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It’s a beautiful evening at Jackie Robinson Stadium

Los Angeles Times staff writer Ben Bolch
By Ben Bolch
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You couldn’t ask for more ideal conditions than those at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Friday evening for UCLA’s Pacific 10 Conference baseball showdown against Arizona State.

There are clear skies and the temperature for the first pitch was 70 degrees. Extra bleachers were brought in for the clash between teams ranked in the top five nationally, and the main grandstand is already filling up.

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Arizona State, ranked No. 3 by Baseball America, managed an infield single in the first inning off UCLA ace Gerrit Cole. The No. 5 Bruins are coming to bat in the bottom of the inning against Sun Devils right-hander Seth Blair.

--Ben Bolch

Sports Now
Ben Bolch

Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. Bolch is also the author of the recently released book “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He happily traded in gobs of hotel points and airline miles to return to cover UCLA basketball and football in the summer of 2016. Bolch was once selected by NBA TV’s “The Starters” as the “Worst of the Week” after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments.

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