Bruins reflect on championship victory, long journey to first national title

A look of horror flashed across Kevin Kramer’s face.

For the first time in the entire postseason, UCLA froze.

The sophomore third baseman started to scramble, putting his palms to the sky and running through a crowd of people. Where was it?

Finally, Kramer and a few teammates found what they were looking for: a jug of water and ice.

Minutes after the team had been announced as the 2013 national champions after a comprehensive 8-0 win over Mississippi State to sweep the College World Series finals, the Bruins doused their coach, John Savage, in an icy bath on a humid summer night in Omaha, Neb.

It was fitting. For a UCLA team so focused and unflappable in the postseason, winning games by the skin of its teeth in an undefeated run of 10 games, the only time the Bruins froze was when there was nothing left to do but celebrate.

“This is for my dad who passed away in August of 2010. He didn’t see us win a championship; we fell short in 2010. … This is for my dad and my entire family,” a drenched Savage said afterward.

The UCLA baseball team captured its first-ever national title, and the school’s 109th NCAA title, with a complete performance. From start to finish, the Bruins controlled Game 2 of the CWS championship series.

The Bruins took a 1-0 lead in the first for the second straight night, taking advantage of a Bulldog side that committed two errors in the inning. They added to their lead with two runs in the third and fourth, one in the sixth and two more in the eighth, bringing sophomore closer David Berg on to finish things off in the ninth.

Sophomore right fielder Eric Filia capped off a strong postseason with a five-RBI performance in the deciding game.

“I don’t think any of the experts thought we would be here at this stage, and we did it the right way,” Savage said. “At the end of the day, I think we outlasted everybody.”

For a team that lost in its only other championship series appearance in 2010, swept by South Carolina, and lost more than half of its lineup to the draft after last season, the much-maligned UCLA offense took command of Tuesday night’s game, pounding out 12 hits and eight runs.

“It’s unreal,” said junior shortstop Pat Valaika. “At the beginning of the year, I didn’t know how this team was going to respond to losing all those guys, but we came together and this is the best team I’ve ever been a part of.”

The only member of the current team to have played in 2010, senior second baseman Cody Regis, knocked in a run with a single up the middle in the fourth to put UCLA up 5-0. Regis said the Bruins’ belief and confidence were there from the first day of weight lifting.

“We believed we were the best team in the country from the get-go,” Regis said. “And I think we are here because we believed throughout the process.”

Junior starter Nick Vander Tuig gave the Bruins a commanding performance in potentially his final start in UCLA pinstripes. Vander Tuig completed eight innings, allowing just five hits and no runs against a potent Bulldog lineup.

The junior pitcher said the Bruins’ motivation came from that first day of the season.

“Before the season started I remember … we were in the weight room and saw all the national championships, and went to baseball and there was none. And I remember Coach was saying, ‘We gotta get our name on that board,’” Vander Tuig said.

At the team’s postgame press conference in the bowels of TD Ameritrade Park, UCLA’s new championship trophy sat nestled on the table between Vander Tuig and Regis. Trying to explain the story of how his team won the title, Savage pointed to the stories of those on stage with him.

“I think it’s a great story, a lot of stories up here,” the coach said. “David Berg was a walk-on. Nick had Tommy John (surgery) his senior year (of high school). Eric was the all-time hit leader in South Orange County. And then you had Cody, a four-year player at UCLA. So we have roles, they embrace their roles.”

Plenty of players embraced different roles and had different stories in the chase for the program’s elusive first title.

Junior center fielder Brian Carroll played sparingly in his first two seasons, but was one of three players to start every game for the Bruins this year. Carroll finished with three runs scored Tuesday night, reaching base with a single, a walk and twice hit by a pitch.

Another player who was used little in his first two seasons, junior first baseman Pat Gallagher, was key in the Bruins’ run as well, having been named Most Outstanding Player in the Los Angeles Regional.

On Tuesday night, Gallagher fielded a grounder at first, gloving the ball for a routine play. But Gallagher knew the play was anything but routine.

In his glove, Gallagher carried the final piece to completing the program’s first-ever title. He waited a few seconds before flipping to the charging Berg, who stomped on the first base bag for the final out, clinching the national championship.

“We work on that play all the time and it just sort of went in slo-mo for me,” the first baseman said. “I’m glad just to make sure and make the play, make sure Berg’s there because I know he’s going to be there, but to finish it off, that was unbelievable.”