UCLA baseball earns No. 1 seed on quest to College World Series
Coach John Savage and UCLA baseball will host Baylor, Loyola Marymount and Omaha in the Los Angeles regional starting Friday, earning the top overall seed Monday. (Alice Naland/Daily Bruin)
By Sam Connon
May 27, 2019 10:41 a.m.
After 10 straight weeks atop the national rankings, the Bruins have locked down the top seed.
UCLA baseball (47-8, 24-5 Pac-12) earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament on Monday’s selection show for the second time in program history after being named one of the 16 regional hosts Sunday. Baylor (34-17, 14-8 Big 12), Loyola Marymount (32-23, 15-12 WCC) and Omaha (31-22-1, 20-10 Summit) round out the rest of the Los Angeles regional.
UCLA last played Baylor in a three-game series in February 2018, taking two out of three to win the series and outscore their opponent 14-10 over the weekend. Then-sophomore right-hander Ryan Garcia pitched a one-run inning in UCLA’s lone loss of the series, while then-freshman right-hander Zach Pettway – who is projected to be out for another few weeks – led the Bruins to victory in the series finale with eight scoreless innings in his second career start.
UCLA has won eight of its last 10 against LMU and is currently on a seven-game winning streak in the head-to-head matchup. The Bruins took both of this year’s matchups by five runs.
Omaha’s last trip to LA ended in a series loss to USC in February, with the Trojans outscoring the Mavericks 26-17 over the three games.
Four other Pac-12 teams have made the tournament, including two additional regional hosts. No. 16 seed Oregon State (36-18-1, 21-8 Pac-12) will come to Westwood for super regionals should both squads advance, while No. 11 Stanford (41-11, 22-7) will have to go through the other side of the bracket to make it to the College World Series.
The Bruins went 18-7 against teams that made the tournament. This marks the first time since 2015 they will host a regional – the same year the program secured its last Pac-12 title.
UCLA’s road to the College World Series will start Friday against Omaha at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
