UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast: Baseball's Path to Omaha

In today's episode of the UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast, we take a look at the Bruins baseball team advancing to super regionals and what their path would be to making it to Omaha for the first time since 2013.

To watch today's episode, view below:

Below is UCLA's head coach John Savage's postgame presser after defeating UC Irvine to advance to Super Regionals, courtesy of UCLA Athletics:

opening statement

“I’d like to say congratulations to UC Irvine and Ben [Orloff]. Ben’s a dear friend of mine and he’s an unbelievable coach. He’s an even better person than a coach. I have all kinds of admiration for UC Irvine and the job that he’s done. I can’t say enough. They were loaded last year, and they went to Oregon State and lost a tough regional final. They lost a lot of people from last year’s team, and to be this good, it’s all about the coaching. It’s all about development. I have all kinds of admiration and appreciation for the job that they’ve done. Having said that, I’m clearly very proud of our team and our guys, winning 19 games last season and coming back to the mid-40s. It’s just the team, they’re playing together. We jumped out on them with an 8-0 lead and they didn’t go away. It was a good win, and we move on to the next round. I was very proud of our team, proud of our program, proud of my coaches, who did a great job of putting this team in the position to have so much success.”

on August Souza’s performance

“He’s from Reno, so I like him. I’m from Reno. He played for my brother in high school, so that pumps me up. He had a really really good career at Santa Clara, 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 talk about a competitive and mature guy that knows his role, has carved out his eighth-inning role. I’m very proud of August and the job that he’s done.”

on Texas’s loss earlier in the day

“I had heard some rumblings, but I really don’t have any joy for anybody losing. I’ve done this for too long to root against people; it’s just not my style. I know that we’re going to be playing a really good team. [UTSA] went through Texas, and they got the job done, so hats off to them. Anybody who’s still playing is really good. I don’t really think that way. It’s more about the team and about us getting better. It’s about us taking a step forward, which we did tonight.

on playing against UC Irvine

“I’m pulling for UCI all the time, I helped start the program in 2000. I was there. It was a remarkable time, starting that program. It was full circle because my mentor was the coach, and they went to Omaha. They had some very memorable years; we went to regionals in the second year of the program, 2004. Ben [Orloff] was an All-American, incredible player, and now he’s the head coach, and they haven’t missed a beat. He has that program at a national level. And anyone who plays them will tell you the same thing. I’m not the only guy singing the praises of UC Irvine. Just play them, and you’ll know how tough and competitive and detailed they are. I see Chase Call and McCombs and Yeaman, they just fit like a glove. They had remarkable years. I have a lot of appreciation for what they’ve done, because this is a difficult time in college baseball, particularly in the West. You have to tip your hat to Irvine because they’ve been in the top 20 most of, if not all of, the season. That’s not easy to do.”

on what makes this team work

“The leadership is very good internally. Cody, Michael, and Roch have done a really good job, and the cast of characters are just solid Bruins. They care about the team, and they clearly care about everyone who’s in the clubhouse. That’s what good teams are made of. Every bad team has good players, a couple of good pitchers. I tell them that all the time. But there’s more to it. The loyalty toward each other and the appreciation that they have for each other. We still have a long road that’s yet to come. There’s nothing to really celebrate. You can enjoy this, but we’ve got to get back to work. That’s the mindset that they have. They did a remarkable job of building this team, and I have to tip my hat to these players.”

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