For the first time this season, the UCLA baseball team is unranked.
Tabbed by Baseball America as the preseason No. 1 team in the country, the Bruins (14-12, 3-3 Pac-10) have yet to live up to those expectations, sliding further down the top-25 ranks until finally falling out Monday.
Yet Sunday’s solid 4-2 victory over USC, which avoided a potentially costly sweep in conference play, was a character-defining win and revealed the resiliency of the team.
“We showed a lot of character,” coach John Savage said. “Your back is up against the wall, you lost the first two games, you haven’t played very well.
“It was a big statement, and I think that you have to give … our club a big pat on the back because we’re up against a wall, and we needed to get this W and we did.”
Tonight the Bruins are looking to get back into the top-25 rankings against one of the top teams not only on the West Coast but in the nation: the No. 7 UC Irvine Anteaters (20-5, 3-3 Big West), a program Savage has special ties to.
In 2001, former UCI Athletic Director and current UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero hired Savage to resurrect the Anteater baseball program.
And resurrect it he did. In Savage’s first season, the Anteaters won 33 games, and in 2004 he guided UCI to its first playoff appearance.
Last season the Anteaters were the surprise team of the postseason, making a historic run into the College World Series and upending powerhouses Arizona State and Cal State Fullerton before falling to eventual champions Oregon State in the College World Series semifinals.
For the Bruins, tonight’s game holds significance not only in maintaining the momentum gained from Sunday’s win, but also to improve their RPI, an important factor in making the playoffs. Currently the Bruins sit at No. 61 in the RPI ratings, and the Anteaters are at No. 10.
“We have to keep on improving our RPI in the amount of wins,” Savage said. “We need wins certainly out of conference. These Tuesday games have all of a sudden become so big throughout the country, specifically on the West Coast, being so difficult and challenging. They’re good RPI games, and we have to go out there and carry this momentum into (today).”
A trend the Bruins hope continues is second baseman Alden Carrithers’ torrid start to the season.
Carrithers has picked up where he finished last season, leading the team in several offensive categories including batting average (.394), hits (41) and RBI (25). Carrithers also belted two home runs over the weekend.
“(The home runs) were just a couple of mistakes left over the plate, and I was able to get good barrel on them and able to put them out,” Carrithers said.
Nearing the midway point of a 13-game home stand, the longest of the season, the Bruins are looking to get back to playing their brand of baseball ““ quality at-bats, solid starting pitching and sound defense ““ and look to bring the winning ways from Sunday’s victory into tonight’s game against UCI.
“They’re a good team,” shortstop Brandon Crawford said. “We’re going to take it like every other game though. We’re going to play hopefully as well as we did (Sunday). Again play our baseball.”