Tuesday was just the Bruins’ third time losing consecutive games this season – but the reality is, the team has dropped six of its last 11.

And after facing five consecutive games against top-20 opponents, an unranked opponent may be just what the Bruins need to turn the tide.

For the first time in program history, No. 15 UCLA baseball (29-11, 13-5 Big Ten) will face Penn State (25-14, 12-9) at Jackie Robinson Stadium in a three-game weekend series beginning Friday night.

“We’re looking forward to getting back into conference play,” said sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky. “The goal (is) to win the Big Ten this year, and having a good team like Penn State coming in is something to look forward to.”

After last weekend’s series loss to Oregon, UCLA fell from the top spot in the Big Ten standings and will need a Penn State sweep – plus three straight losses from Iowa – to make it back up the ladder by Sunday.

UCLA is 1-4 since April 15, having lost to then-No. 6 Oregon State, then-No. 16 Oregon twice and No. 12 UC Irvine.

Meanwhile, Penn State heads to Westwood with a 7-4 record over its last 11 contests, defeating No. 17 West Virginia 3-2 on Tuesday for its first Quadrant 1 win of the season.

“We’re going to be hungry to get after it,” said junior outfielder Jarrod Hocking after Tuesday’s loss to the Anteaters. “I know right now, we’re looking forward to practicing the next two days and then getting after them (the Nittany Lions).”

Penn State sits five games out of first place – while UCLA is just 2.5 games out – and 77th in the nation in RPI, 58 spots below the Bruins.

After playing four straight on the road, Friday will also be the Bruins’ first game since then at Jackie Robinson Stadium – where they’re 21-6 this season,

“It’s going to be a good opportunity for us to get back in the win column, get some wins at our home park,” Hocking said.

However, the Nittany Lions boast six qualified hitters with an OPS north of .900, while the Bruins have just four. Outfielder Paxton Kling leads Penn State with a 1.060 OPS – the 14th-best mark in the conference and a marked improvement from the .726 clip he posted last year with LSU.

Penn State’s Friday night starter – left-hander Ryan DeSanto – has the Big Ten’s fifth-best ERA at 3.28, and its closer – right-hander Anthony Steele – has a 2.13 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 36 strikeouts in just 25.1 innings pitched.

While UCLA’s offense, led by Cholowsky’s 1.243 OPS, has been rather consistent all season – averaging 8.4 runs per game, the 37th most in the country – coach John Savage said he’d like to see more from his pitching staff.

Against Oregon, UCLA’s starters allowed 10 runs over just 13.1 innings pitched and allowed 7 over 14.1 frames against Washington the weekend prior.

Savage said the Bruins’ recipe for success includes getting at least five innings from their starting pitchers before turning over to the bullpen. But after 30 weekend games this season, the Bruins’ starters have only accomplished the feat 16 times.

After the Bruins’ recent skid dampened the progress made by the team’s 25-5 start, a series win over the Nittany Lions could be the first step in getting the team back on track.