UCLA vs. Baylor Saturday Baseball Open Thread: Bruins Need To Rebound

Last night was rough, awful, terrible. You can call last night's 15-3 defeat to Baylor any number of things. UCLA pitchers were giving away free passes left and right and despite the offense doing more against the Bears' pitching staff than any team has done this season, it wasn't enough. To focus on the Bruins would be unfair to Baylor, though, who are 6-0 and playing as good of ball as any team in the country. Even so, UCLA needs to bounce back today. After last weekend's series loss they need a good showing this weekend, no matter who they are playing. That means they need a win today.

The Bruins will turn to Nick Vander Tuig in hopes of getting that win. The converted closer had a rough go of it last weekend when he tired late and exited with five runs charged to him, but he did still manage to get the win. Baylor's starter today, Max Garner, also worked as a closer last season and struggled as he went deeper into the game last week. With both starting pitchers not exactly ready to throw 100+ pitches yet, this game could be a battle of the bullpens.

For those of you not at Jackie Robinson Stadium, John Ramey and Tim Wilhelm have the call online as UCLA tries to level their record at 2-2. 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.