University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA 8, UC Irvine 5
POSTGAME QUOTESย
UCLA 8, UC Irvine 5ย
Jackie Robinson Stadiumย
June 1, 2025ย
ย
John Savage, the UCLA Baseball Head Coachย
opening statementย
โIโd like to say congratulations to UC Irvine and Ben [Orloff]. Benโs a dear friend of mine and heโs an unbelievable coach. Heโs an even better person than a coach. I have all kinds of admiration for UC Irvine and the job that heโs done. I canโt 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 yearโs team, and to be this good, itโs all about the coaching. Itโs all about development. I have all kinds of admiration and appreciation for the job that theyโve done. Having said that, Iโm clearly very proud of our team and our guys, winning 19 games last season and coming back to the mid-40s. Itโs just the team, theyโre playing together. We jumped out on them with an 8-0 lead and they didnโt 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.โย
ย
on August Souzaโs performanceย
โHeโs from Reno, so I like him. Iโm 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 heโs 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. Iโm very proud of August and the job that heโs done.โย
on Texasโs loss earlier in the dayย
โI had heard some rumblings, but I really donโt have any joy for anybody losing. Iโve done this for too long to root against people; itโs just not my style. I know that weโre going to be playing a really good team. [UTSA] went through Texas, and they got the job done, so hats off to them. Anybody whoโs still playing is really good. I donโt really think that way. Itโs more about the team and about us getting better. Itโs about us taking a step forward, which we did tonight. ย
ย
on playing against UC Irvineย
โIโm 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 heโs the head coach, and they havenโt missed a beat. He has that program at a national level. And anyone who plays them will tell you the same thing. Iโm not the only guy singing the praises of UC Irvine. Just play them, and youโll 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 theyโve done, because this is a difficult time in college baseball, particularly in the West. You have to tip your hat to Irvine because theyโve been in the top 20 most of, if not all of, the season. Thatโs not easy to do.โย
on what makes this team workย
โThe 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 whoโs in the clubhouse. Thatโs 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 thereโs more to it. The loyalty toward each other and the appreciation that they have for each other. We still have a long road thatโs yet to come. Thereโs nothing to really celebrate. You can enjoy this, but weโve got to get back to work. Thatโs the mindset that they have. They did a remarkable job of building this team, and I have to tip my hat to these players.โย
Graduate Pitcher August Souzaย
on coming back from injuryย
"It's been difficult. I went through a long rehab process and am really honestly blessed to play this year. It's my sixth year. Didn't think I would play in college this long. I'm just happy to get this win with my team and celebrate getting to the Super Regional."ย
ย ย
ย on coming to UCLA to play for Coach Savageย
"I knew that Coach has a really formidable program. I always wanted to play at UCLA as a child. I came here in high school and played for his brother Pete, and I had always wanted to come to UCLA. It's really a dream come true to come here and pitch."ย
ย ย
on what was going through his head after walking his first batter in the seventhย
"I think just being where my feet are. Baseball you go pitch to pitch. I wasn't really worried about walking that leadoff guy. I knew I had my slider and just trusting a really good infield and the pitch-calling that Coach Savage had for me."ย
ย ย
on the adversity of not having a stadium in the fallย
"I'd say it was a really good thing for us. I think that it brought us closer together. We took a lot of bus rides to various high schools, and I think that we turned it into a good thing. We got closer as a team and really just turned something good out of it."ย
Sophomore First Baseman Mulivai Levuย
on what has been different with his class compared to other top-ranked recruiting classesย
"I think we're just all very close. Everyone is best friends with everyone. We hold team-bonding events. That's what makes us really tight.ย
ย
on what UCLA's big innings do for the team's confidenceย
"It builds a lot of confidence for our offense. Everyone has a great approach at the plate, and it's kind of hard for the other team to get past us when you can't really tell the difference in our approach. We've built a lot of confidence."ย