Baseball hopes for sunnier times against WSU after downpour of adversity
Junior pitcher Jon Olsen will undergo surgery Friday to repair facial fractures suffered by a line drive to the face. While he is out, the Bruins will shuffle their starting rotation around to accommodate the loss. (Habeba Mostafa/Daily Bruin)
By Jack Kearns
March 16, 2018 12:18 p.m.
The Bruins have been hit by a downpour in the past week.
No. 17 UCLA baseball (10-4) heads into conference play to face Washington State (4-9) following a two-game skid, the cancelation of a full game, the postponment of an eight-inning contest due to rain and the injury of its junior starting pitcher Jon Olsen.
“We haven’t found any rhythm, really the last three games,” said coach John Savage. “Vanderbilt, and then you have the rain out with TCU, then (Olsen against USC). It just feels like we’re being tested a little bit right now, in a lot of different ways.”
Olsen, UCLA’s Saturday starter, was hit in the face by a line drive Sunday against USC. The junior started the game after the cancellation of Saturday’s contest against No. 11 TCU, but only threw seven pitches before being forced to exit with facial fractures.
Savage indicated that, although Olsen will undergo surgery Friday to care for his injuries, there is no timetable for his return at this time.
In the meantime, the Bruins’ pitching rotation will see senior right-hander Jake Bird remain as the Friday starter, with freshman Sunday pitcher Zach Pettway replacing Olsen on Saturdays.
Savage limited sophomore pitcher Ryan Garcia’s pitch count in his start against Cal State Northridge on Wednesday in hope of moving him up to Sunday for the weekend.
“With (Olsen) being out, we’re going to need (Garcia) over the weekend,” Savage said. “So he threw 39 pitches (and) that was the game plan going in.”
The Bruins dropped six spots in the rankings after their tumultuous weekend, and Savage is striving to return to earlier form.
“We had that rhythm actually, it seemed like, through the first 12 games or so,” Savage said. “Now we’ve lost the last two, and then (Wednesday) we weren’t able to finish the game. We’re hoping to get back into it, into that routine and the rhythm of three games on the weekend.”
The rain hasn’t just affected the Bruins. UCLA will face a Washington State team that has dropped six of its last eight games while being deprived of a four-game series at Sacramento State after it was rained out.
“Hopefully we have a normal weekend … coming up,” Savage said. “Starting conference play, it’s very important we get off to a good start. I’m hoping that the rain stays away.”
First pitch Friday was scheduled for 6 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Stadium, but with rainf expected in the night, the contest was moved up to 3 p.m.
