After a series loss against Arizona State last weekend, the No. 18 UCLA baseball team will face Loyola Marymount Tuesday night for the second time this season.
This midweek game could prove monumental for the Bruins, as they face a team they surrendered a 6-1 loss nearly a month ago.
UCLA is not taking the previous loss as a be-all, end-all, but it is also not underestimating LMU’s strength, said senior infielder Kevin Williams.
The Bruins know that LMU, having lost only three of its last 11games, will prove to be a challenge not to be taken lightly.
“I thought they were one of the better teams that we played,” said coach John Savage. “They’re going to be tough and it’s one of those situations where we need to come out ready to play on Tuesday night.”
The team is not changing strategy too much, said senior outfielder Brian Carroll. The players will just go out there and play Bruin baseball in hopes that this will be enough to overcome the challenges posed by their last face-off, he said.
In last month’s game, freshman pitcher Grant Dyer allowed two runs on four hits in the four innings he pitched, but Savage is confident that Dyer’s improvement will be showcased this time around, as he will be starting on the mound Tuesday night.
“Dyer has been good. I think he’s been as good as any freshman Tuesday guy, maybe in the country,” Savage said.
According to junior closing pitcher David Berg, one important thing the team is keeping in mind in Tuesday’s game is taking care of the small things because one pitch, one hit or one error could cost the Bruins the game.
“Like Coach said to us, ‘We just didn’t do enough to win.’ It’s no man’s fault, but there are just a couple of things. If we did one more thing right, it could have been a different game,” Berg said.
However, just the mere fact that the Bruins have played LMU once before provides some solace, since the Bruins feel like they are a bit more acquainted with the way LMU plays.
“We played them already so we kind of know a little bit about them and hopefully we just need to come out and play our game and we’ll take care of it,” Carroll said.
The Bruins will travel down the 405 Freeway to face the Lions in their den, Page Stadium. The game is set to start at 6 p.m.
“We’re coming off of a three-game, hard-fought series, so we just need to keep on getting better,” Savage said. “That’s our motto. We gotta be a good practice team, get better and be more detailed.”
