Before the Arizona series this past weekend, UCLA baseball needed to make a change to its routine. The team has struggled to hit with runners in scoring position (RISP) and that, combined with the lack of home run power in college baseball with deadened bats, meant a shortage of runs.
In order to help rectify this situation, the coaches made an alteration to the team’s batting practice.
“In practice, instead of our regular BP rounds at the end, we have a get ‘em over and get ‘em in round,” said sophomore shortstop Trent Chatterton after Friday’s victory over Arizona. “So, with a man on second and no outs, you’re working on the right side. Then, a man on third with less than two outs, you’re just trying to get them home.”
But did it help the Bruins this weekend?
Coming into the series, UCLA (19-15, 7-5 Pac-12) has been hitting .269 for the season with RISP, and only .230 in the last seven games, of which the team lost five.
On Friday night, it looked like the Bruins had found their stride as they had 14 hits and eight runs, but the offense did not last throughout the weekend. In Saturday and Sunday’s games, the team scored a combined seven runs on 15 hits.
In fact, the team only hit .250 (10-40) with RISP during the three-game set, including 1-9 on Saturday, which played a big contribution in UCLA losing the final two games of the series.
Coach John Savage attributed the lack of success at the plate to the players not getting enough quality at-bats and not using the middle of the field to drive in runners.
While the Bruins performed better statistically over the weekend, the sample size is too small to be able to determine if the uptick in average with RISP is here to stay for the long haul.
Pitching problems
Despite the team’s strength resting in the pitching staff and its 2.83 earned run average, several of the starting pitchers have faced difficulties in recent weeks, as well.
Saturday starter junior Grant Watson has lost his last three starts, even though his two most recent ones have been quality starts (at least six innings pitched and allowing three or fewer runs). His last victory came against Washington State on March 22 in which he only allowed one earned run over eight innings.
“I’m never happy with my performance, especially if my team doesn’t win,” Watson said after allowing three runs over seven innings in Saturday’s loss against the Wildcats. “If anything, I take it as a learning experience by being able to keep our team in the game.”
Meanwhile, Sunday starter sophomore Cody Poteet has failed to go longer than three innings in three of his last four starts, none of which have been quality starts. His last quality start came in his victory on the road against Cal on March 16, where he only allowed one earned run over seven innings.
Each of Poteet’s and Watson’s last victories came during the stretch when UCLA won nine out of 10 games; currently the Bruins have lost seven of their last 10.
Despite the recent struggles, Savage was pleased with how his pitchers handled themselves in the tough environment at Hi Corbett Field.
“I was really proud of how we pitched. We gave up nine runs in three games; usually you win all three games if you do that here,” Savage said after Sunday’s walk-off loss in Tucson. “It’s the best place to hit in the league here and it’s the toughest place to pitch.”
Injury update
After getting injured in separate incidents in Sunday’s game against the Wildcats, senior outfielder Brian Carroll (shoulder injury) and junior closer David Berg (biceps injury) saw doctors on Monday to determine the extent of their respective ailments. Their availability for this weekend’s series in Utah will be announced on Tuesday afternoon.