Nobody ever wants to lose and never is losing a good thing, but that doesn't mean that some good things can't come from losing. This past weekend, UCLA lost their first series of the season and now face adversity that they've yet to face. Better now than in the postseason, right? Well, beginning today we'll find out how they deal with some of that adversity when they host Long Beach St. at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
The last time UCLA and Long Beach St. played, it was at the Dirtbags' Blair Field and the Bruins walked away 10-1 winner. Tonight will see the same pitchers take to the mound for 27-5 UCLA and 15-17 Long Beach St. The Bruins will turn to Garett Claypool, who is 5-1 with a 1.85 ERA and allowed just one run in seven strong innings when he faced the Dirtbags earlier this year. He will be opposed by Eddie Magallon, a right-handed freshman who is 0-1 with a 3.80 ERA and allowed five runs (three earned) without getting out of the fifth inning in his start against UCLA in February.
Can the UCLA faithful make it seven straight games with over 1,000 in attendance? We'll find out tonight at 6 pm PST when the two teams take to the field. As is the case for all home games, you can listen to it or follow it on GameTracker. You can also stay up to date on all things UCLA baseball from game updates to news to analysis to links on my UCLA baseball twitter. This is your game thread for tonight's contest so have at it.