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Three out of four teams in this weekend’s Cal State Fullerton baseball tournament are nationally ranked. Three out of four teams are traditional national powerhouses, and one is the defending national champion. Unfortunately for the UCLA baseball team, the Bruins are not counted among this lofty group.

UCLA (8-9) travels to face last year’s national champion Texas Longhorns (12-3), Tulane’s Green Wave (9-1) and Fullerton’s Titans (11-1). A Bruin victory in any of those games would be considered a major upset, while a winning weekend is probably just a pipe dream for UCLA fans.

Or maybe not.

Brett McMillan, one of the hottest hitters for UCLA this year, views this weekend as a way for the Bruins to prove themselves against the best of the best.

“We’re expecting to go in and go 3-0. We’re not going to settle for anything less than perfection,” McMillan said.

Head coach Gary Adams knew what he was doing when he scheduled these games for his team. He doesn’t consider his team mere cannon fodder for the nation’s top programs.

“Everybody wants to play these teams, we all want to take on the best,” Adams said. “We’ve got extra motivation going in there.”

But all the motivation in the world might not make a difference to a presumably outmatched UCLA squad. Although UCLA has enjoyed solid pitching thus far in the season, the team continues to struggle offensively on the road, averaging 2.3 runs per game over its last six road contests. Still, the team is unconcerned with its hitting as such.

“A few guys are banging the ball. In Texas we just kept hitting it at people and couldn’t get a break,” McMillain said.

Texas currently leads the nation in stolen bases with 22 swipes in 24 attempts. The Titans and Green Wave are also very speedy teams.

“We’ve got some scouting reports on them so we know their style of play,” Adams said. “Texas has really good speed, even their 4-5-6 hitters. There's going to be a lot of pressure on (catcher) Chris (DeNove) this weekend.”

Fatigue is another factor that may work against UCLA. Arriving back from near freezing temperatures in Texas only three days ago, the Bruins now have to turn around and travel again.

“It was a grueling trip in Texas, with the weather and the number of games we’ve played. But we’re pretty healthy right now.”

The task ahead of the Bruins is perhaps the toughest one the team will face all season long. Despite this, even one victory against a top-quality opponent might propel UCLA to a solid winning streak.

It is often said that, in baseball, anybody can win on any given day. The Bruins are hoping they’ll have at least one day this weekend.

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