UCLA baseball makes adjustments after rough start against UNC

It took just three games for UCLA baseball’s flaws to be exposed – and coach John Savage is happy about that.

“Sometimes when you play, your weaknesses get hidden a little bit but I’d rather know where we’re at,” Savage said. “After this weekend, I think we know where we’re at. I feel good about that because we know there’s a lot of things to work on.”

As No. 14 UCLA (1-2) heads into a Tuesday tilt with Long Beach State (2-1), the Bruins will adjust on defense, which was uncharacteristically sloppy in a 2-1 series defeat at the hands of No. 10 North Carolina.

Savage’s team, normally one of the better-fielding groups in the nation, piled up eight errors in three games, including four in the final three innings of Sunday’s deciding matchup.

“This weekend, we looked very careless with the ball,” Savage said. “If you don’t take care of the baseball, then I don’t care who you’re playing, you’re not going to be a very good team.”

As Savage said, the fielding issues would hurt the Bruins against any competition, and they were fatal against the Tar Heels’ top-end talent.

With a lineup full of fast, gifted hitters, UNC was able to ramp up the pressure on UCLA’s defense not just with 33 hits but also with the constant threat of a bunt. Tar Heel coach Mike Fox pointed out the fact that even his third and fourth hitters laid down bunts in the latter stages of Sunday’s game.

“I think it’s the way college baseball is now, if you’ve got guys in the middle of the order that can handle the bat and run a little bit,” Fox said. “It’s good to have that up and down your lineup because it’s unexpected.”

Whether UCLA expected the small-ball tactics or not, it struggled to defend them.

Two times in the final three innings Sunday, Bruin pitchers threw the ball away after fielding Tar Heel bunts. UCLA also botched three pick-off attempts throughout the three-game series as it tried to control a potent UNC running game.

The Tar Heels also gave the Bruins fits on the other side of the ball, striking out UCLA hitters 38 times with a pitching staff that Savage said is as powerful as any in the country.

“They’ve got – without question, I think – the best arms in the country,” Savage said.

Savage and the Bruins will be happy to face new competition Tuesday, but the Dirtbags are no pushovers.

LBSU has cranked out its fair share of major league infielders in recent years, from superstars like Troy Tulowitzki and Evan Longoria to solid regulars like Danny Espinosa and Matt Duffy.

This year’s Dirtbag lineup features another impressive infield prospect.

Junior Garrett Hampson, Long Beach’s starting shortstop and leadoff hitter since he was a freshman, is Baseball America’s No. 65 college prospect in the nation for the 2016 MLB Draft.

A member of the USA Collegiate National Team last summer, Hampson earned preseason All-America Third Team honors from both Louisville Slugger and Perfect Game and began to justify them in the Dirtbags’ opening series against Holy Cross.

The toolsy middle infielder – tabbed by BA as the best baserunner, best defensive shortstop and strongest infield arm in the Big West Conference ­– mashed six hits in 12 at-bats and added two steals in the three-game tilt.

He’ll present the same top-of-the-order threat UCLA faced in North Carolina leadoff hitter Brian Miller, who reached base in eight of his 16 plate appearances over the weekend.

Junior left-hander Hunter Virant will take the mound for UCLA on Tuesday after recording two outs in relief on Saturday. Virant is competing with freshman lefty Justin Hooper for the midweek starting role.

Notes

With junior Darrell Miller, Jr., out for the season, the catching situation was a big question mark heading into the opening weekend. After three games, though, Savage said he doesn’t think it will be a significant issue. Redshirt freshman Daniel Rosica, a walk-on who joined the program last year as a bullpen catcher, impressed Savage over the weekend, throwing a runner out on a steal attempt and recording a hit in Sunday’s game.

Both Fox and Savage noted similarities between their teams after the opening series, saying that each squad was talented but needed to shore up its defense.

Freshman starter Kyle Molnar had a rough first inning to his college career Sunday, struggling with his fastball command and giving up a quick three-run homer.

But Molnar was able to settle in and last five innings, keeping the Tar Heels off balance with his changeup and using a well-located slider to get ahead in the count.

As the game went on, Molnar said, he sharpened his fastball command as well, focusing on extension in his pitching motion.

“You don’t want to get under the ball,” Molnar said. “That means it’s flat and straight and that’s easy for them to hit.”

By the end of his outing, Molnar was not easy to hit. In his fifth and final inning, he faced the top of the Tar Heels’ lineup and struck out the side.