Baseball
Big Win In The Diamonds
by Nestor
on May 11, 2008 9:19 AM PDT
in Baseball
With their backs against the wall Bruin baseball team pull off a huge win against the defending national champions:
The Bruins (25-22, 8-9 Pac-10) received home runs from shortstop Brandon Crawford, designated hitter Cody Decker and right fielder Raul Duran to power past the host Beavers (23-19, 10-10 Pac-10). Decker was 2-for-5 with a team-leading four RBI. Crawford was 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBI, and Duran belted his first career homer.
Brewer, a sophomore right-hander from Paradise Valley, Ariz., allowed four runs (two earned) and five hits in 7.1 innings of work. Junior right-hander Jason Novak registered his second save of the season, tossing 1.2 hitless innings in relief. Novak entered the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with runners aboard first and second base and induced an inning-ending double play from right fielder Daniel Robertson.
Eight Bruins each recorded at least one hit, and four players posted multi-hit efforts - Crawford, Decker, first baseman Casey Haerther and catcher Ryan Babineau. Crawford and Haerther each finished the day with two RBI.
For more on the game from the OSU perspective check out Jake’s mobile post on Building The Dam.
Our victory sets up today’s rubber match at Goss:
A win in this game will be a huge boost for our team’s chances for the post season. Not to mention it will give everyone in the team a much needed moral boost after last weekend’s dispiriting series loss against ASU which was followed by the tough loss against USD.
Let’s hope the boys get it done today.
GO BRUINS.
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Disappointing Baseball Weekend At Jackie Robinson
by Nestor
on May 5, 2008 3:58 AM PDT
in Baseball
The weekend for the UCLA baseball team ended on a disappointing note. Here is the recap from the official site on yesterday’s 8-11 loss in the rubber match against ASU:
ASU third baseman Brett Wallace broke the 7-7 deadlock, ripping an RBI-single to center field with one out in the top of the ninth off right-hander Brandon Crawford (1-1) to send home left fielder Ryan Sontag. Wallace finished the afternoon going 3-for-5 at the plate with two homers, three runs and four RBI. Following one walk and one base-hit, catcher Petey Paramore belted a three-run home run to right field, extending the Sun Devils' lead to 11-7.
Arizona State right-hander Tommy Rafferty (10-0) earned the victory, allowing three runs and seven hits in 4.2 innings of relief. Crawford absorbed his first collegiate loss on the mound, surrendering four runs and two hits in one inning of relief. UCLA right-hander Jason Novak hurled three scoreless innings out of the bullpen, scattering three hits while recording three strikeouts.
UCLA was led at the plate by second baseman Alden Carrithers, who went 3-for-4 with one run, one RBI and one walk. Third baseman Jermaine Curtis was 3-for-6 with one run and one RBI. Center fielder Tim Murphy went 2-for-4 with two RBI, and right fielder Brady Dolan went 2-for-5 with two runs.
In the 9th inning though, you had ASU's best hitters coming up, all of whom have quicker swings, get the ball in the air and are very patient. This was not a good situation for Crawford, who struggles with his command (not surprisingly so considering he is our shortstop and today was only his second career pitching appearance) and is a fly ball pitcher.
Sending Crawford out there to start the 9th was already a mistake, but sticking with him once they had men on 1st and 2nd with 1 out was the bigger mistake. You had ASU's two best hitters coming to the plate in Brett Wallace (a lefty) and Petey Paramore (a switch hitter who's better lefty). In that situation you've got to bring Lafferty in, a left hander who throws a two seamer, curveball and changeup. That combination is your best shot at a double play and most importantly, the left handed pitcher has a better chance at throwing the offspeed pitches down and away, where both Wallace and Paramore struggle to get the ball in the air.
GO BRUINS.
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UCLA Baseball Open Thread - (Game 3 v. Arizona State)
by Nestor
on May 4, 2008 9:53 AM PDT
in Baseball
Here we go. As rye noted in his game wrap Bruins pulled of a biiiiiiiig win yesterday afternoon against the # 4 Sundevils after losing the first game in a disheartening fashion.
The rubber match is scheduled for 1 pm PST this afernoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Gavin Brooks is going to be on the mound today trying to wrap up the weekend on huge note for Savage's Bruins:
Photo creidt: UCLA Baseball's photostream (flickr)
The first pitch is scheduled for 1pm PST. Again if you are around Southern California head out to the ball park and support our team.
