Jermaine Curtis is a nuisance. He’s the neighborhood cat
that just won’t go away. And UCLA baseball coach John Savage
couldn’t be happier. The freshman infielder has solidified
his starting job and the No. 2 spot in the lineup with an uncanny
ability to get on base. Curtis has done more than just set the
table recently. Along with leadoff hitter freshman Brandon
Crawford, he has served the middle of the Bruins’ lineup a
buffet-sized platter of RBI chances. In the last 16 games, Curtis
has batted .431 with a gaudy .529 on-base percentage and 15 runs
scored. Whenever the UCLA offense has sputtered, he has been
aggravating pitchers with a modest approach that has played bigger
than his numbers. “My job is just to get on base any way I
can,” Curtis said. “If I am giving the guys behind me a
chance to come up with runners on, that’s the best
sign.” “I try to keep the swing short through the zone
and drive the ball the other way,” he said. It won’t
result in tape-measure home runs, but it has been a recipe for
success. That’s exactly what Curtis did against UC Irvine on
Tuesday night. The Bruins (28-21, 10-8 Pac-10) were trailing 4-1 in
the fifth inning on the road when Curtis led off the inning with a
double down the right-field line. He started what turned out to be
a five-run rally that held up in the Bruins’ 8-4 win over the
Anteaters. Curtis has split time between second and third base,
even trumping senior Brett McMillan for playing time at the hot
corner. His flexibility in the field gives Savage options on how to
balance the roster. Often Curtis will start at third with senior
Sean Smith at second when Savage is looking to get more athleticism
and defense in the lineup. Other times, Curtis slides over to
second when McMillan, the team’s home-run leader, is needed
for a power surge. “He’s been fantastic, and he is
getting better with each game,” Savage said.
“He’s a high energy guy who loves the game and the
other guys feed off his energy.” “For a young player,
he understands so much about the game.”
MAGIC NUMBER: UCLA is still vying for a bid to
the NCAA Regionals, which start on June 2. Much like basketball or
football, the NCAA committee disperses at-large bids based heavily
on numbers. The Bruins currently rank third in strength of
schedule, but will likely need to win at least one more weekend
series ““ either Stanford or Oregon State ““ to make the
postseason. But Savage isn’t doing any number crunching just
yet. “I don’t think there’s any magic number as
far as wins,” Savage said. “It’s much more
important to play well to finish the season and see where you end
up.”
PAC-10 MAYHEM: As unlikely as it would have
seemed at the beginning of the season, the Bruins still have a
realistic chance to claim the Pac-10 title. The Bruins are two
games behind Oregon State (35-13, 12-6) for first place. But the
Bruins close out the season with the fifth-ranked Beavers, who won
the Pac-10 title last year. The Beavers travel to Pullman, Wash.,
to play Washington State (33-18, 9-9), who will likely earn an
at-large bid to the regionals even with a losing conference
record.