Last weekend, the UCLA baseball team had a chance.
A chance to turn around what thus far has been a disappointing season mired in inconsistency.
A chance to achieve a season-defining series win at home against No. 4 Arizona State, one that could have provided the spark needed to push the Bruins to a postseason berth.
Yet, the chance was erased with two late-game collapses, costing the Bruins a potential series win against Arizona State in disappointing fashion.
Tonight, the Bruins (24-20, 7-8 Pac-10) continue a stretch of games that could potentially make or break their season as they play against the streaking No. 8 San Diego Toreros (37-13, 15-3 West Coast Conference) at newly named Steele Field at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Following tonight’s game against San Diego, the Bruins travel to face two-time defending national champion Oregon State this weekend. They then travel to play No. 13 UC Irvine next Tuesday, host Washington State in two weeks, and finish the season on the road against No. 12 Cal State Fullerton and No. 16 California.
“No question (these games can make or break our season),” coach John Savage said. “Its a good thing that all those teams all have high RPIs. We still have nine games in conference, and it is critically important that we play well down the stretch and put ourselves in a position to earn a playoff berth. I think that this stretch can make or break our season.”
In San Diego, the Bruins will find as hot a team as there is in the nation. The Toreros have won 18 of their past 20 games, including a stretch that included a 16-game winning streak.
The strength of the Toreros lies in the pitching staff. San Diego ranks No. 1 in several pitching categories in the WCC, including ERA (3.44), opposing batting average (.244), strikeouts (452), runs allowed (202) and walks allowed (123).
Savage and the team believe they are ready for the challenge the Toreros present.
“We are battle tested,” Savage said. “We’ve played a difficult schedule, and we are in one of the toughest conferences in the nation. We need to maintain the same type of intensity against a team like San Diego who has won 37 games. We need to play at a high intensity and carry it into the weekend against Oregon State.”
Starting on the mound for the Bruins will be Garett Claypool (1-2), who will be looking to rebound from his outing against Pepperdine last Tuesday.
Claypool lasted only 2.1 innings, allowing five runs ““ four earned ““ off three hits while walking five in the 6-2 loss.
“What’s in the past is in the past,” Claypool said. “I just need to put that behind me and need to focus on doing well against San Diego.”
As disheartening as last weekend’s series against Arizona State may have been for the team ““ a series in which eight runs in the final two innings translated into a 10-5 loss Friday and a four-run ninth inning brought an 11-8 loss Sunday ““ it left many encouraged.
“(We learned) that we can play with anyone, and I think that this weekend was an example of that,” Savage said. “I think that we swung the bats well this weekend, which is a good sign. We have been getting quality pitching; the home run just beat us this weekend.”
As for the remainder of the season, Savage believes that despite the inconsistency that has marked the Bruins this season, the team is still capable of finishing well enough to put itself near the top of the Pac-10 standings.
“In conference, we are in the position to finish strong and finish in the upper echelon of the conference,” Savage said. “There is as much parity in the conference as there has been in years. That shows the strength of this conference, but it also allows us to finish strong and end high in the conference.”