For the rest of us you can follow our boys online by the gametracker in official website.
Play ball.
GO BRUINS.
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UCLA Baseball Open Thread - (Game 2 v. Arizona State)
by Nestor
on May 3, 2008 9:06 AM PDT
in Baseball
Time for the open thread for the Saturday matinee action at Jackie Robinson (google map). Bruins dropped the first game of their ASU series. Per rye it was a frustrating game in which the Bruins had gone up 5-0 before losing by a score of 5-10. Here is the official recap.
Bruins resume the series today at 4 pm PST. If you live in Southern California, you need to head out here this afternoon:
Photo creidt: mark6mauno's photostream (flickr)
You can follow our boys online by the gametracker in official website.As we have already mentioned this week the game is being shown on FSN.
The first pitch is scheduled for 4 pm PST. So if you are watching it or following it online swing away.
Play ball.
GO BRUINS.
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UCLA Baseball Open Thread - (Game 1 v. Arizona State)
by Nestor
on May 2, 2008 4:53 PM PDT
in Baseball
For all the baseball fans here on BN, this thread is for you.
As rye set it up earlier today Bruins are playing in their biggest series of this season (to date) against ASU at the Jackie Robinson Stadium:
Photo creidt: mark6mauno's photostream (flickr)
You can follow our boys online by the gametracker in official website.
The first pitch is scheduled for 6 pm PST.
Play ball.
GO BRUINS.
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Diamond Notes: A Little Momentum?
by Nestor
on Apr 29, 2008 4:03 AM PDT
in Baseball
Let’s follow up on rye’s update on our baseball team, which is coming off a huge series win in Seattle. The boys of spring have won 4 out of their last 5 games. They are going to look to continue the momentum this week as they take on two teams from the West Coast conference today and tomorrow (Pepperdine and LMU), before getting set up for a huge series against ASU this weekend at Jackie Robinson.stadium. Blair Angulo from the Daily Bruin has a preview of this afternoon’s game (first pitch scheduled for 3 pm PST) against the Waves in Malibu:
The Bruins, winners of four of their last five games dating back to their series finale against Stanford, are looking to continue their solid all-around play. Trailing by two runs on Sunday in the eighth inning of their last game, the top of the order sparked a three-run rally that gave UCLA a satisfying come-from-behind victory amid the drizzle in Seattle.
"It was obviously an important game," winning pitcher Gavin Brooks said following the game. "It was a Pac-10 game, and we were down. It got us back to .500 and got us a series win. It was definitely a big win."
Now, aside from helping the team get one step closer to consistency, a win against a high-caliber team such as Pepperdine would be beneficial in terms of RPI ranking. Additionally, UCLA will be looking to complete the season sweep, having defeated Pepperdine earlier this season 11-3 at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
The Bruins, then ranked No. 11 nationally, received home runs by second baseman Alden Carrithers, right fielder Gabe Cohen and designated hitter Cody Decker.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Garett Claypool (1-1) will take the hill in his fifth start of the year for the Bruins. Although he left his last outing with the lead at home against UNLV on April 22, Claypool did not factor in the decision after the bullpen squandered a five-run lead.
Right-hander Garett Claypool will make his fifth start of the season when UCLA plays at Pepperdine on Tuesday afternoon. Claypool brings a 1-1 record and 3.29 ERA into the mid-week contest, after having received a no-decision against UNLV on April 22. In that outing, the sophomore from West Hills, Calif., hurled a career-high six scoreless innings and scattered three hits. In his four starts this spring, Claypool has registered a 2.04 ERA, 1-1 record and 13 strikeouts in 17.2 innings. Claypool made seven midweek starts (all on Tuesdays) as a freshman in 2007, logging a 1.82 ERA and 20 strikeouts in those appearances (29.2 innings).
WEDNESDAY STARTER
Left-hander Matt Grace will make his first collegiate start Wednesday evening, when the Bruins host Loyola Marymount at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Grace, who hails from Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., has recorded a 2.84 ERA, totaling nine strikeouts and 11 walks in 12.2 innings. Grace has limited the opposition to a .209 batting avearge, allowing just four earned runs and nine hits in relief. In a resumed game against Cal State Northridge on April 15 (suspended, Feb. 26), Grace hurled two scoreless innings of relief, logging two strikeouts in the victory. In Pac-10 action, the left-hander has tossed two scoreless frames.
