This Memorial Day weekend, the majority of UCLA students will take advantage of the holiday to relax. Not the Bruin baseball team, however.
This weekend, the Bruins (29-24, 13-8 Pac-10) cannot afford to relax or take time off as they host the defending national champion Oregon State Beavers (36-16, 8-13) in the final series of the regular season. The series will be a crucial one for the Bruins as they have lost their last two conference series and five of their last six games. Their recent slide has dropped the Bruins out of first and into third place in the Pac-10, behind first-place Arizona State and second-place Arizona.
The Bruins were able to win the final game of their series at Washington State last Sunday, avoiding a second consecutive sweep, and are returning home to Jackie Robinson Stadium, where they are 18-9 overall and have won all three conference series that they have played there.
“It’s good to be back home after a seven-game road trip,” coach John Savage said. “We were 2-5 on the trip. … So it’s good to be back home and to play in familiar settings. It is Senior Day on Sunday, so we are just looking forward to playing well. We still have a lot to play for and are battling to get into the playoffs.”
While the team has had trouble closing out games as of late, the Bruins still believe they are in a good position. This weekend the team will look to regain the tremendous momentum it had in conference play prior to its series against Arizona State.
“This week we are focused on Oregon State,” freshman right fielder and All-Pac-10 player Gabe Cohen said. “We are still in good position in the Pac-10 and have the chance to accomplish great things.”
While the Beavers sit in seventh place in the Pac-10 with a conference record of 8-13, the Bruins know better than to take them lightly. The UCLA team has great respect for the defending national champions, despite their sub-par conference record .
“They are a very good team and have a solid record of 36-16,” Savage said. “They have a high RPI, and even though they have struggled a bit in Pac-10 play, they are more than capable. … We expect to have our hands full.”
The Beavers have an All-Pac-10 player in junior catcher Mitch Canham. So far this season, Canham is batting .345, with nine home runs and 52 RBIs. Oregon State also had three players who received honorable mentions: shortstop Darwin Barney, pitcher Eddie Kunz and first baseman Jordan Lennerton.
“We know that they are a competitive team and that they are the defending national champs,” junior second baseman Alden Carrithers said. “We have a lot of respect for them as a team.”
Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, the Bruins know that if they wish to continue their run to Omaha, they must turn up the heat.
“Every game is important now this late in the season,” Carrithers said. “We have a great opportunity to accomplish great things.”