The UCLA Bruins are making their first College World Series Appearance since winning the national championship in 2013 and are taking on the Murray State Racers in their first round matchup.

The game is the first of UCLA's bracket, which consists of the Bruins, Racers, LSU and Arkansas, and will be played at 11 a.m. PT on ESPN.

The Bruins are rolling ahead of the matchup, sweeping their way in five games through the regional and super regional rounds and outscoring their opponents 50-16 throughout. Their offense has been firing on all cylinders early and their pitching staff, most notably the bullpen, has been locking down.

UCLA defeated Fresno State, Arizona State and UC Irvine in the Los Angeles Regional and was able to host UTSA for the Super Regional round because No. 2 seeded Texas was knocked out by the Roadrunners.

Many claimed that UTSA wouldn't be the easiest opponent the Bruins had to face in the postseason, but coach John Savage and his squad put that to rest, beating them in two games and not allowing a single run in the last 16 innings of play.

This is Savage's fourth World Series appearance and first since 2013. His squad hasn't been here but his 21 years of experience are sure to help out.

"It wasn't our goal to just get to Omaha," Savage said. "We've talked a lot about going and playing well, taking our game to whoever we play. I'm really excited for the guys, excited for the alumni, the fans. I'm excited for everyone involved. At the end of the day, it's an appreciation on my behalf towards a lot of people." 

The Bruins are led by sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky, who, heading into Saturday, has been won the Big Ten Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Brooks Wallace Award winner, District 9 Player of the Year, Perfect Game USA Player of the Year, ABCA First Team All-American honors, NCBWA Second Team All-American Honors, finalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, all in his sophomore season. Quite the resume Cholowsky has made this season alone.

The Racers are making their first CWS appearance in program history and are coming off a program-record 44 wins after making it out of both the Oxford regional and Durham Super Regional against Duke.

The winner of this first round matchup plays against the winner of No. 3 seeded Arkansas and No. 6 seeded LSU on Monday.

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