Relief pitchers, junior players strengthen UCLA baseball on path to NCAA championship

Going into this baseball season, nobody was thinking about the future ““ at least, not the reality of the future.

All anyone could talk about was the loss of pitchers Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer, who went first and third in the 2011 MLB draft and seemingly carried their team for the three seasons they were in Westwood.

_Strong Side: With No. 2 national seed on Selection Monday, UCLA baseball enters promising postseason_

Ahh, Memorial Day Weekend.

It’s a preview of what’s to come: The gods of the quarter system dangling it out in front of you like a piece of meat saying, “This is what summer will be like … in three more weeks.”