The middle of May is the time for speculation and multiple
playoff scenarios in the world of college baseball. Unlike last
year when they were just trying to make it to the finish line with
their pride intact, the Bruins (28-21, 10-8 Pac-10) will have more
on their minds than just studying for finals. UCLA has seven games
left on the year to make its case for an NCAA Regional bid and take
a stab at stealing the Pac-10 title from defending champion Oregon
State. “We would like to win the Pac-10, so hopefully we can
win these next two series,” redshirt senior Chris Jensen
said. UCLA is currently tied with Arizona State for the second-best
record in the conference, behind Oregon State, who sits atop the
standings at 12-6. The Bruins would win a tiebreaker against ASU
because UCLA took the series 2-1 when the teams met in Westwood
earlier in the year. Tonight, the Bruins begin their crucial
stretch for the playoffs when they host Game 1 of a three-game
series against Stanford (28-21, 10-11). If the Bruins sweep the
Cardinal at home and if Oregon State loses two of three on the road
against Washington State, then the Bruins and Beavers will be tied
for first place going into the final week of the season, when they
play each other. If UCLA keeps pace with Oregon State this weekend
they will travel to Corvallis, Ore., with conference title hopes
intact. The Bruins, however, are also a trendy pick to receive an
NCAA at-large bid and are not depending on a conference title as
their only way to receive a selection into the field of 64.
“We certainly want to finish over .500 in conference,”
UCLA coach John Savage said. “I think (if) we do that, along
with our non-conference strength of schedule, it would put us in a
position to be a legitimate regional selection.” In order to
finish over .500 in the Pac-10 the Bruins will need to win three of
their final six. Should they accomplish this goal, they would
likely finish second in the Pac-10, and Savage thinks that should
warrant an at-large bid for the Bruins. “The history of the
Pac-10 says that if you finish over .500 in conference, a very high
percentage of those teams get picked,” Savage said.
“The RPI of the conference is ranked fourth, behind the SEC,
ACC and the Big 12, so it is a power conference. The history says
four, five, sometimes six teams (make regionals) from those
conferences, depending on the year. We just have to uphold our end
of the schedule.”
STEAMING CARDINAL: Standing in the way of the
Bruins are the Stanford Cardinal, who roll into Westwood as one of
the hottest teams in college baseball. The Cardinal are under .500
in conference after a rough start to the year but come into town on
a seven-game win streak that includes a sweep on the road against
Washington. “I know that their record isn’t what it
usually is, but that doesn’t mean anything right now because
they just swept Washington,” senior Brett McMillan said.
“I don’t think a lot of teams would pick to play them
right now, but we’re definitely up for it.”
Stanford’s Friday night starter Greg Reynolds is considered
one of the top pitchers in college baseball with a 6-3 record and
80 strikeouts.