Resurgent UCLA to face powerful Titans

The Bruin baseball team that takes the field this weekend against Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field for the Super Regionals is a different team than the one that faced the Titans earlier this season ““ in more ways than one.

This Bruin team is different in terms of personnel, as third baseman and Long Beach Regional MVP Jermaine Curtis was not in uniform when the Titans took two of three from the Bruins during the last weekend of February.

This team is different in the quality of play, as the Bruins are now pitching well, playing stout defense, and driving in crucial runs in key situations ““ things that they failed to do in the early part of the season.

Finally, this 33-26 team, once an 8-14 team, has a different mentality after finding their identity as a unit and running with it.

In other words, the Bruins are now ready for a rematch against Fullerton as an improved squad with the chance to go to Omaha for the first time since 1997.

“We were 8-14 and we were kind of going nowhere and really struggling,” coach John Savage said about his Bruins at in the beginning of the season. “(Then) we just took off. It was something I have never seen before. We started pitching better, we started fielding better, and started having quality at-bats. … I think that when Jermaine came back, we definitely knew who we were and where we were going.”

UCLA had a tough start to the season, getting swept by Miami and San Diego State, and struggling through a six-game losing streak. Times were rough and the players were down in spirit.

But then Curtis, an integral part of last year’s team, came back and the players came together as a team capable of great things. What resulted was a previously improbable run through the Pac-10 season and into last weekend’s Long Beach Regional, which the Bruins won on Sunday with a 7-4 victory over top-seeded Long Beach State.

“Earlier in the season, we had some tough losses,” freshman starting pitcher Gavin Brooks said. “Things just did not go right for us. We didn’t get key hits, pitch well, or play good defense. Then we turned around and started to play better. We played like we were capable of and showed that we can accomplish great things. We just started believing in ourselves.”

That belief among teammates is what propelled the Bruins through three regional games last weekend at the expansive Blair Field and into this weekend’s best-of-three Super Regional match against Cal State Fullerton.

“Now we have a real identity as a team,” Savage said. “Each player believes in the other. It is all about believing in each other and outlasting the other team. Team play is critical and important. It is really a positive atmosphere that we have around here.”

Cal State Fullerton presents quite a challenge for the Bruins, as the Titans have a tradition of college baseball excellence, especially in the postseason. Fullerton has won four College World Series championships ““ 1979, 1984, 1995, and 2004 ““ an accomplishment that the Bruins have yet to achieve even once.

“They represent the best in college baseball,” Savage said. “They have won regionals, super regionals, and championships. Looking at the brackets, we said that if we wanted to get to Omaha, we would have to go through Long Beach first and then Fullerton. So, it is no surprise that they are in the Super Regionals and they present a difficult task for our team this weekend.”

Earlier in the season, the Titans got the best of the Bruins by taking two of three games from them. The Bruins were able to get a 6-2 victory on Feb. 23 at Goodwin Field behind a strong pitching performance from ace Tyson Brummett. But UCLA dropped the next two games at Jackie Robinson Stadium, 7-4 and 7-2.

But both players and coaches adamantly emphasize that today’s team is an improved and more well-rounded team than the Bruin team in February.

“I think that we are a more mature team than the last time we played them,” Curtis said. “Our pitching is more defined, our defense is better, and our offense is way better than it was the last time. Overall, we are a more complete team. You look at Brooks and (Tim) Murphy and where they are now compared to where they were then, they are two different guys.”

Savage stressed that the team taking the field starting on Saturday is the true representation of who the Bruins want to be.

“Right now, we are the team that we thought we would be going into this year,” Savage said. “There were a lot of expectations for the team after last year, with the appearance in the Regionals and the strong freshman class. So we felt good going into the year. For the past month or two, our lineup has been pretty much intact. It shows that when we are all healthy, we have the ability to produce.”

The Titans are led offensively by center fielder Clark Hardman. For the year, Hardman batted .389 with four home runs and 44 RBIs.

This past weekend in the San Diego Regional, the Titans defeated Minnesota 7-1, and Fresno State twice, 6-4 and 13-2.

The Bruins understand that the Titans present a big challenge for them to overcome if they wish to go to Omaha, but claim that if they want to play well this weekend and advance, they cannot be intimidated by the big shadow cast by Fullerton.

“You know, Fullerton is Fullerton,” Curtis said. “They have been here before and have done well. They will be a challenge for us. (But) we just need to play our game. We can’t go in shocked that it is Fullerton. We can’t get caught up in thinking too much about how they are a great team and have won the College World Series before. We just need to play our game.”

If the Bruins play their game and display what they are capable of this weekend, then they will be spending the first week of summer in lovely Omaha, Neb., playing for a national title.

NOTES: Freshman Gabe Cohen received Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball, joining three other Pac-10 freshmen: Arizona’s Dwight Childs, USC’s Grant Green, and California’s Jeff Kobernus. This season, Cohen hit .348 with 10 home runs, 36 RBIs, and 34 runs.