With a little over a month left of regular season play, UCLA baseball is set to face the Loyola Marymount Lions for the third time this season.
Their first meeting against LMU ended in a 6-1 loss, in which the Bruins were unable to find their offensive footing, scoring only once in the seventh inning.
About a month later, the Bruins came together with a strong display of teamwork to rally past the Lions 5-3.
This time around, the Bruins, knowing what to expect, are hoping to play with more confidence, holding on to the aggression they demonstrated this past weekend.
“We know what kind of team they are and we know what they’re going to do,” said junior catcher Shane Zeile. “So we’re just going to come out and play our type of baseball and trust (freshman pitcher) Grant Dyer to come out and have a good game too.”
On Tuesday, Dyer is set to start on the mound, his eighth collegiate start. The freshman, with an ERA of 3.33, has had 30 strikeouts and just four walks in his 48.2 innings pitched this season.
Dyer started both games played against the Lions this season, losing the first and winning the most recent face-off, in which he allowed only two runs in five innings pitched.
Along with Dyer, the Bruins feel well-acquainted with the way the Lions are playing this season.
However, the team recognizes that despite being familiar with Loyola Marymount’s technique and play, this game will pose a challenge if the Bruins do not capitalize on what they have learned over the course of the season and over the past weekend.
“They swing well and they’re a really good team,” said senior infielder Kevin Williams. “If we don’t play our game, they’re going to come out and the same thing is going to happen to us as the first time we played them.”
Midweek games are crucial for UCLA, as they set the tone for the week. Thus they are counting on the momentum of this past weekend to carry them to Tuesday’s game and last through next weekend’s series against crosstown rivals USC.
“We want to focus on building off of the momentum that we built,” Zeile said after defeating Utah Saturday. “We’ve had some trouble throughout the season, but I think if we can build off (Saturday’s game) and bring that over to Tuesday and the next weekend, we’ll be good.”
The Bruins, who hold a 9-11 record at home, will host the Lions at the Jackie Robinson Stadium, with the first pitch set for 6 p.m.
“Every game is so important now and we need to come out and play good baseball for the week,” said coach John Savage. “We have USC on the weekend, so we definitely want to kick the week off on a positive note.”