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UCLA Baseball: Bruins in trouble after Super Regionals Game 1 loss

By Mike Regalado

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 19: Michael Toglia #7 of UCLA takes a swing during a baseball game against University of Washington at Jackie Robinson Stadium on May 19, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 19: Michael Toglia #7 of UCLA takes a swing during a baseball game against University of Washington at Jackie Robinson Stadium on May 19, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images) /
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The UCLA baseball team found themselves in an uncharacteristic spot as they dropped Game1 of the NCAA Baseball Super Regionals to Michigan, 3-2.

The UCLA baseball team is not doing themselves any favors by having to try and come back from yet another deficit in the postseason.

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Last weekend, the Bruins found themselves facing elimination after they lost to Loyola Marymount in the second game of the Los Angeles Regional. The Bruins were able to bounce back and get three straight wins to advance to the next weekend of the tournament, but not before the got a rude awakening.

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Well, it seems as if the Bruins were still in a state of slumber when they took on Michigan in the Super Regionals at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Friday night as they fell to the Wolverines, 3-2.

For all the fanfare and hype they had received in the regular season, which was well deserved as they earned their ten consecutive weeks as the no. 1 team in the nation, they have underwhelmed thus far in the postseason.

The game progressed reasonably quickly as both teams’ pitchers were bringing the heat. UCLA’s Ryan Garcia only allowed five hits and got eight strikeouts in just over seven innings, but three of them came in the top of the third when Michigan attacked the Bruins to not only get multiple players on base, but the Wolverine’s Jesse Franklin lifted one to left field which brought in two runs.

Five innings later in the top of the fifth, Jordan Nwogu sacrificed one to bring in Ako Thomas for the 3-0 lead. Overall, it was a decent pitching performance by UCLA; they just did not get any help from their bats. Michigan’s Karl Kauffmann did a commendable job keeping the Bruins in check as he only allowed four hits and produced eight strikeouts. The Bruins were not able to get a single hit until the fifth inning, but that ended with them stranding a player on base.

UCLA finally started to wake up in the bottom of the ninth inning when they had three hits. One of those came from the Bruins’ slugger Michael Toglia who sent one into right field, bringing two Bruins in to bring the score to within two.

Unfortunately, that is where the scoring ended as a pop fly, and a strikeout ended the game at 3-2, putting the Bruins at a 0-1 deficit in the best-of-three series. UCLA gets their chance at revenge tonight at 6 p.m. from Jackie Robinson Stadium.