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Baseball Opens Postseason Play at Lubbock Regional

by uclabruins.com
Jun 1, 2021
Matt McLain (photo: Don Liebig)

No. 21 UCLA Heads to Lubbock Regional as No. 2 Seed    
The UCLA (35-18) baseball team was named a No. 2 seed in the Lubbock Regional on Monday, and will head to northwest Texas this weekend for a four-team Regional featuring the host and No. 1 seed Texas Tech (36-15), No. 3 seed North Carolina (27-25), and No. 4 seed Army West Point (28-23). The entire Regional will be televised on the ESPN family of networks, with Dave Neal and Chris Burke on the call. UCLABruins.com will carry a live audio broadcast of each game, with Tim Wilhelm on the call, and fans can follow along with live updates on Twitter at @UCLABaseball.

Regional Schedule    
Friday, Jun. 4    
Game 1: No. 7 Texas Tech (36-15) vs. Army West Point (28-23) | 9 AM PT    
Game 2: No. 21 UCLA (35-18) vs. North Carolina (27-25) | 4 PM PT    
Saturday, Jun. 5    
Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 | 12 PM PT    
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 | 6 PM PT    
Sunday, Jun. 6    
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 | 12 PM PT    
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 | 4 PM PT    
Monday, Jun. 7    
Game 7 (if necessary): Same teams as Game 6 | 1 PM PT

Projected Pitching Matchups
Friday, Jun. 4 - 4:00 p.m. PT 
UCLA - Jesse Bergin, RHP, Jr. (6-3, 4.24 ERA)
UNC - Austin Love, RHP, RSo. (9-4, 3.68 ERA)

Bruins Return to the Postseason    
UCLA is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season (exempting 2020) and 24th time in program history. The Bruins have now qualified for the postseason 12 times under 17th-year head coach John Savage. UCLA is 70-48 all-time in postseason games, including a 54-32 mark in the Regional round. The Bruins have advanced to Super Regionals six times in program history, and have reached Omaha five times. UCLA brought home the program's first National Championship in 2013.

History as a No. 2 Regional Seed    
This season marks the fifth time under John Savage that UCLA has been named a No. 2 seed in an NCAA Regional. The Bruins previously earned a No. 2 seed in three consecutive seasons from 2006-2008, and in 2018. UCLA advanced to Supers in one of four previous seasons as a No. 2 seed (2007). 

The Week In Review    
UCLA finished off the regular season with a road sweep at then-No. 21 Arizona State last weekend

  • The Bruins posted a season-high 21 runs on Thursday to take the series opener over ASU. Nine different players scored multiple runs for UCLA, and 12 recorded a hit. The Bruins scored in seven of nine offensive innings and posted five crooked numbers. Key performers included JT Schwartz (3-5, two doubles), Matt McLain (2-4, 3 R), Kyle Cuellar (2-5, three-run HR), and Mikey Perez (HR, 3 RBIs). Zach Pettway allowed one earned over five innings to record the win. 
  • UCLA rallied for five runs in the eighth to claim a series-clinching 8-5 win over ASU on Friday. Jake Moberg plated the go-ahead run in the eighth with an RBI single up the middle, and Perez followed with an opposite-field three-run blast to create separation for UCLA. Adrian Chaidez earned the W with a dominant relief outing, facing the minimum over a career-high three innings and striking out five in a row at one point. 
  • Noah Cardenas hit a pair of solo home runs and Jesse Bergin fired seven scoreless innings to lead UCLA to a 3-0 win over ASU in Saturday's series and regular season finale. Bergin faced the minimum over his first 5 2/3 innings, then stranded runners at second in both the sixth and seventh innings. Cardenas went yard in the third and fifth innings, giving him his first career multi-home run game. Michael Townsend and Max Rajcic turned in 1-2-3 innings to finish off the shutout, UCLA's fourth of the season. 
  • UCLA outscored the Sun Devils 32-14 for the weekend. It was UCLA's second sweep of the season (first on the road). 

Quick Hits     

  • The Bruins have won four straight games, four of their last five series, and are 10-3 over their last 13 games
  • UCLA finished the regular season at No. 20 in the RPI
  • UCLA went an undefeated 8-0 in midweeks this season
  • JT Schwartz was the Pac-12 regular season batting champion (.405), and has the No. 5 OBP (.528) in the country
  • Michael Townsend is tied for the NCAA lead in pitching appearances (34)
  • Sean Mullen leads the Pac-12 with nine wins, is just two off the national lead
  • Kevin Kendall leads the Pac and is 10th nationally with 81 hits
  • UCLA: only team that ranks top-three in the Pac in both offense (7.3 runs per game, 2nd) and pitching (3.87 ERA, 3rd)

In This Week's Polls    
UCLA appeared in all five major national polls on Monday, ranking as high as No. 17 (Collegiate Baseball) while also appearing in the top-25 for NCBWA (No. 18), Baseball America (No. 21), D1Baseball (No. 21) and USA TODAY Coaches Poll (No. 21). It was UCLA's first time in the Baseball America rankings since Mar. 29. 

History Against the Lubbock Regional Field     

  • UCLA is 0-1 all-time against Texas Tech, with the lone matchup coming on Feb. 20, 1999 as part of the San Diego Baseball Classic hosted by San Diego State. The Bruins dropped that game 13-5. Bill Scott had a double and three RBIs for the Bruins in that contest, while Chase Utley had a triple.
  • The Bruins own a 5-8 all-time record against North Carolina, including a 4-3 mark under John Savage. UCLA defeated UNC 4-1 at the 2013 College World Series en route to the National Championship, then split a pair of series in 2015-16 (UCLA took two of three on the road in 2015, before UNC returned the favor to open the 2016 campaign). UCLA and UNC have met twice in the postseason, splitting those two games. Besides the CWS matchup, North Carolina defeated the Bruins 8-5 in the 1993 NCAA Central I Regional (hosted at Texas A&M). 
  • Should UCLA and Army face off, it will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs. 

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