UCLA proud despite CWS defeat to South Carolina

Jun 30, 2010 - 6:24 AM By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer

OMAHA, Neb.(AP) -- UCLA's disappointment in losing to South Carolina in the College World Series finals quickly faded into a sense of pride.

"This team can say that they have been the best team in UCLA history, which is a long and rich tradition," coach John Savage said after a 2-1 loss in 11 innings Tuesday night.

The Bruins were 27-29 and failed to even make the NCAA tournament a year ago. This year, they opened with a school-record 22 straight wins, boasted the nation's second-ranked pitching staff, earned a No. 6 national seed and set a school record for wins with their 51-17 record.

"We're very proud and look forward to the future," Savage said.

UCLA was in the CWS for the third time, but went 0-2 in its previous appearances in 1969 and '97. Trevor Bauer turned in two stellar pitching performances as the Bruins advanced to the finals, where they mustered only two runs in 20 innings against South Carolina.

"We just could not come up with a big hit, and that was the story the last two nights," Savage said. "And I think South Carolina's pitching is very good, and one of the big reasons why they're national champions. We let an opportunity get away from us, and you have got to give that entire staff credit."

The Bruins got to Omaha after winning a three-game super regional against Cal State Fullerton. They beat Florida 11-3 and TCU 6-3 to reach their bracket final, then advanced to the championship round after bouncing back from a loss to TCU.

Rob Rasmussen, the Bruins' No. 3 pitcher who probably would have been a No. 1 on any other team, faltered in his first CWS appearance against TCU but rebounded with a solid six shutout innings against the Gamecocks on Tuesday.

"It's hard to hold your emotions in," Rasmussen said. "To get so close and to fall short hurts. But I think maybe later tonight or tomorrow, as it all kind of sinks in, and as we look back on it, we're all going to be proud of what we did. We were under .500 last year. And we really were, like Coach said, the best team that this school has ever seen. And we set the bar for this program, really."