With both teams fighting for their playoff lives, this weekend’s series against the Stanford Cardinal could prove to be one of the most challenging series yet for UCLA baseball, said junior closer David Berg.
“They’re playing for their lives,” said coach John Savage. “So for both teams, this weekend could determine a lot and we know that they’re going to be very good.”
The Bruins (22-19-1, 9-9 Pac-12) have had a rough last couple of weeks, losing nine of their last 15 contests, including a sweep by the USC Trojans and a tie in their most recent faceoff against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos on Tuesday.
Stanford (19-19, 7-11) is also grasping for every series win it can get, if the team hopes to compete in playoffs this season, with only four Pac-12 series left before the season comes to an end.
Like UCLA, Stanford has had to readjust its team structure to accommodate the lot of new players, making this team very different from the team the Bruins fell to in last year’s series against the Cardinal.
However, this in no way means UCLA is letting up, as it hopes to set the bar on Friday, said sophomore outfielder Ty Moore.
This weekend will bring out the best in both teams, as Berg said there is a bit of a rivalry between them.
“There’s always a little extra heart in the games I’ve played against Stanford,” Berg said. “They are always very competitive games, so we need to get in that attitude of competing.”
Senior outfielder Brian Carroll said that over the course of his career as a Bruin, the Cardinal have always brought their best game to the field, and he expects no less this weekend.
“They’re always that team that nobody really likes facing because we all struggle with them,” Moore added.
Though the Bruins are expecting tough competition this weekend, they are very excited to see what the Cardinal have up their sleeves, according to Moore.
“I love to face them. I love facing good teams,” Moore said. “We know what we need to do, so we just have to go out there and take care of them.”
Savage said the main aspect he wants the team to focus on this weekend is to just keep working out its deficiencies, in hopes of improving its offensive game. The rest will come with time.
“On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we are getting back to the grinder of Pac-12,” Savage said. “So our guys know what is at stake, and we’ll come out ready to play this weekend.”