If you have time this afternoon, why not go out to Malibu and take in some great baseball action. If you can’t make it this afternoon, defintily come out JRS tomorrow at 6 pm (PST) when we take on LMU.
Hopefully the team can continue the momentum from Seattle in these next two games, getting them ready for the big showdown against ASU.
GO BRUINS.
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Opening Day: Diamond Notes & Roundup
by Nestor
on Feb 23, 2008 6:47 AM PST
in Baseball
Suffice to say ryebreadraz got lot of us more than a little fired up about our baseball team for this coming season. If you have not read his masterful 5 part preview, make sure to check it out. During last couple of days the traditional media in LA tried to play a little catch. The LA Times posted their preview today, which followed this preview from the OC Register that ran on Wednesday. Robert Kuwada on how our program has been maturing under the leadership of John Savage:
But it is an unquestionable sign that the program is maturing nicely in a fourth season under Coach John Savage and a group of juniors who advanced to the a NCAA regional as freshmen, a Super Regional as sophomores and this season could push the Bruins into the College World Series for the first time since 1997.
"There's a lot of experience coming from a Ryan Babineau, a Jermaine Curtis, a Brandon Crawford, a Tim Murphy, a Cody Decker; a lot of games, a lot of at-bats," said Savage, who can become the first coach in UCLA history to take the Bruins into the postseason in three consecutive seasons.
"I don't think you can find a whole lot of teams that have this many juniors that have played as much as they have. It's really a credit to their maturity and their progression as players."
"We are all excited to get the season under way," sophomore pitcher Gavin Brooks said. "We are sick of scrimmaging each other. We want to get out and face someone in a different uniform and get after it."
That someone in another uniform is Oklahoma, a consistent contender in the Big 12 Conference that finished with a record of 34-24 last season, coming up just short of an NCAA Regional bid. In seven games against the Sooners, the Bruins hold a slight 4-3 advantage. Yet the last time these two teams met, Oklahoma handed UCLA a 7-2 loss in the Kia Baseball Bash in 2005.
"It's great (to play Oklahoma)," junior catcher Ryan Babineau said. "We want to play the best, and we will play the best anywhere. It's going to be a test to see where we stand. Obviously there are high expectations from us and there are high expectations from the media about us.
"We want to play tough opponents. We don't want to play just rollover games."
Tonight, there will be a different face on the mound for the Bruins. Gone will be the red hair and freckled face of Tyson Brummett, replaced by the brown-haired Brooks. Last season, Brummett was the unquestioned ace of the staff, compiling a record of 10-6 while striking out a team-leading 111 batters.
Sophomore left-hander Gavin Brooks will take the mound Friday evening, making his first opening day start at UCLA. The Bruins' No. 3 starter in 2007, Brooks set UCLA's freshman single-season records for most strikeouts (98) and innings pitched (110.2). The Vista, Calif., resident completed his freshman campaign on a very high note, tossing three complete games in his final three appearances (two postseason). Through his final four starts, Brooks registered a 1.34 ERA and a 3-1 record, limiting opponents to a .167 batting average in 33.2 innings of work. In that span, the left-hander totaled 28 strikeouts and just six walks.
MURPHY ON THE MOUND
Junior left-hander Tim Murphy had a strong sophomore season on the mound, emerging as the Bruins' Saturday starter midway through the spring. After then-freshman Charles Brewer fell ill with mononucleosis prior to the season opener, the Bruins tested four different pitchers in the No. 2 slot before Murphy emerged as the top candidate. Murphy tallied a 5-4 record and a 5.68 ERA in 76.0 innings, recording 96 strikeouts and limiting the opposition to a .278 batting average. In one of the most fierce performances of the season, Murphy struck out a career-high 14 batters in a 5-4 loss at Arizona State (no-decision). The southpaw also collected one save and one complete game victory at the Long Beach Regional in June 2007.
BREWER'S BACK
Sophomore right-hander Charles Brewer, the 2007 Arizona Gatorade High School Player of the Year, returns to the starting rotation in 2008 after having missed nearly his entire freshman season. Slated to serve as UCLA's No. 2 pitcher entering the season's first weekend, Brewer was sidelined for over two months with mononucleosis. Having recuperated to full strength by early May, the Paradise Valley, Ariz., resident made six relief appearances, posting a 5.40 ERA and 0-1 record. Brewer struck out a season-high three batters in 1.1 innings of relief against eventual national champion Oregon State (May 25).
