No. 1 UCLA baseball is once again in the top spot in USA Today’s Sports Baseball Coaches Poll, released on Monday, April 27, despite a loss to Sacramento State this weekend.
The Bruins haven’t been knocked off the top of the poll since March 2nd, cementing their position with a massive win streak and flawless conference play. This week, 29 of the 31 coaches who participate in the poll voted UCLA No. 1.
The Bruins still have a perfect 21-0 Big Ten Conference record. It won’t be until May 1 when the team travels to Michigan to take on the Spartans in their next conference series. It’ll be even longer before they take on a ranked team, the Oregon Ducks, on May 8.
The success has been driven by production by Bruin hitters like junior outfielder Will Gasparino, junior infielders Roch Cholowsky and Mulivai Levu. All three have hit over 46 RBIs this season; no other Big 10 team has multiple hitters with that high of production this season.
Winning games doesn’t happen at the plate. UCLA coach John Savage has credited his defense matching the offense for his team's success. His starting rotation has been lights out all season, headlined by Logan Reddemann, a pitcher who earlier this season had an 18-strikeout performance.
The Bruins would be wise not to get too comfortable - the aforementioned No. 14 Oregon has sprung back seven places following a series win against No. 16 Nebraska, just before their match-up next month.
Before then, UCLA will fly to East Lansing, MI, to take on the Spartans for a three-game series on Friday starting at 3:05 p.m. PT.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA baseball places highest again in USA TODAY Sports coaches poll