the long term that has prompted his promotion.
“(Novak) has established himself as our fourth
starter,” UCLA coach John Savage said. “He’s a
big part of our future. He has been throwing the ball well and has
shown a lot of promise.” Savage has said on several occasions
this season that he doubts junior Dave Huff will return to school
for his senior year with the chance of being a high pick in the MLB
Amateur Draft in June. Junior Hector Ambriz could also forgo his
senior year for a professional career, which would leave the
Bruin’s rotation barren. Enter Novak, who will start two more
regular season games, both against UC Irvine. The freshman hurler
knows he has the chance to help the Bruins make the NCAA Tournament
for the first time under Savage. Outside of that, however, he is
uncertain. “I have worked to get to this point all year, and
I want to produce,” Novak said. “But guys get
opportunities all the time, and next year is so far away that I
can’t even worry about that because I don’t know.
“But I can step in and help us win some games now.”
Novak worked 3.2 innings on Tuesday, allowing only an unearned run
to lower his ERA to 4.48 on the season.
NAMING RIGHTS: UC Santa Barbara’s
baseball facility is named after Caesar Uyesaka. If the name
doesn’t sound familiar to you, that’s because it
belongs to a businessman in the Santa Barbara area who donated an
undisclosed sum of money to build the Gauchos’ ballpark.
UPCOMING: The Bruins begin the most daunting
stretch of their season on Friday. They play USC at home this
weekend, host Stanford the following weekend, and close out the
season in Corvallis, Ore., against fifth-ranked defending Pac-10
Champion Oregon State. Depending on how they fare, the Bruins could
finish as high as second or as low as sixth in the Pac-10. … The
Bruins are currently tied with Arizona State for third.