In other years, UCLA’s 4-2 midweek loss at Loyola
Marymount would be unremarkable, and at most annoying.
Every loss such as this one, however, now adds another dimension
to the UCLA baseball team’s school-record losing streak that,
at 18 games, has become quite remarkable.
In that way, the losing streak has accentuated the Bruins’
dismal performance and drained a team that, believe it or not,
started out strong.
“I didn’t see a sense of urgency today that I really
wanted to see, especially with the results that we’ve been
getting,” UCLA coach John Savage said. “It is pretty
disappointing.
“It’s my responsibility that we come out ready to
play. We haven’t done a real good job of that lately,”
he said.
The streak has lasted long enough that more than one theme has
developed. The most recent is a lack of hitting, which was again
the culprit Tuesday, as the Bruins managed just five hits.
“Today, I thought it was a lack of focus (at the
plate),” Savage said. “The way we struggle with
at-bats, every mistake with pitching and defense is
magnified.”
On the bright side, after being overwhelmed by a combined score
of 26-1 last weekend at USC, the Bruins (7-22, 0-6) did keep
Tuesday’s game within reach.
The Lions (14-18) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the second
inning off of starter Adam Simon, who lasted two innings.
The Bruins responded in the fourth inning by posting a pair of
runs. After second baseman Sean Carpenter led-off with a walk,
shortstop Tommy Lansdon drove him home with an RBI single and
center fielder Josh Roenicke knocked Lansdon in with an RBI
groundout.
Three UCLA relievers kept the game close. Brant Rustich allowed
a lone run in 2-1/3 innings, and then Brian Schroeder and Hector
Ambriz combined to effectively shut down the Lions for the rest of
the game.
“I thought Schroeder was the one bright spot,”
Savage said. “He gave us two good innings. He really
competed.”
In the sixth inning, UCLA managed to load the bases with two
outs, but catcher Chris Denove hit a soft line drive that the
second baseman caught. Five feet in either direction and they would
have been tied, and the Bruins would still have been
threatening.
But that’s the way it’s gone lately for UCLA.
Missed opportunities such as that have ensured that the streak
stays alive.
And that the spotlight on the Bruins’ struggles continues
to intensify.