There was heavy preseason hype, and the Bruins have proven it was not unwarranted.
After sweeping then-No. 7 TCU over the weekend, No. 1 UCLA baseball (6-1) will face off against SDSU (4-3) in its second Tuesday midweek match-up of the year at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
And the Bruins’ offense has been a large part of their hot start.
The series against the Horned Frogs showcased this, with strong offensive performances up and down the order. This year’s core is similar to that of the 2025 season, as much of the starting lineup this year is composed of juniors who have been on the team since their freshman seasons.
But the offense has grown even more threatening with the addition of junior center fielder Will Gasparino.
While the Bruin faithful have been accustomed to strong performances from names like juniors shortstop Roch Cholowsky and first baseman Mulivai Levu, Tesas transfer Gasparino has already put himself among their ranks with his offensive explosion.
Cholowsky and Levu were the team leaders in total RBIs last season, but Gasparino currently leads the squad with 15 RBIs, with nine knocked in over the weekend.
Gasparino struggled with high strikeout numbers with the Longhorns, posting the most of the Texas team in 2024 with 76 and the third-highest number the following year.
“When my swing’s on, I can hit any pitch in any zone, so it was always (about) controlling my bad days at the plate,” Gasparino said. “When I’m going bad, and my swing doesn’t feel good, how do I minimize that day and not go, hopefully, for full strikeouts? Controlling the zone has helped those days.”
UCLA pitching also improved between the UC San Diego and TCU series, going from 14 runs given up to the Tritons to just eight against the Horned Frogs.
The Bruins will be throwing out a similar mix of pitching on Tuesday.
Coach John Savage said he plans on starting freshman right-hander Angel Cervantes as he did Feb. 17. Cervantes struggled against Tulane in that matchup, throwing only 2.1 innings and giving up four earned runs, which may have been because Cervantes threw for an inning of relief during opening weekend. However, Cervantes did not throw at all against TCU, so he could be more rested heading into the midweek game.
“Angel will start on Tuesday, probably be smaller capacity in terms of pitch count,” Savage said. “Strickland (freshman right-hander Zach Strickland) will piggyback him a little bit on Tuesday, like he did against Tulane. We like Strickland a lot too … so the more the guys do well out of the bullpen or on Tuesday starts will force some action.”
While the team is relying heavily on veteran pitchers, Cervantes, Strickland and other freshmen have been contributing to the team’s success.
Right-hander Elai Iwanaga, who made his collegiate debut against TCU on Sunday, threw for 1.1 innings, striking out three.
“I just have to be ready every game. … I think as the season goes forward, goals change,” Iwanaga said. “Staying prepared, being ready for whenever my name is called, is the biggest thing.”
Meanwhile, the Aztecs have shown an ability to close out competitive games.
SDSU swept the opening weekend and won two of its three games by one run. While UCLA may be the better team on paper, SDSU will be a tough opponent, especially if the affair becomes tight.
The Aztecs will be throwing out right-hander Alec Belardes, who in his one midweek start allowed four runs in five innings of work while striking out eight.
But the top-ranked Bruins will have the opportunity to hold their reputation on Tuesday.
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