UCLA baseball’s offense excels in season-opening sweep of Hofstra

The ping made by Bruin bats walloping baseballs resounded throughout Jackie Robinson Stadium this weekend – more than it had in years.

In a three-game season-opening sweep of Hofstra University, UCLA baseball scored 43 runs. That’s more runs than any UCLA team has put up in a three-game series in more than 15 years, eclipsing the previous total of 41 set in 2010 against Oral Roberts.

The Bruins acknowledged before the season that the newly implemented flat-seamed baseballs would boost offenses. But this much?

“We’re definitely capable of doing that, but I did not expect our team to do that,” said senior third baseman Chris Keck.

Over the past five years, UCLA baseball has been built on its pitching and defense, rarely finishing in the top 25 in any of the major offensive categories. When the Bruins have scored, they’ve often manufactured runs by putting the ball in play and moving runners over with sacrifice hits.

That’s exactly what the Bruins did to start their season this year, laying down two bunts in their first three at-bats on Friday night against the Pride, and then plating a run on a sac fly.

But in the team’s fifth at-bat of the season, Keck announced the potential start of a new era in Bruin baseball – and in NCAA baseball altogether.

Keck hit a hard line drive to right field that kept carrying, and carrying and carrying – until it disappeared over the right field fence.

In that moment, the 1,209 in attendance saw a preview of just what the new flat-seamed baseballs do: they fly farther, on average, than the raised-seam baseballs that had trademarked college baseball for the last 155 years. A Keck line drive that potentially would have hit off the wall before drifted over the wall for a homer in the first inning Friday night.

“It’s the life that we live in now,” said coach John Savage. “College baseball has made a little bit of a turn over the last three years … I think you can see (in) scores across the country, there’s more offense, clearly.”

The new flat-seamed baseballs implemented by the NCAA this season are said to have the same exit velocity as raised-seam baseballs, but with less drag. This means that flat-seamed baseballs tend to carry more when a ball is hit in the air, because they have less air resistance than the raised-seam baseballs.

That effect was on full display this weekend as No. 9 UCLA (3-0) hit so many home runs, the team nearly matched its total from the 2014 season. The Bruins’ five homers were more than half of their season total of eight from a year ago, putting them on pace for 90 this regular season – which would be more than any Bruin team has put up since 2000.

Granted, it’s only three games and Hofstra isn’t the cream of the crop in college baseball – but it’s a start. From stem to stern in the Bruin lineup, players were consistently hitting the ball hard all weekend – which evinces good hitting, regardless of what type of ball is being used.

“I don’t want to take anything away from our players, they still gotta see the ball, hit the ball,” Savage said. “So, you know, for us to sit here and say ‘well, we’re offensive just because of the low seam balls,’ is ridiculous.”

The full impact of the new flat-seamed balls will not be felt until the end of this season, but one thing that has resulted so far – as a direct result or not – is a Bruin team that’s rolling.

“Our team is clicking, you can tell. We’re really a different team this year,” said sophomore first baseman Luke Persico, who hit two home runs this weekend. “I think the new ball is gonna play a big role for our offense this year and it was exciting, it was a fun weekend.”

The Bruins will get closer to finding out whether their increased power this weekend was an aberration or actuality Tuesday at 2 p.m. against the Cal State Northridge Matadors.