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‘Brand-new ballgame’ awaits UCLA baseball in midweek Michigan face-off

Freshman right-hander Cody Delvecchio delivers a pitch in a game against Omaha. (Myka Fromm/Daily Bruin)

Baseball


Loyola Marymount
Tuesday, 5 p.m.

Jackie Robinson Stadium
UCLA Live Stream-3
Michigan
Wednesday, 5 p.m.

Stadium or City
Pac-12 Insider

By Benjamin Royer

Feb. 28, 2023 1:50 p.m.

The Bruins will have a chance to reenter the win column in their second midweek contest of the campaign.

After dropping its first series of the season against No. 7 Vanderbilt, No. 17 UCLA baseball (5-2) will return to action against Michigan (4-2) at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Wednesday. The blue and gold were originally scheduled to face off against Loyola Marymount on Tuesday evening, but the game was postponed due to expected rain at first pitch.

The Bruins will travel to face the Lions on April 25 for the return midweek affair. While the date of the makeup against LMU is yet to be determined, Wednesday’s contest against the Wolverines is still scheduled as planned.

Coach John Savage said despite entering the new week after dropping two of three games, there were still positives to glean from the weekend.

“I mean, we’re 5-2, right?” Savage said. “It (Vanderbilt) was a tough series, but certainly, if we can grow and understand the stakes in games, how important it is to stay in your approach and have a good at-bat, we’ll get better.”

Michigan scored 16 runs across two games against Cal State Fullerton, and UCLA will have to attempt to keep the Wolverines’ bats at bay.

UCLA scored just four runs across three games against Vanderbilt, but its bullpen held the opposition to one run across 10.1 innings pitched. Redshirt sophomore right-hander Chris Aldrich and freshman right-hander Cody Delvecchio have provided the Bruins with early consistency, both tossing five scoreless innings and striking out seven each in relief this season.

Senior catcher Darius Perry, who has been behind the plate for all seven games, said he gathered a number of takeaways while in Tennessee.

“My role is to help the pitchers,” Perry said. “I learned a lot from this weekend about what I can do to help prevent runs. So, just build on what positives we had and go from there.”

Flying back to Los Angeles, the Bruins’ dugout will become fuller when the first pitch is called Wednesday night. Because of travel restrictions, some players do not travel to road series, as was the case Friday through Sunday in Nashville.

Perry said that when the team is all together, there is palpable energy coming from foul territory.

“I feel like we’re a pretty close-knit program,” Perry said. “Our energy levels, (are) always there. … I feel like our energy is pretty high always in the clubhouse or in the dugout.”

Michigan is in the midst of a West Coast tour before heading back to Ann Arbor in early March.

Cold weather in February and March caused the Wolverines to seek warmer temperatures before Big Ten action begins, taking on the likes of Fresno State, Michigan State, UC San Diego and Grand Canyon at the Major League Baseball Desert Invitational in Mesa and Scottsdale, Arizona, as well as playing away at Fullerton and UC Irvine.

The Bruins’ future Big Ten foes swept the Titans in a two-game series that ended Sunday and will travel to Irvine for a Tuesday contest before heading to Westwood.

Sophomore shortstop Cody Schrier said UCLA will shift its outlook before hosting Michigan.

“I think we just need to continue doing our thing and go into Tuesday with a new attitude and know it’s a brand-new ballgame,” Schrier said.

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Benjamin Royer | Assistant Sports editor
Royer is the 2023-2024 Assistant Sports editor on the baseball, gymnastics and men's water polo beats and a reporter on the football beat. He was previously a staff writer on the baseball, football and gymnastics beats. He is also a fourth-year communication student.
Royer is the 2023-2024 Assistant Sports editor on the baseball, gymnastics and men's water polo beats and a reporter on the football beat. He was previously a staff writer on the baseball, football and gymnastics beats. He is also a fourth-year communication student.
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