UCLA baseball gets its third straight win in new pinstriped jerseys, burying San Diego State 14-6
Senior outfielder Chris Giovinazzo hustles for an infield single on Friday. In the Bruins’ Tuesday night 14-6 win over San Diego State, Giovinazzo went 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI. The win was UCLA’s second straight coming on a Tuesday. The Bruins improved to 20-12 on the year ahead of their upcoming weekend trip to Palo Alto to face Stanford in a three-game Pac-10 series.
BASEBALL
UCLA 14
SAN DIEGO STATE 6
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 20, 2011 1:06 a.m.
It’s time to put the UCLA baseball team on America’s Next Top Model.
All it took was a change in uniform to turn the Bruins’ offensive production around in a big way. For the third time this season, the Bruin fashionistas donned pinstriped jerseys at Jackie Robinson Stadium, and for the third time they secured the win.
A 14-6 victory over San Diego State on Tuesday (11-26) was UCLA’s (20-12) third consecutive win overall and its second consecutive win in a Tuesday game.
“Everyone feels good in them,” senior right fielder Chris Giovinazzo said. “Unfortunately we can’t take them up to Stanford.”
With the way UCLA hit the ball Tuesday, the Bruins might need some road-ready stripes.
UCLA’s 14 runs marked its highest total of the season. But perhaps the win had less to do with the “magic” pinstripes and more to do with a team that’s turning the corner offensively. Tuesday was no fluke.
Don’t look now, but No. 20 UCLA’s offensive output ““ its Achilles heel to start the season ““ has been steadily increasing.
And after 18 hits Tuesday, the Bruins are averaging just under 12 hits over the last seven games. To add insult to injury, a five-run third inning coupled with a five-run fifth matched UCLA’s second-highest single-inning scoring total of the season.
“It was a good team win,” Giovinazzo said. “People are starting to get comfortable and it’s definitely carrying over. We’re building off of each other’s at bats and we’re starting to figure out how to pick each other up.”
Coach John Savage couldn’t have been more pleased with what he saw at the plate. But for Savage’s Bruins, it was the small ball that got the hit party started.
Junior Dean Espy’s bunt to start the game helped the Bruins to get on the board early.
“Espy’s drag with two outs really started the whole night and it carried over,” Savage said.
Freshman second baseman Kevin Williams went 4-for-5 on the night, the first Bruin this season to total four hits in a game.
“It’s definitely special,” Williams said. “It’s the first pretty decent game I’ve had at the bat, but I’ll take them when I can get them.”
On the hill, Tuesday starter Zack Weiss went five innings and totaled five strikeouts. A host of four other pitchers helped hold the Aztecs to six hits.
The win marked a season sweep of San Diego State for UCLA for the first time since 2006. The Bruins won a 5-2 contest at San Diego State on March 1.
Tuesday’s win was a far cry from some of the nail-biters that UCLA has played this season. It was just two weeks ago that the Bruins gave up a lead to UC Riverside on the road and lost.
“Guys are a little more battle-tested now and I think they’re getting comfortable with the bats,” Savage said. “I think you’re seeing a much more complete offensive team than you’ve seen the first couple of weeks.”
