This post was updated March 5 at 10:45 p.m.

After dominating the field in year one, a reigning conference co-champion will return.

And this time even stronger.

No. 1 UCLA baseball (10-2) will travel to Columbus to kick off the first weekend of Big Ten play against Ohio State (5-6), a year removed from a 22-8 conference record.

The Bruins enter the road series having swept an SEC slate at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, last weekend before narrowly escaping Cal State Fullerton in extra innings Tuesday – their second midweek scare after a loss to San Diego State on Feb. 24.

“When you play TCU for three games, you go play Tennessee, (Texas) A&M, Mississippi State, and you have a couple sandwiched games in between, it’s natural to be a little overlooking that game and looking forward to the next weekend,” said coach John Savage after Tuesday’s victory.

UCLA’s bullpen shut down Fullerton over the final seven innings, relying on eight pitchers to secure the win. Aside from closer sophomore right-hander Easton Hawk, Savage’s late-inning crew has been ambiguous with appearances from junior right-hander Jake Swenson, junior right-hander Cal Randall, freshman right-hander Elai Iwanaga and sophomore right-hander Wylan Moss.

But he is not short of options.

“When you’re talking about high leverage, you’re usually talking about stuff,” Savage said. “Randall has stuff. (Junior right-hander Justin) Lee has stuff. Iwanaga has stuff. Guys with big arms, those are the potential guys at the end of the game. We have a lot more arms this year at our luxury to have. We’re still determining roles.”

And each hurler is impressive in his unique way.

Randall throws from a low-arm slot, which, when combined with elite velocity, makes his fastball very effective. Lee boasts similar velocity while creating strong depth on a swing-and-miss-conducive splitter.

Iwanaga – who has appeared in five of the last six games – relies on an innate feel for spinning the baseball, averaging nearly 3,000 rotations per minute on his slider. The Mililani, Hawaii, local has struck out 44% of the hitters he has faced.

“I have to be ready every game as the emergency relief pitcher,” Iwanaga said. “As the season goes forward, roles change, so staying prepared, being ready for whenever my name is called is the biggest thing.”

Savage has also frequently turned to redshirt senior southpaw Ian May and Swenson, both of whom boast over 140 innings of collegiate experience.

The veteran knowledge provides Savage with both the versatility and confidence to tackle scenarios with runners on base or to cover multiple frames.

“The game is super dynamic. Especially in situations like (Tuesday night), you never really know when you are going to be put in there,” Randall said. “You just have to be ready. You have to get loose at the right time.”

As a part of Savage’s piggyback system, Moss has pitched out of the pen on Saturdays following senior right-hander Michael Barnett’s starts. Moss was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after a 10-strikeout save performance to beat TCU on Feb. 21.

Freshman right-hander Zach Strickland has effectively mirrored the role on Tuesdays, striking out nine hitters while preventing any free passes in three appearances.

While the Bruin lineup only tallied four hits against the Titans, they worked 10 walks and two hit by pitches, mustering together four runs to avoid the upset.

UCLA scored 31 runs over the weekend in Texas, facing strong pitching from three ranked opponents. Junior center fielder Will Gasparino blasted four home runs, extending his nation-leading total to 10.

The Bruins will take on a Buckeye squad that got swept at the BRUCE BOLT College Classic by UTSA – last year’s Los Angeles Super Regional foe – and ranked Ole Miss and Texas before dropping its home opener to Xavier on Wednesday.

“Justin (Ohio State coach Justin Haire) is a very, very good coach,” Savage said. “He developed that program at Campbell. Ohio State is going to be very competitive this weekend, knowing how difficult it is to win on the road.”

Sophomore Gavin Kuzniewski, a hard-throwing right-hander who led the team in innings last season, will start Friday. A strong array of offspeeds – slider, changeup and curveball – is capable of inducing swing-and-miss, with 18 strikeouts in 14 innings.

Per usual, junior right-hander Logan Reddemann will toe the slab for the Bruins on Friday, with Savage’s array of bullpen arms ready to relieve when the phone rings.