Third baseman Jermaine Curtis wants to go out on a high note.
This weekend’s series against Washington State could be the final home stand for the junior, who will be eligible for the MLB Draft in June. But regardless if these are his final home games, Curtis is determined to make them play out positively.
“If it is my last weekend, I want to go out with a bang,” Curtis said. “If not, I still want to go out with a bang, make it to regionals. My whole perspective right now is on making it to regionals and Omaha.”
The UCLA baseball team (26-23, 8-10 Pac-10) will look to continue its late-season push for an at-large regional bid against a Cougars squad (28-22, 6-12) making a similar case for a spot in the postseason.
Currently the Bruins sit tied for sixth in the conference with Arizona; UCLA holds the advantage in the tiebreaker by virtue of a series win.
The Cougars are last in the standings.
Despite Washington State’s subpar record in conference, the visitors pose a challenge for UCLA, which cannot afford many more losses in its final push for a playoff bid.
“Nobody looks past any team in the Pac-10,” coach John Savage said. “Washington State has a tremendous RPI, they almost have 30 wins. The fact that they are last in conference is a testament to the depth of the conference. This weekend we have to play up to our standards and not look past anyone.”
The Bruins know full well the challenges that Washington State can pose. Last season the Bruins traveled to Pullman for a three-game series and lost twice before rebounding to take the final game.
“Last season, they won two of three against us, and it was pretty disappointing to go up there and come away with only one win,” catcher Brent Dean said. “Everyone knows how important each game remaining is. It could be USC, Arizona State, Arizona ““ it doesn’t matter.”
This weekend does present the possibility for distraction, as Sunday marks the final home game for the four seniors and possibly for some of the draft-eligible juniors on the team.
The four seniors ““ Dean, Alden Carrithers, Brady Dolan and Mickey Weisser ““ will be honored before Sunday’s game.
“We just have to concentrate on the job on hand,” Savage said. “We have to play good baseball and focus on winning (tonight) and set the weekend off on the right foot.
“It’s going to be an emotional weekend for the seniors. … It’s a tribute to them and what they have done for the program.”
The Bruins have momentum coming into the series from defeating No. 12 UC Irvine 6-4 on Tuesday on the road at Anteater Ballpark.
“(Tuesday) was a really good game,” said pitcher Charles Brewer, who will take the mound Saturday for the Bruins. “It was what we call a “˜dog fight,’ a game where you’re doing everything you can to get the win. We played well and had a lot of contributors. We had a lot of guys come out of the bullpen and a lot of clutch performances.
“We’re fighting for our lives and fighting for a spot in the regionals.”
With just one more conference series after this weekend, the Bruins believe the time to make a case for a postseason bid starts this weekend against Washington State.
“If we want to make it into the regionals, we have to do it now,” Dean said. “There are a lot of guys on this team that have the leadership and talent to make a run to the regionals. You know, a lot of guys have counted us out, and it would be that much sweeter to make it in.”