One of the Bruins’ most historic regular seasons is coming to an end.
Their final stop – Seattle, Washington.
And after an already program-defining season, this conference series marks their final opportunity to raise the bar before the postseason.
No. 1 UCLA baseball (46-5, 26-1 Big Ten) will face Washington (22-29, 11-16) at Husky Ballpark for a three-game series starting Thursday and ending Saturday in Seattle. UCLA enters the weekend fresh off a series victory over then-No. 13 Oregon – one that drew sellout crowds and featured a run-rule win Friday and a comeback victory Sunday. The Bruins’ only loss of the weekend marked their first conference defeat of the season, snapping a 27-game league winning streak that dated back to last year.
“We’re headed in a good direction,” said junior left fielder Dean West. “We’ve got some really good momentum right now.”
The upcoming series marks just the second meeting between the two programs as Big Ten opponents, though the teams have been competing for years.
UCLA holds a 42-34 edge in the all-time series against the former Pac-12 foe.
But the Bruins enter the weekend with far more than history on their side.
The Westwood squad has already secured the Big Ten regular season championship outright, earning the automatic first seed in the conference tournament set to begin May 19.
Meanwhile, Washington finds itself on the edge of the tournament picture.
The Huskies – currently tied for No. 10 in the conference with Minnesota and Rutgers – dropped two of their three games to the Nittany Lions in their most recent weekend series, adding pressure to their final series of the regular season.
Washington’s offense is led by outfielder Jackson Hotchkiss and shortstop Sam DeCarlo, who are batting .368 and .301, respectively, while combining for 77 RBIs this season. The Huskies’ pitching staff, meanwhile, has struggled to stymie opposing offenses, boasting a team ERA of 5.43 this season.
Despite UCLA’s dominance this year, the Bruins are navigating late-season challenges of their own.
Junior right-hander Logan Reddemann – who holds a 2.87 ERA to go alongside 84 strikeouts across 59.2 innings – is expected to miss the Washington series after struggling with arm fatigue.
“I don’t think you’ll see Reddemann in Washington, but you should see him in Omaha (Big Ten tournament),” coach John Savage said.
UCLA is expected to roll with its usual Thursday and Friday starters of sophomore right-hander Wylan Moss and senior right-hander Michael Barnett, while freshman right-hander Angel Cervantes is slated to make the first Saturday start of his collegiate career.
Moss turned in one of the strongest outings of his season against Oregon on Friday, throwing a complete game while lowering his ERA to 1.89. Barnett, meanwhile, allowed Oregon to shrink UCLA’s early lead Saturday, while Cervantes tossed two scoreless innings in relief Sunday to help stabilize the Bruins late.
“Our starting pitching wasn’t great on Saturday and Sunday, so we still have to look at that,” Savage said. “But … it’s about keeping people sharp, physically as well as mentally at this time of the year.”
UCLA’s bullpen continues to provide stability behind the rotation, with freshman right-hander Zach Strickland earning the win Sunday before sophomore closer Easton Hawk secured his 13th save of the season in a comeback victory.
At the plate, the Bruins have been just as reliable.
The Bruins are hitting .302 as a team alongside 85 home runs, led by junior shortstop Roch Cholowsky’s 21 long balls and junior first baseman Mulivai Levu’s .343 average.
Junior center fielder Will Gasparino has also added 19 home runs and knocked in a team-high 61 RBIs, while West – coming off a career game Sunday – adds another layer to the lineup with his ability to get on base and work deep counts in the leadoff spot.
With little left to prove, the Bruins now turn their focus to sharpening their game in Seattle as the Big Ten tournament sits just days away.
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