GO BRUINS.
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Number 1
by Nestor
on Jan 23, 2008 4:41 AM PST
in Baseball
Raisin already diaried the big news yesterday. UCLA’s baseball team is starting the 2007-08 season as the number 1 team in the country. Per the official site, this is the Bruins’ highest preseason ranking by any publication in our school’s history.
From the official writeup:
Including UCLA, four Pac-10 teams are represented in Baseball America's 2008 preseason top-25 poll, including Arizona (2), Oregon State (7) and Arizona State (9). Rounding out the top five teams are Vanderbilt, Mississippi and North Carolina. UCLA will play 13 games against teams ranked among the preseason top-25.
Led by fourth-year head coach John Savage, UCLA returns seven starting position players and two starting pitchers from a 2007 squad that reached the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time since 2000.
The Bruins return four of their five All-Pac-10 selections from one year ago, including juniors Brandon Crawford (.335, 7 HR, 55 RBI), Cody Decker (.307, 14 HR, 57 RBI) and Jermaine Curtis (.329, 4 HR, 33 RBI) and sophomore Gabe Cohen (.345, 10 HR, 36 RBI).
In addition, the Bruins' lineup will feature junior Ryan Babineau (.272, 5 HR, 37 RBI), who has played in more career games (117) than any other Pac-10 catcher, and senior second baseman Alden Carrithers, who led the Bruins with a .352 average one year ago.
Sophomore southpaw Gavin Brooks (6-7, 4.47 ERA, 98 K) and junior left-hander Tim Murphy (5-4, 5.68 ERA, 96 K) will spearhead the Bruins' starting rotation this spring. Sophomore Charles Brewer returns to the staff after having pitched in just four games in 2007, due to illness and injury. Junior Jason Novak (3-0, 4.83, 38 K) and sophomore Garett Claypool (3-1, 3.54 ERA, 35 K) return to action on the mound, as UCLA's pitching staff welcomes the addition of six talented arms (five freshmen, one JC transfer).
"It’s just a recognition of the progression of the program," Savage said. "But it’s also where you are at the end of the season as opposed to the start that is where you want to be. Right now we are working on having the work ethic and the preparation and the chemistry and creating an environment of team work and winning.
"It’s also (just) one publication’s opinion. This publication has us at No. 1; the other publications have us anywhere from one to 20. So we just have to work hard and prepare for the season."
GO BRUINS.
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The Program Builder
by Nestor
on Jun 27, 2007 4:44 AM PDT
in Baseball
John Savage is riding high after his second successful season as the head coach of a resurgent UCLA baseball program. He recently sat down with CSTV for an interview.
The interview gives us the impression of an head coach who like Coach Howland is in total control of a resurgent program and set up for success in the coming years. Here are some highlights.
Unlike a certain head coach we write about lot here on BN Savage gave credit to his players and his assistant coaches for all his success:
A: We like our team and the makeup of our team. We feel that our roster will be very talented for years to come. To go from where we were in 2005 to 2006 and then advance to the Super Regionals in 2007, I think that a lot of credit must go to the assistant coaches and, certainly, to the players.
A: We had so much adversity at the beginning of the season. We had so many injuries - I had never seen anything like it. With Blair Dunlap, Jeff Rapoport and Charles Brewer injured, and then the third base situation, we really overcame a lot. We knew that we had a very difficult schedule. We got through the first 22 games with an 8-14 record, and then we just took off. After that, we felt that we were the hottest team in the country and that we could play with anybody. With Jermaine Curtis coming back, we played very well through those first five weeks of our conference schedule. We were 12-2 in Pac-10 play, and it was just an exciting time where everything really came together. It was an impressive run by a bunch of young players. I haven't quite seen that type of run from that much youth in the Pac-10 in a long time.
Make sure to read the whole interview. Savage goes over the loaded freshman class which has become the foundation of his succesful program, his young aces, and the monster recruiting classes he has brought in last two years and this upcoming season. Yeah, it didn't take him four freaking years to bring in star studded recruiting classes to Westwood.
