Last week, the Bruin baseball team learned how quickly its fortunes and its season can turn around.
Going into a game against the Pacific Tigers on March 25, the Bruins were struggling, riding a six-game losing streak and having lost 10 of their last 12 games.
Yet, one inning can transform a season and jump-start a team. Down 8-1 to the Tigers in the bottom of the eighth, the Bruins exploded for 14 runs in one inning, which resulted in a 15-8 victory. This offensive onslaught carried over and has sparked the Bruins to a season-high five-game winning streak, which includes a weekend sweep over Stanford (13-12, 0-3 Pac-10).
Where just last week the Bruins (13-14, 3-0 Pac-10) were struggling to produce runs and pitch effectively, resulting in a season-high six-game slide, the team is now sitting at the top of the Pac-10 with quality at-bats and starts.
Coach John Savage said there are many different reasons his team was able to halt its losing streak and turn its season around just in time for conference play.
“First, the return of Jermaine Curtis is huge,” Savage said. “He gives us an energy boost on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
“Second, we swung the bats well. It started on the Sunday game against Pacific and carried over to this week. Finally, we had good starting pitching. What you see is when we put all that together, swinging the bats well along with good pitching, we are a tough team to beat.”
The return of sophomore third baseman Curtis from academic ineligibility has helped the Bruins change the way their season has been going due to the energy he brings to the team and his ability to make plays on both sides of the ball.
“His overall energy level is great and really brings up the energy level of the entire team,” Savage said. “His ability to get on base along with his defensive abilities changes the entire dynamic of our lineup.”
Not only was the rest of the team excited to see Curtis back in the lineup, the third baseman himself was eager to get back on the diamond.
“It felt great to be back out there,” Curtis said. “The team was excited, I was excited. I missed being out there playing and missed the atmosphere.”
In addition to the return of Curtis to the lineup, the Bruins have enjoyed success thanks to their newfound power. During their current five-game winning streak, the Bruins have scored runs in bunches, scoring a total of 57 runs.
Another cause of the Bruin turnaround has been starting pitching, beginning with the ace of the staff, senior Tyson Brummett.
Going into Friday’s game at Stanford, Brummett had been struggling, going 0-3 as of late while giving up a total of 14 runs. But the hard-throwing right-hander was able to bounce back against the Cardinal, tossing his third complete game of the season.
“It was all about mental preparation and getting my confidence back,” Brummett said. “This is a big year for me, so I wanted to start off the season right. This is the time to go and we really have to run and get after it.”
Savage had nothing but praise for his No. 1 arm following the game.
“When you have a Friday night pitcher in the Pac-10 throw a complete game, it’s pretty impressive,” Savage said. “It was a real gutsy performance. He was throwing strikes with his fastball, had a good break on the breaking ball, and was in command of the changeup. It was a typical Tyson Brummett performance.”
The Bruins now look ahead to this weekend when they host the Washington Huskies (15-11, 4-2 Pac-10). UCLA will try to continue its new winning ways for the remainder of conference play.
“Stanford is a great team and it felt great to sweep them,” Curtis said. “It got our confidence going and now we are ready for the rest of the season and to get on the Pac-10. Once you believe in yourself, all you have to do is go out there and do it.”