After dropping its third straight conference series, UCLA baseball, now No. 85 in RPI, is on the path to falling out of contention for an NCAA Tournament berth.
“But we’re not done,” said freshman catcher Jake Hirabayashi. “Morale is still up. We’re going to keep working hard and hopefully string some games together and be in a good place.”
UCLA (13-16, 5-7 Pac-12) will try to start stringing against Loyola Marymount (16-16, 7-5 West Coast) on Tuesday.
Having lost seven of their last eight games, the Bruins will send sophomore righty Jake Bird (1-3, 5.81 ERA) to the hill in hopes of breaking their Tuesday losing streak.
Bird held Cal State Northridge to three earned runs in five innings of work in his last start, but took the loss as UCLA dropped its fifth straight Tuesday tilt. He also totaled 14 pitches between two relief appearances against Stanford last weekend.
The Lions will counter with a sophomore right-hander of their own in Tyler Cohen (2-3, 4.14 ERA), who threw 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball in a victory against UC Riverside on Tuesday.
One player to watch for LMU is Cassidy Brown. The junior catcher made the 2015 All-Star team in the Cape Cod League and is hitting .352 with five home runs and 24 RBIs this season for the Lions. With his five home runs, he’s nearly out-slugged the entire Bruin squad, which has only hit six balls out of the ballpark in 2016.
LMU and UCLA last played each other in 2014, with UCLA winning both of those contests.
