Bruins Earn #6 National Seed As Host Of Los Angeles Regional
by Ryan Rosenblatt on May 31, 2010 11:42 AM PDT
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On Friday, UCLA set a school record by winning their 42nd game of the regular season, en route to a 43-13 record. On Sunday, the Bruins learned that they had been chosen to host a Regional for the first time in 24 years. On Monday, it was a program first as the Bruins earned a national seed.
After winning 22 straight games to start the season, finishing second place in a Pac-10 that sent eight teams to the postseason and winning 10 of their 12 series, UCLA was rewarded with the number six national seed, meaning that not only will they host a Regional, but if they win that Regional, they will play host to a Super Regional as well.
The Bruins' national seed and the rest of the tournament field was announced Monday morning and it was revealed that Jackie Robinson Stadium will play host to what many believe is the toughest Regional in the country. Joining UCLA in Westwood as the two seed is LSU, the defending national champions who just won the SEC Tournament. The three seed is UC Irvine, who finished second in the Big West, and the four seed is Kent St., champions of the MAC Tournament.
The Regional is a double elimination format and will take place Friday through Monday (Monday is if necessary). Here's the tentative schedule, all times pacific and game numbers in parentheses.
Friday, June 4
2 pm- LSU vs UC Irvine (Game 1)
6 pm- UCLA vs. Kent St. (2)
Saturday, June 5
2 pm- Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (3)
6 pm- Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 (4)
Sunday, June 6
2 pm- Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (5)
6 pm- Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 (6)
Monday, June 7
6 pm- Replay Game 6 (if necessary)
There are two ways to buy tickets. One option is the UCLA Central Ticket Office (310-825-2101) and the other is online via Ticketmaster. Tickets go on sale Tuesday at 10 am PDT at both locations for All-Session tickets. Reserved All-Session tickets are $80 adult for adults and $65 student. General Admission All-Session tickets are $55 for adults and $40 for students. Single-game tickets will go on sale Friday if any tickets remain. They will be $15 for adults and $12 for students for reserve tickets and $10 for adults and $8 for students for general admission tickets.
With UC Irvine in the Regional and LSU's traveling fan base, single-game tickets are no sure thing. It's important that the Bruins get a home-field advantage this weekend so grab your tickets early Tuesday and have a weekend at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
As always, make sure to keep an eye on my UCLA baseball twitter for any updates, links and information on the Regional all week long. I will have a regular season review and then postseason previews all week leading up to this weekend.
UPDATE: After being passed over by ESPN for television coverage, UCLA will not provide streaming video for this weekend's Regional so those not at the stadium will not be able to watch anything. Still trying to figure out why ESPN passed over the LA Regional, but some have speculated facilities making television production tough and a small capacity that won't look as good on TV.
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Hey Ryan
Where did you get these Game Times, and could you post Oregon State’s? Thanks.
I Hate Your Ducks
10 am PDT for you guys on Friday
Saturday and Sunday is 10 am PDT and 4 pm PDT for you guys and Monday is 4 pm PDT if necessary.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on May 31, 2010 12:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Thanks for the great coverage, Ryan.
Is Johnny Rosenblattt Stadium in Omaha named for any relative?
Bleeding powderkeg blue and gold for 55 years. Go Bruins!
Nope
No relation at all.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on May 31, 2010 12:31 PM PDT up reply actions
man this regional is tough, we'll need to step up
I’m excited, I’m definitely planning to go friday
William Doolittle at your service, a.k.a. will do.
Reserve seats will be the chairbacks
that are in the bowl from dugout to dugout. General admission will be the two grass hills, the bleacher in right field, the bleacher on the dirt hill above the concourse along the third base line and standing room.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on May 31, 2010 1:04 PM PDT up reply actions
You also get your seat with a reserved ticket
Section and seat number that’s yours. General admission is first come, first serve so you may gave to get there early for general admission.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on May 31, 2010 1:05 PM PDT up reply actions
Bleacher Seats
Went to my first ever baseball game on Sunday at Jackie Robinson Stadium and the general admission bleachers set up in right field are not that good, will be hard to see. The ones on the 3rd base side were ok and a lot of people chose to sit there because the trees shaded the bleachers and was a lot cooler. My advise for general admission is to get there early so that Bruin fans can fill the best bleachers!
LSU fans
From what I have seen, LSU fans are the most fantical college baseball fans in the country. My experience at the CWS is that LSU (by far) has the most fans from outside the state of Nebraske at the tournament. I also was at Phoenix for spring training in 2001 and I went to an ASU-LSU game in Tempe. There were more than 6,000 fans at the game and it seemed like at least a 1,000 were from LSU. Don’t be surprised if there are a large contingent in Westwood on Friday. They are easy to spot with the purple and gold beads. (The LSU fans that I sat with at the 2000 CWS were sufficiently obnoxious that LSU is one of the few college baseball teams besides usc that I actively root against.)
If UCLA plays LSU and you don’t have a reserved seat, I would get there early. We don’t want to have the Bruin fans outnumbered by a a school that is two time zones away.
Pitching Rotation
I kniow that earlier in the year (Dodgertown Classic) Savage did not want to alter his roation based on the oppponent. However, I think a strong case can be made for Claypool starting against Kent State. Kent State has RPI that is just slightly better than CSUN, and Claypool has proved all season long that as long as you get a few runs for him he will get you a W. Kent State’s top starters (Starn and Sabo) are decent but not dominant, and hopefully the Bruins can put some runs on the scoreboard against them.