Lastly, Savage indicates what needs to be done to take our baseball program to the next level:
A: We're putting down a brand-new major-league surface in August. That will be completed by November. It will be one of the nicest surfaces in the country, and we feel that it will be one of the best surfaces on the West Coast. We need to continue improving our facility. We need to have the capabilities to host a Regional and a Super Regional so that we can have a home-field advantage that a lot of West Coast teams are having right now. We feel that we have created a positive atmosphere at the ballpark for fans and young kids. It was a fun environment this year for our fans and our team. There were a lot of exciting games, and we want to continue improving our facility with additional seating, new dugouts, a new hitting facility and a new clubhouse. This offseason, the main goal is to get that new surface down.
GO BRUINS.
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The Right Direction
by Nestor
on Jun 11, 2007 4:32 AM PDT
in Baseball
Back during those dark and depressing years of Steve Lavin many of us would cringe after the last games of his underachieving seasons to hear sentiments to the effect of how we should all take solace in "a gratifying season". In Dorrell’s case we now hear the clichés of "growing," "learning" and how the program is supposedly making "progress" and headed towards the right direction. Obviously both of those coaches came across as laughable caricatures of incompetence and mediocrity expressing those end-of-the-season sentiments given their teams underachieving results year after year. Luckily for us the Lavin nightmare is over. While the Dorrell show is still in business in Westwood, the performances of our basketball team and now our baseball program, are only helping to make our cases of what successful program, that are on the upswing, producing tangible results, showing progress look like at UCLA.
The baseball season came to an end last night in the OC. Freshman southpaw Gavin Brooks brought his A game to the biggest game of the season, putting together a phenomenal performance. But he and his team just came up short losing by a score 1-2 to one of the perennial powerhouse programs from Southern California. Sure we are disappointed. Losing is never fun. And this is not the place where you will find Bruin fans reveling in moral victories like bunch of self-hating losers just so they feel good about their incompetent coaching staff. But the feeling around our baseball program is right now is the identical one we have been experiencing following Ben Ball warriors.
Something special is happening with UCLA baseball. It is unmistakable. He inherited a program, which pretty much was dead. It was going nowhere producing mediocre to below average seasons year after year despite having wealth of talent who were coming to Westwood, just so they could be associate with the magical four letter words in blue and gold. But in three years Savage has put together a program which made clear and discernable progress from one year to the next (no tourney – regional appearance – super regional). He has turned out to be a superb recruiter building a team in a methodical manner so that the Bruins find themselves going into his four year with a program, which is going to be poised to achieved higher goals with a nucleus of sophomores and juniors, while another class full of blue chip recruits on the way.
And there is Savage’s track record. If anyone wants to question why we have so much faith in Savage’s abilities, then he or she should read the story about UCI, which just advanced to CWS. From the LA Times:
With the Anteaters' 3-2 victory over Wichita State (53-22) in a super regional Sunday in Kansas, Irvine (45-15-1) advanced to the College World Series only six seasons after reviving a program that was disbanded for nearly a decade. Irvine won the best-of-three series in two games.
Just like Howland Savage is getting it done in Westwood. And just like Howland, he is poised to take UCLA baseball to higher places. Because of those feelings it’s not an empty cliché when we say the 2007 season was a gratifying one for UCLA baseball. We are proud of our team. And we are beyond excited about its future prospects already looking forward to what it’s going to achieve in 2008.
In the coming years we are going to have more and more Bruin fans getting interested in baseball. I guess the attendance level of Bruin fans was disappointing this past weekend at Fullerton. But we are just starting. We are going to do our part to talk up UCLA baseball. However, we all also need the athletic department to show firm commitment to this sport by getting done the upgrades for Jackie Robinson Stadium, that are necessary for UCLA to host super regionals in the near future. As we mentioned in the comment thread, necessary upgrades for Jackie Robinson Stadium and Pauley renovation are not mutually exclusive. UCLA athletic department should strive to accomplish both goals in the coming years. If not we will be hear to keep the pressure on.
Lastly, please join me in extending a huge thank you to ryebreadaz for keep is appraised about UCLA baseball from start to finish of this wonderful season. I have already said this before and I will say it again. We are lucky to have the best college baseball blogger to keep us informed about Bruin baseball week after week. I know I have become a more informed and interested college baseball fan, and my own interest in this sport has shot up few decibels thanks to thanks to rye’s Ace posts week after week.
For now we need say once how incredibly proud we are of our baseball program. We have no doubt that John Savage, just like Ben Howland in hoops, has our program heading in the right direction. We just hope we will have the sentiments at the end of football season in 2007 (otherwise we will need to get ourselves a coach who will produce results like Savage or Howland).
GO BRUINS.
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