The midweek schedule that coach John Savage once dubbed the best in the nation is coming to an end.

After their series loss to conference opponent and crosstown rival Trojans this past weekend, the Bruins will play their final nonconference midweek contest of the season before they get another chance to rise in the Big Ten standings.

No. 18 UCLA baseball (34-13, 17-7 Big Ten) will head south to face Long Beach State (18-27, 12-15 Big West) on Tuesday at Blair Field.

Since their 25-5 start – their best through 30 games since 2010 – the Bruins are just 9-8, most recently dropping 2-of-3 to the Trojans.

“I think just getting back to playing Bruin baseball … is an important way that we’ve been able to bounce back from tough losses,” said redshirt senior outfielder AJ Salgado. “We can do that again this week.”

UCLA failed to gain ground on Big Ten table-topper Iowa over the weekend, but with the Hawkeyes also losing their weekend series, the Bruins didn’t lose any ground, either. Though the Big Ten tournament – which kicks off May 20 in Omaha, Nebraska – doesn’t hand out byes like some of the conference’s other tournaments, a top finish could be worth little more than bragging rights.

Winning the Big Ten tournament, however, rewards automatic qualification into the NCAA tournament, which the Bruins haven’t reached since 2022.

“I take it as a learning lesson, and I think we’ll see them (USC) in the tournament,” said freshman right-hander Easton Hawk, who picked up his second collegiate save Friday. “So we’ll get our chance to … have at it again with them.”

The Bruins are amid a stretch of eight road games, and before they face the conference’s seventh-place Fighting Illini in Champaign, Illinois, over the weekend, they will head to Long Beach, California, for a Tuesday bout.

When the Bruins and Dirtbags met at Jackie Robinson Stadium on April 8, UCLA run-ruled Long Beach State 12-1 in seven innings. Every Bruin batter in the lineup got a hit, while the Dirtbags amassed just two knocks.

Moreover, UCLA’s pitching staff amassed nine strikeouts, while Long Beach State punched out just one.

Freshman right-hander CJ Bott, who last allowed one run in one inning of work Sunday, will make his second consecutive Tuesday start. Bott threw two no-hit innings last week in UCLA’s 7-2 midweek win over Loyola Marymount.

The Dirtbags, who are on pace for their worst finish since 2019, are sending left-hander Van Larson to the hill. Larson, too, last pitched on Sunday but threw just six pitches. And like Bott, Larson – who allowed a run in 0.2 innings against UCLA on April 8 – will be making just his second start of the season.

Outfielder Kyle Ashworth is Long Beach State’s only qualified hitter with an OPS north of .900. UCLA, on the other hand, boasts four such hitters, including sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky, who carries an 11-game hitting streak into Long Beach.

After its midweek affair and weekend series at Illinois, UCLA has just one series left – against Big Ten 13th-place Northwestern at Jackie Robinson Stadium – before the conference and national tournaments.

“We’re playing game by game and just working to get better each and every day,” Savage said.