This post was updated June 4 at 10:35 p.m.
The Bruins are in the NCAA super regional for the first time since 2019.
While No. 15 seed UCLA baseball (45-16, 22-8 Big Ten) was likely to be pit against formerly-No. 2 seed Texas, it will instead face UTSA (47-13, 23-4 American Athletic) at Jackie Robinson Stadium in a best-of-three series beginning Saturday. The Bruins will have the opportunity to reach their first Men’s College World Series since winning the national title in 2013.
“I’m very proud of our team,” said coach John Savage. “Very proud of our guys. Winning 19 games last season, coming back and now we’re in the mid-40s. It’s just a team, and they’re playing together.”
Both UTSA and UCLA went undefeated during their regional tournaments en route to super regional berths.
While the Bruins faced three different opponents at home, the Roadrunners had to defeat the Longhorns in Austin, Texas, twice to safely escape their regional.
“We’re going to be playing a really, really good team,” Savage said. “They went through Texas and got that done, so my hat’s off to them.”
UCLA’s offense has fueled its win streak, recording at least one five-plus-run inning in each of its first three NCAA tournament games.
The Bruins’ lineup features eight sophomores, all of whom endured last season’s 19-33 campaign.
“We’re just all very close,” said sophomore first baseman Mulivai Levu. “Everyone’s best friends with everyone, and we hold team bonding events and everything. That’s what makes us really tight.”
And in the fall, the Bruins were temporarily barred from Jackie Robinson Stadium, forcing them to practice at alternative sites while waiting to see if they could play in the stadium during the season.
“I’d say it was a really good thing for us,” said graduate student right-hander August Souza. “It brought us closer together. Took a lot of bus rides to various high schools, and I think that we turned it into a good thing.”
While the offense has led the way, Souza and the Bruins’ bullpen have been a crucial part of the program’s postseason run. UCLA’s starters have averaged just three innings per game – with no starter stretching beyond five frames – while the bullpen has compiled a 3.70 ERA over 41.1 innings through the same stretch.
Souza has allowed just two runs over seven postseason innings, a sizable improvement from his regular season ERA of 5.84.
“He had a really good career at Santa Clara,” Savage said. “He had major surgery, and he’s had a remarkable second half of the season. We knew he would take a little time to get to where he was, but we’re just talking about a competitive, mature guy that knows his role on the team.”
However, the Roadrunners’ offense – which currently ranks 11th in the nation in runs per game – could pose a major challenge for UCLA’s pitching staff.
The UTSA offense showed few signs of slowing down in its regional against power-conference opposition, scoring at least seven runs in all three of its matchups.
“Anybody that’s still playing is very good,” Savage said. “I don’t really look at it like, ‘Oh, we don’t have to go to Texas, and now we may host.’ I don’t really think that way. It’s more about the team, and it’s about us getting better and taking a step forward.”
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