Why UCLA might have an edge over everyone else at the Men's College World Series

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19 hours ago

UCLA coach John Savage talks to his players during a win over Fresno State in the NCAA regionals in May. The Bruins are back in the Men's College World Series in search of their first national title since 2013. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
An NCAA communications official apologized to UCLA baseball coach John Savage before he could join two of his players on the stage for Thursday's news conference. They hadn't printed all the nameplates for the coaches yet.
The coach then sat next to star shortstop Roch Cholowsky and outfielder Dean West at the microphone, finished typing into his phone and leaned forward for his opening statement.
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'Well, I think you can see by nameplate, you can tell that they weren't expecting us,' Savage deadpanned.
Read more: After a 12-year wait, UCLA is back in the Men's College World Series
He admitted he was teasing before acknowledging the Bruins' circumstances heading into their Men's College World Series opener against Murray State on Saturday at 11 a.m. PDT (ESPN).
UCLA hasn't been to the College World Series since winning it all in 2013. The Bruins were the No. 1 national seed in 2015 and 2018. Neither team survived the regional and super regional gauntlet to be one of the last eight teams standing.
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Savage felt good about his team in 2020 before the pandemic shut down the season. He liked their resilience in the following seasons.
Then came the Bruins' 19-win campaign last year. It was a humbling experience for their touted sophomore class that's led a drastic turnaround.
'It's really special,' Cholowsky said. 'We've got a special group of guys. We've dealt with a lot of adversity through the year. Just getting back to Omaha, where the Bruins should be, is special to us.'
No team in this year's CWS field played in last year's tournament — the first time that's happened since 1957. But the Bruins set themselves apart from the field because they have played at Charles Schwab Field this year.
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Omaha hosted last month's Big Ten tournament. The Bruins won their first three games in the tournament before falling 5-0 to Nebraska in the conference title game.
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'Coach made a good point after the game that we can use this game and that weekend out in Omaha in the Big Ten tournament, and it's only going to be useful if we make it useful,' Cholowsky said. 'So just understanding the park, getting a taste for what Omaha is and just being hungry to get back here was the main thing.'
Savage believes that week-long tournament helped the Bruins get a feel for the ballpark. They know the downtown streets, the hotels and the practice schedule. But he doesn't want the team to get too comfortable. He wants them to keep the edge they've developed since being shutout.
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That loss is the team's only blemish in the last 14 games. The Bruins composed themselves to sweep their regional and super regional to win something that had eluded them for more than a decade.
Savage knew months ago that this team could be the one to get back to Omaha. The Bruins were locked out of Jackie Robinson Field on Sept. 26, forcing them to scramble to different high school fields in L.A. traffic. On Thursday, Savage equated it to the Colts leaving Baltimore in Mayflower trucks over 40 years ago. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter has since restored access to the team's access to its home stadium, providing stability they needed during the season.
'It felt, at the end of the fall, I knew we potentially had something special,' Savage said. 'I was just hoping ... that we had enough talent. The makeup was there, the character, the loyalty, the toughness. That's great to have all that, but you've got to have talent at this level.'
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This talented team will likely play its CWS opener in a hostile environment. Fans at Omaha typically cling to underdog stories and regional fourth seed Murray State certainly fits that bill. Savage assured everyone that he's taking the Racers seriously because of their path. They've won 44 games with regional wins over Ole Miss and Georgia Tech before taking two games off Duke.
Helping the Bruins go forward in the tournament is a boost to its pitching staff. Cody Delvecchio is with the team in Omaha and academically eligible to play. Delvecchio has pitched simulated games and live at bats recently, but Savage acknowledged the situation is like calling someone up from triple-A to the MLB playoff roster.
The right hander bolsters the Bruins' bullpen going into a two-week stretch every college player dreams about. And something everyone in the program has longed for.
'We want to come back here, put our name back out there on the map and show everyone what West Coast baseball has to offer,' West said.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.