If Claypool beats Kent State than you have Cole, Bauer and Rasmussen all set up to go in the remaining games against LSU or UCI.
The critical thing for the Bruins is not just to win the first game but the first two games so assuming that Claypool can be trusted to beat Kent State then you have Cole with a chance to put you up 2-0.. If you win the first two than, you have Bauer and Rasmussen to win one out of the two remaining games and I like those odds.
The critical issues I see for the Bruins throughout the post season are:
1) The starters (especially Cole and Bauer) have to throw strikes so they can eat up innings;
2) The middle relievers will have to hold the fort until Klein gets in the game. (I really think that one of the principal reasons that ASU is 47-8 is because of their middle relief)
3) The offense has to score at minimum 4-5 runs per game. For the most part the reasons why the Bruins struggled against top ten teams (ASU and CSUF) had much more to do with the hitting than the pitching.
Agreed, agreed and agreed
I’m going to talk to Coach tomorrow so we’ll see what he has t say about it. Hopefully he’s willing to disclose is rotation plans.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on May 31, 2010 7:00 PM PDT up reply actions
My Opinion (Take it FWIW) on Pitching Rotation
You need to be prepared to play 5 games in 4 days. I think your 1st game pitcher should be the one who is best capable of coming back on Monday, for the if necessary game, on just 2 days rest.
Ryan, which of our starting pitchers, would be best capable of doing this?
The Bruins tried that in 1979
with Tim Leary who was one of the best pitchers in school history pitching on 2 days rest and he got lit up against CSUF which went on to win the CWS that year. If it goes to Game 5 I think you have use the entire staff and hope you score a lot of runs. For the Bruins to win this regional they really need to win the first two games.
1997 Regionals
In 1997, they threw Tom Jacquez in Game 1, because he was a better bet than Jim Parque to come back on short rest.
Ironically, they lost Game 1 in extra innings. Then Parque only had to pitch 2 innings in Game 2 because they built up a big lead in the top of the 3rd inning. Both of them were available to pitch on Monday. (Those were the days of the 6 team regionals, and had to play 6 games in 4 days).
in the 97 regionals
The Bruins scored 50 runs in those last three games so the question of who was pitching for the Bruins was of less import than it will be this year.
The current team does not have the same ability to drive in runs that the 97 team had, so the pitching matchups will be more crucial.
LSU fans laughing about JRS
They’re careful to distinguish between the Bruin team, which they respect, and its stadium, which they think is laughable as a regional host site. The Tigers play in Box stadium, which seats around 10,000 and has the look of a scaled-down major league ballpark, complete with luxury suites, an elaborate club lounge, multiple concession stands, etc. All that is irrelevant to what’s happening on the field, of course, which in this case will be Bruins throwing strikes and pounding out hits . . . but still. They do have a helluva stadium.
To be fair
Many more teams that LSU laugh at our facilities. It’s not too uncommon in the Pac-10, let alone in the South where the faciltiies are incredible. I mean, we don’t even have streaming video so those LSU fans are rightfully pissed that they can’t watch the games.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on May 31, 2010 7:01 PM PDT up reply actions
Alex Box Stadium
Cost 37.8 million dollars. That is warranted if you can draw 10,000 a game. In Los Angeles there are simply too many other competing activities to build a college stadium of that magnitude. LSU is the only game in town, Their baseball team does not have to compete with the Dodgers or Angels for fans.
Moreover if you open a newspaper in Baton Rouge I am willing to bet you can read about LSU baseball. In the LA Times you are lucky if you get a line score for the Bruins games. (This is why myself and other Bruin fans are so thankful for your efforts in publicizing Bruin games).
In February when the Bruins played the trojans at Dodger Stadium and the game was publicized the Bruins drew 14,588 fans which was about double what the Dodgers expected. That showed its theoretically possible for the Bruins to draw 10,000 for a baseball game, but it’s not going to happen on a regular basis under current conditions.
UCLA simply does not have the land , funds or fan base to allow them to build a stadium like Alex Box. So let the LSU gans laugh. All I care is who laughs last after the regional…
Yeah, but JRS still needs a major upgrade
I’ll concede that a facility the likes of LSU’s Box Stadium is not realistic for UCLA, but there is no reason JRS should not be upgraded to be equal to other Pac-10 stadiums, such as Oregon State’s Goss (seats about 3,200) or Arizona State’s Packard (3,000). You know that ESPN would not be broadcasting the Cal State Fullerton regional, from Goodwin Field (3,500), featuring New Mexico, Minnesota, and Stanford, when UCLA is hosting defending champs LSU, if JRS were not such a poor venue.
by fanoverboard on May 31, 2010 9:13 PM PDT up reply actions
Exactly
My complaint has never been that we do not have an Alex Box or Carolina Stadium or anything of that nature. My complaint is that we are towards the bottom of the Pac-10 in facilities. We should be able to compete with the rest of the conference.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on May 31, 2010 9:16 PM PDT up reply actions
After being on hold for 42 minutes with the Central Ticket Office
I got a reserved ticket for the whole session. They said the phones had been very busy with a lot of calls from Louisiana . ..
According to the UCLA website
The CTO is the only place you can get the Regional tickets. (It did not mention tickets being available on TIcketmaster, although I thought that the PA announcer indicated at the last WSU game that you could get them through ticketmaster).
Correction re Ticketmaster
Now the website says you can tickets for the whole championship at https://oss.ticketmaster.com/html/pack_home.htmI?l=EN&team=uclaathletics
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