Series win leads UCLA into road battle against UCSB

UCLA baseball just touched back down in Los Angeles, but it’s off again.

The team will play at UC Santa Barbara this afternoon in its first midweek game of the season after a weekend playing Baylor in Waco, Texas.

Midweek games are a staple of the baseball schedule, giving teams a chance to stay sharp during the week with a non-conference matchup.

The Bruins were set to play their first Tuesday night game last week, but it was cancelled because of rain. The game was moved to today, which meant the team had to go into its first road series of the season without an away matchup under its belt.

But that didn’t make a difference, as UCLA took two out of three from Baylor in Waco.

The pitching at both ends of the game has been strong thus far, and sophomore reliever David Berg said that success comes from everyone building off of one another.

“They’re giving us a chance to win. There are a lot of guys with a lot of good stuff (and) we’ve pitched well without any of us having that great of a day,” Berg said.

After the draft drained the Bruins’ outfield and some of their infield last season, UCLA has had to rely on less-experienced bats to carry its offense.

One in particular made a difference in the last two weekends – junior center fielder Brian Carroll.

Carroll scored the game-winning run on Sunday and had three straight multi-hit games over the last two weekends.

He played behind Beau Amaral for his first two seasons, which limited his opportunities. However, now that he’s getting a spot in the starting lineup, he’s using everything he learned in the last two seasons to make the most of the time he has.

“It’s his time; it’s great. …  He’s a great Bruin, and he’s off to a great start,” said coach John Savage.

Carroll made it clear that while he’s being productive, his teammates are giving him the chance to do so.

“I’m just trying to find ways to get opportunities, doing all the little things to get on base and let other guys drive me in,” Carroll said.

Even though players like Carroll are getting used to being a more regular presence at the plate, the times that the Bruins have run into trouble in the short span of the season so far were marked by offensive glitches.

Savage noted that their defense and starting pitching have been excellent, and the main work they have to do is at the plate.

But Tuesday night games are the perfect opportunity to get sharper in areas that aren’t coming through.

Last week, after the original UCSB game was cancelled, Savage noted the importance of Tuesday games.

“We like Tuesday. It keeps you sharp in all phases of the game,” Savage said.