Tuesday’s 17-0 win over UC Riverside had an interesting
wrinkle that may become a trend for the UCLA baseball team ““
the Bruins did not hit a home run. Given the metal bats used in
collegiate baseball, the long ball is generally a staple of the
game. Yet oddly enough, UCLA has not hit a home run through its
first seven games. But that doesn’t mean the Bruins’
offense is faltering. Heading into this weekend’s series
against Cal State Northridge, the Bruins (4-3) are averaging over
six runs a game, thanks in large part to Tuesday’s 17, and
have 20 extra-base hits despite the lack of round-trippers.
“To score 17 runs at Jackie Robinson Stadium shows guys are
buying into the offensive philosophy,” first-year coach John
Savage said. “We’re creating scoring opportunities and
cashing in.” Last year, UCLA had a number of big bats,
racking up 64 homers. However, many of those bats left for the
pros. Of the few returning regulars, catcher Chris Denove and first
baseman Brett McMillan had eight and six home runs respectively
last year, but have yet to connect on one this year. One reason may
be the cold early-season weather, which causes balls to carry less.
In Tuesday’s game, sophomore third baseman Eric Taylor and
shortstop Tommy Lansdon both hit balls that appeared to be gone,
but ended up dying and hitting the wall. Still, the Bruins are not
sitting around waiting for someone to go deep. They have
effectively employed small-ball ““ moving runners over and
taking advantage when there are runners in scoring position.
“That’s our style of play,” Taylor said.
“We execute and move runners over, and we take pride in
that.” Eventually, the team hopes balls will find the other
side of the fence, and that should make the Bruins’ offense
even more potent. At the same time, by manufacturing runs, Savage
is teaching his team something that it can build on for the future.
“We’re building a mentality where we come to play every
night,” Savage said. “And we’re seeing some
evidence that they are learning to play as a team.”
THIS WEEKEND: UCLA will start the same rotation for its
road-home-road series with Cal State Northridge (2-1-1) as it did
the first two weekends. Sophomore Hector Ambriz will pitch
today’s game, followed by senior Bryan Beck and sophomore
Brant Rustich, respectively.