The members of the baseball team haven’t been thrown to
the wolves, they’ve been shipped. UCLA (6-9) will travel
2,550 miles to take on No. 17 North Carolina State (13-1) for a
three-game series this weekend.
The Bruins will start Hector Ambriz on Friday night, with Dave
Huff and Tyson Brummett pitching on Saturday and Sunday, against a
tenacious Wolfpack offense. N.C. State boasts a team batting
average of .387, tallying 16 home runs and 152 RBIs.
“A lot of people are saying they’re one of the best
hitting teams in the country,” coach John Savage said.
“They have an outstanding batting average and have beat
almost everyone they’ve played. They’re an offensive
team that we have to keep in check.”
That offense is fueled by sophomore Matt Mangini, who is batting
.673 on the year with 30 RBIs. Mangini is a large reason why the
Wolfpack have only one loss and currently hold an undefeated record
at their home stadium, Doak Field.
The Bruins, however, have been all about ending home streaks as
of late. On Tuesday, UCLA handed Long Beach State their first home
loss of the year.
UCLA will also look to snap the Wolfpack’s current
seven-game winning streak when they square off for only the second
time in the schools’ histories this weekend. The teams met
last in 2003 with the Bruins winning the series 2-1.
The numbers in this match-up might be deceiving. While the
Bruins come into the weekend under .500, they do so with a plethora
of games against top-25 programs such as Cal State Fullerton,
Pepperdine and Long Beach State. The Wolfpack have had only one
game against a top 25 opponent, and it was a 4-3 loss to Nebraska
on February 17th.
“I think we’re doing pretty well,” freshman
Cody Decker said. “The games we’ve lost, we
haven’t been blown out. We’ve been in all our
games.”
In order to keep up that trend, Savage says the Bruins will need
to find a way to silence a tough N.C. State batting order.
“(We need) strong pitching from Ambriz, Huff and
Brummett,” Savage said. “(Sophomore Brant) Rustich is
out, so we need strong starts.”
Stepping into Rustich’s role as the team’s closer
will be redshirt senior Josh Roenicke. In six appearances this
season, Roenicke is 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA.
The Bruins will face weather woes. Saturday’s game was
rescheduled to 1 p.m. because of an expected cold front.
The team doesn’t seem to care about the weather or the
long distance. “Honestly, it makes everyone more
excited,” Decker said.