On the evening of Feb. 26, darkness was the only thing that could stop the Bruin bats at Northridge’s Matador Field.
On that night, the UCLA (17-13, 3-3 Pac-10) offense was running on all cylinders against Cal State Northridge (14-16) pitching, scoring 22 runs before the game was suspended in the middle of the eighth inning because of an absence of field lighting. Both teams will resume that game at 4:30 p.m., before playing in a regularly scheduled contest at 6 at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Leading up to the past weekend, the Bruins had been unable to stay consistent at the plate through an entire series.
But that was not the case last weekend, as Bruin hitters led the way in a sweep of UC Riverside. In the three-game series, the Bruins totaled 32 runs on a 51-for-113 effort, for a .451 batting average.
Sophomore first baseman Casey Haerther credits the team’s success to aggressiveness in the batter’s box.
“We were aggressive in the count,” Haerther said. “Just like last year when we went on the stretch of 20-something wins; we did that again this weekend.”
Haerther led the charge hitting in the cleanup spot, going 10 for 15 with five runs, two home runs and eight RBIs. The right-handed hitter from Chatsworth has been hitting the ball well as of late and is now batting .322 on the season.
“I’m seeing (the ball) really well,” Haerther said. “I’m just getting a pitch to hit. I’m laying off the balls and swinging at the strikes. That was a good weekend, good for the team.”
The chances of starting tonight with a win are good as well.
Much like this past weekend, UCLA had an exceptional offensive performance Feb. 26 to lead Northridge 22-2 going into the bottom of the eighth inning. In that game, the third of the season, the Bruins scored at least one run every inning and each starter registered at least one hit. Because of this performance, team statistics are sure to rise when the contest is completed and player at-bats become official.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Garett Claypool will take the hill to start the second game. Claypool, who has fared better as a starter than as a reliever in his two seasons at UCLA, started his last outing strong before tiring against UC Irvine a week ago, in a game that UCLA eventually lost, 6-5, in 10 innings.
UCLA is coming off its first sweep of the season and has won four of its last five games dating back to the series finale April 6 against USC.
Tonight’s regularly scheduled game is the ninth of a 13-game home stand and is important if the Bruins want to maintain consistency when they resume Pac-10 play this weekend against Stanford.
According to coach John Savage, sustaining momentum from the weekend against a tough Northridge squad will not be an easy task.
“Northridge is playing pretty good,” Savage said. “They swept Cal Poly last weekend and beat Fullerton (Saturday). We need to be ready to play before we roll up against Stanford.”