The Bruins will take on the Cougars as they head into the thick of the last month of the regular season.
No. 25 UCLA baseball (25-14, 12-9 Pac-12) will travel to Pullman for a three-game series against Washington State (22-17, 9-12) for its third-to-last conference series of the season.
“We still got a lot of work to do,” said coach John Savage. “There’s a lot to play for in May and June – there always has been in our program – so it’s really no different than any May or June that we’re preparing for. … We know what’s at hand and we know that we have to get better.”
The Bruins currently hold a 7-8 record in away games, and, according to Savage, building a road identity is something the team has yet to accomplish this season. Following recent series losses on the road to both Oregon and Stanford, UCLA has only two away series left to build its identity away from Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Redshirt senior outfielder Kyle Cuellar said having extra persistence and fortitude will lead to road success.
“(Assistant) coach (Bryant) Ward sort of always says that you got to go into a road game just pretending like you’re already down 2-0, just because the other team has home-field advantage,” Cuellar said. “You have to have that extra grit, that extra toughness on the road. We’re looking to form that (road) identity this weekend, it’s a really good opportunity to do so.”
UCLA is 59-24 all-time against Washington State, including seven victories in a row and series wins in four of their last five.
Despite the historical success, the blue and gold currently hold disadvantages in most offensive categories compared to Washington State, including batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits and runs.
“(Washington State is) a very hot team,” Savage said. “They’re playing well. They played well at Cal, they just beat Oregon two out of three. They have some good players so they’re going to be very, very competitive, a typical test for us.”
Where the Bruins hold the statistical advantage over the Cougars is in their pitching. UCLA’s pitching staff holds a 3.37 ERA to its opponent’s 5.65, and it has allowed 289 hits and 130 earned runs compared to Washington State’s 369 and 211, respectively.
Contributing to the Bruins’ pitching success is freshman right-hander Max Rajcic, who, following an arm injury that sidelined him until late March, has been the closer. Through 13.2 innings of work so far this season, Rajcic holds a 1.98 ERA with 13 strikeouts and three walks.
The freshman said that despite being put into the closer role right off the bat as a new Bruin, he likes pitching under pressure.
“I love being the closer,” Rajcic said. “I know coach Savage has trust in me as he put me in that role. It’s always fun, it’s always a close situation and I like pitching in the pressure.”
With 14 games to go in May, Cuellar said every game will matter leading up to selections for postseason play.
“May baseball, this is where everything is going to start to count,” Cuellar said. “This is where the selection committee is going to be looking at who did what in May, and honestly, I’ve seen it in my years here where teams can get hot in May and they can take that into June and like coach Savage said the other day, ‘You win in May to play in June,’ and in June really anything can happen.”
First pitch against the Cougars will be at 6:05 p.m. at Bailey-Brayton Field.
