They’re averaging more than nine runs per game. They haven’t committed an error. They are coming off a three-game weekend sweep in which they pulverized seventh-rankedTexas Christian University.
Thetop-ranked UCLA Bruinscould be making an early case as the best baseball team in school history.
“We made a statement clearly against a very good TCU team,” UCLA coach John Savage told the California Post on Monday after his team outscored the Horned Frogs, 30–8, “and we’ve just got to keep on continuing to build our character and our identity.”
Through seven games, the Bruins (6–1) have shown they’re a team built around stellar offense and defense.
UCLA’s lineup is so deep that its No. 8 and No. 9 hitters, Will Gasparino and Dominic Cadiz, belted a combined three homers Sunday during the team’s 15–5, eight-inning run-rule victory over TCU. Gasparino and shortstop Roch Cholowsky —widely projected as the top pick in the upcoming Major League Baseball draft— have each hit six homers to tie for the national lead.
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“I would think that these guys are off to about as good a start as you can have at this level against this sort of pitching,” Savage said. “Whenever you have a shortstop and a center fielder hitting for that sort of power, it’s pretty special.”
The Bruins’ lineup is stocked with power, speed and a mixture of left- and right-handed hitters, making it difficult for any pitcher to get through unscathed.
“The lineup is very well-balanced,” said Savage, whose team is hitting .316 and averaging 9.2 runs. “We have some threats — really, literally, one through nine.”
The defense has been flawless, going as deep into a season without an error as Savage can remember one of his teams doing.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
