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UCLA skipper John Savage reveals how long he'll keep starting pitcher Michael Barnett in against Murray State

Stephen Samraby: Steve Samra06/14/25SamraSource
Michael Barnett
Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard

UCLA is in the middle of a battle with Murray State in the Opening Round of the College World Series. At the moment, Michael Barnett has been leading the charge on the mound for the Bruins, blanking the Racers.

Skipper John Savage spoke with ESPN during the bottom of the third inning, where he revealed how long UCLA could ride Barnett’s arm. He’s at 54 pitches at the moment, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out four.

“Who’s asking?” Savage joked when asked how much longer Barnett would be in the game. “As long as he gets outs. I mean, he’s thrown up three zeroes. I don’t know if they’ve been the prettiest zeroes, but at this level, zeroes are zeroes.

“… He’s just been sped up a little bit. Kind of rushing his pitches. His change-up is not quite what it normally is. His sweeper has been pretty good. His fastball command has been okay. He’s pitching out of some problems. That’s what good pitchers do.”

Evidently, Savage is feeling good about Barnett so far, but we’ll see if he can keep up the good vibes over the rest of Saturday’s game. The Racers are hoping they can get to him sooner rather than later, but the Bruins’ strong bullpen will be waiting.

More on UCLA, College World Series Odds

Meanwhile, the entire college baseball world watching Omaha close, as the book on the 2024-2025 athletic calendar is coming to a close. Eight teams have made their way to the College World Series with the hopes of winning a national championship after hard-fought regionals and Super Regionals.

FanDuel has released odds for the CWS, ranking the eight-team field. With the SEC having a pair of teams still alive, those two find themselves at the top. While one of the two non-power conference teams is at the bottom.

An entertaining tournament is set to take place in the coming days. You can check out who the oddsmakers liked from the start to dogpile when everything is said and done.

— On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this article.