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Freshman Brett McMillan bats in a game earlier this season. The Bruins started shaky but are shap

The Bruins are poised to win their third straight midweek game tonight when they take on Pepperdine in Malibu, and that would be all well and good if it were the middle of March.

But alas, tonight’s game is UCLA’s last midweek contest, and now that they’re four games below .500, the Bruins’ nine midweek losses to start the season are looming far larger than their two consecutive midweek victories over the last 14 two weeks.

Seven games remain in the season, and after losing two of three to Washington this past weekend, the Bruins (24-28) must win a minimum of six games to stay in playoff contention. Freshman Hector Ambriz (0-5, 6.64 ERA) will try to get things started against the Waves (34-18), who clinched at least a tie of the West Coast Conference title on Sunday with a 15-4 win over Saint Mary’s.

Pepperdine will counter with James Johnson (3-1, 5.59), who is also a freshman. It will be the only meeting of the year between the two schools, which have played at least twice per season over the last four years.

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Junior pitcher Casey Janssen was named Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week after posting 11 strikeouts in a 5-4 win over Washington on Friday night. Janssen, who allowed just one walk and five hits in seven innings, leads the Bruins in strikeouts with 67.