UCLA vs. Baylor Friday Baseball Open Thread: Time To Make A Statement

A week into their 2012 season, UCLA sit at just 2-2. Considering their opponents have been Maryland and Cal St. Northridge, that's a major disappointment. On the plus side, it has only been four games and as we hear ad nauseam, baseball is a marathon, not a sprint. It's true and if the Bruins can grab a series win this weekend when they play host to 5-0 and #25 Baylor, all will be well again in Westwood. Getting that win will be tricky though.

That series gets underway tonight with Adam Plutko on the mound for the Bruins. The sophomore looked every bit the part of "ace" in tossing seven shutout innings and struck out 10 last week. The problem was that his offense and bullpen failed him, but the Bruins would be more than happy with another seven shutout tonight. Opposite Plutko will be Josh Turley, a talented left-hander that will test the Bruins' left-handed heavy lineup, but couldn't make it out of the fifth inning last week. Of course, as we covered in the series preview, this series is going to be on the bullpens as much as the staters.

If you aren't lucky enough to be at the ballpark tonight, you can still follow along just fine. John Ramey and Tim Wilhelm have the call online as UCLA tries to level their record at 2-2 and you can also get all the updates, notes and observations from my UCLA baseball twitter. This is your baseball open thread so have at it.