It may take a while for the UCLA baseball team to find its
identity. During last weekend’s series against Cal Poly, UCLA
coach John Savage trotted out several different lineups that were
mostly unfamiliar to Bruin fans. This weekend UCLA (1-2) heads to
Fresno State (0-3) for a three-game series in which Savage will
likely continue experimenting with the lineup card to find the
right mix for the Pac-10 season. “There are really six to
seven brand new faces that will be playing a majority of the
innings,” Savage said. “It’s a transition, a
challenge for the team, but that doesn’t mean that there will
be a drop-off. We feel good about our offense.” Last weekend,
six Bruins started all three games, but only three of them were
returners from last season ““ sophomore center fielder Jarrad
Page, junior catcher Chris Denove and junior first baseman Brett
McMillan. Meanwhile, the other three starters were completely new
to the Bruins’ squad, having just transferred to UCLA ““
sophomore shortstop Nolan Rouse, sophomore third baseman Eric
Taylor and junior second baseman Sean Smith, who all collected
their first career hits at UCLA against the Mustangs. “Most
of the positions entering this season were up for grabs,”
Denove said. “We have a good core of newcomers who are great
competitors. They’ve really shown their fight and what
they’ve got.” Aside from the six regular starters,
another new face may receive more playing time in Fresno. Sophomore
infielder Tommy Lansdon was expected to start at shortstop this
season, but just transferred to UCLA winter quarter. As a result,
Savage is bringing the second-year into the fold slowly. While most
of the infield positions have been shored up, the corner spots in
the outfield appear to be the area with the most intense
competition. Freshman Mike Metzger, sophomore Will Penniall, junior
Anthony Norman and junior Josh Roenicke all received starts last
weekend. As the non-conference season progresses, more and more
fresh faces will have opportunities to audition for Savage, and the
Bruins hope that ultimately the right mix will make itself apparent
one of these weekends.
SHORT HOPS: UCLA will trot out the identical rotation from last
week. Sophomore Hector Ambriz will start Friday, senior Bryan Beck
on Saturday and sophomore Brant Rustich on Sunday … Ambriz leads
the Bruins at the plate after going 5-for-9 (.556 batting average)
… The Bruins took two out of three from the Bulldogs in Westwood
last year … The Bulldogs were swept last weekend by Stanford.