On Sunday, UCLA baseball coach John Savage joked that his team was getting used to being back in Westwood.
Perhaps he was being serious.
Prior to hosting Pac-10 rival Arizona in a three-game series last weekend, the Bruins had played seven consecutive games on the road. Before that, UCLA played three games at Oklahoma and another three at the Houston College Classic tournament in Texas. In all, the Bruins have played 14 of their 24 games on the road.
“I’ve been in tough environments all three years,” junior pitcher Gavin Brooks said. “We’ve been to a lot of tough places ““ we’re all prepared. I think this will help us in the long run.”
The road was less than friendly early on for UCLA. The Bruins (10-14, 4-2 Pac-10) lost their first seven games away from Westwood, but according to Savage, the momentum shifted when the team captured a series win over No. 16 East Carolina in Greenville, N.C. UCLA then took two of three games from USC at Dedeaux Field before beating Pepperdine in Malibu last week.
“We’re heading in the right direction,” Savage said. “We’ve been on the road so much that we’ve felt very comfortable.”
The Bruins have won five of their last seven road games, and eight of their last 12 overall since losing 10 straight.
“We went through adversity in the beginning,” Brooks said. “But I think that was good for us.”
“We can’t worry about what we’ve done,” said freshman pitcher Trevor Bauer, who was named the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week. “We have to go out and get the next one.”
For UCLA, the next one comes tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium against Loyola Marymount (16-13, 3-1 WCC).
Like the Bruins, the Lions seem to have turned the corner, winning eight consecutive games after losing 10 straight earlier in the season.
LMU is also capable of winning games away from home, having already won a major road game this season at No. 8 UC Irvine.
UCLA sophomore left-hander Matt Grace will make his third start of the season.
BROOKS TO CLOSE: Junior left-hander Gavin Brooks was the projected ace of the weekend rotation before the season began. Now he’s the closer.
“He’s done a great job coming out of the bullpen for us,” freshman right-hander Trevor Bauer said. “He’s been lights out. He’s shown that he’s a big, tough closer.”
Brooks, who had started 32 games coming into this season, was expected to lead an experienced staff. But Brooks was scratched from his opening night start due to mechanical problems. The southpaw from Vista started a few days later but only lasted an inning before being replaced. He’s been in the bullpen ever since.
“I told coach that if I was in the ‘pen I wanted the ball at the end of the game,” Brooks said. “I want to close for the team.”
“Gavin showed his leadership,” Savage said. “He showed that he’s our guy out of the bullpen. Brooks is thriving in the closer’s role.”
Brooks has saved two games so far, holding hitters to a .146 average and striking out 18 batters in 14 innings.
“I’m used to starting, but now I’ve only got one inning,” Brooks said. “You’ve got to put all the focus into that one inning and shut it down.”