If the UCLA baseball team finds itself in a close game this
weekend, there could be some familiar names in unfamiliar places.
Opposing batters could see the Bruins’ starting pitchers
appear in relief, a situation that could play right into the
Bruins’ strengths. When UCLA (32-23, 13-10 Pac-10) takes on
UC Irvine (36-22, 11-10 Big West) today in the first game of the
double-elimination NCAA Regionals, it does so with a very deep and
dependable pitching staff. The Bruins boast three solid starters in
redshirt junior Hector Ambriz and junior transfers Dave Huff and
Tyson Brummett, a rotation that lends itself to the rigors of
postseason play. Throughout the season Ambriz, Huff and Brummett
were synonymous with Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with each of
them taking the mound in that order all season long. With every
game essentially a must-win situation, the starting rotation is a
deep well that the Bruins can draw from in a pinch. Coach John
Savage is prepared to throw in his off-day starters late in the
game if the situation calls for it. “Things can change day by
day,” Savage said. “We might have some guys come out of
the bullpen. We could have Ambriz available to pitch on Sunday and
Brummett available to pitch on Friday.” Having the three
strong arms ““ a lefty in Huff and righties in Ambriz and
Brummett ““ at his disposal gives Savage a lot of options and
makes the Bruins very well-suited to the structure of regional
play. Should the Bruins advance to the Super Regionals, the
earliest they would play again is Thursday. This allows Savage to
go all out with his staff this weekend, knowing that his pitchers
will have almost a week to rest. “This pitching staff is
built for this kind of thing,” Savage said. “We have a
lot of resilient arms. We haven’t had an injury to our
starting pitching all year.” The Bruin pitchers have gotten
the best of the Anteaters this season. Savage’s new team
dominated his old team in the regular season, winning 8-4 in Irvine
on May 16 and 10-1 in Westwood on May 23. Although the opponent is
familiar, the Bruins bring in a wealth of freshmen who are making
their first postseason appearance, including shortstop Brandon
Crawford and third baseman Jermaine Curtis. The freshmen made an
immediate impact and will be depended on in the Bruins’
postseason run. “It’s going to be tough,” Curtis
remarked about any postseason jitters. “It’s all about
the team at the Regionals. We’ve gotta have our game faces
on.” The teams that the Bruins face this weekend (UC Irvine
and either Pepperdine or Missouri) fill out a bracket that is
widely considered to have a lot of parity. “I was reading
Baseball America last night and they say that this regional is
pretty much even,” Curtis said. “In my own opinion, I
would say we’re the best team, though.” The Bruins
caught a break in getting to play so close to home. All of the
weekend’s games are at Pepperdine, just a short drive from
Westwood. “We’re familiar with the stadium,”
senior Brett Mcmillan said. “The support from friends and
family will make it a more homelike environment.”
LOOKING TO THE PAST: Savage and the Bruins were
both also in the Regionals in 2004, only in different locations.
Savage and Huff were in the UC Irvine dugout, making the
championships of their regional. The Bruins and former coach Gary
Adams in his last year also made the championships of their
regional, but were eliminated by Florida in an 11-0 shutout.