Vander Tuig find redemption in UCLA baseball’s commanding 6-1 victory over UC Irvine
Junior first baseman Dean Espy went 2-for-4 at the plate and knocked in two RBIs in No. 24 UCLA’s 6-1 victory over UC Irvine at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Tuesday. Espy helped UCLA get on the board early, batting in two runs in the opening two innings. The Bruins will now take on the No. 3 Oregon State Beavers in a three-game home weekend series which begins Friday.
UCLA 6
UC IRVINE 1
By Ryan Eshoff
April 27, 2011 1:31 a.m.
Seventy-two hours after watching Zack Weiss and Nick Vander Tuig struggle mightily in a heartbreaking loss to Stanford, coach John Savage trotted his two freshman pitchers right back to the mound again.
Weiss started Tuesday night against UC Irvine and pitched a gem in leading the No. 24 Bruins (22-14) to a 6-1 win over the Anteaters (26-11) at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
The right-hander gave up just one unearned run ““which came in the first inning ““ and went seven strong innings, striking out four and yielding just three hits. He also walked just one batter, a definite improvement from Saturday afternoon, when he faced just two Cardinal hitters in relief and walked them both on four pitches apiece.
“He cruised (after the first inning),” Savage said. “He was throwing strikes and going after guys.”
Vander Tuig, meanwhile, was inserted into the game for the ninth inning, the same situation in which he gave up four runs to blow the lead Saturday against Stanford. This time around, the rookie right-hander gave up a hit but silenced the Anteaters in the final frame.
After UC Irvine opened the scoring in the top of the first, UCLA wasted little time in responding. Junior Dean Espy drove in a run in each of the first two innings and the Bruins led 6-1 by the end of the third. That was all the run support that Weiss needed.
“It was huge,” Weiss said. “All of a sudden it goes from a 1-0 game to a 2-1 game to a 5-1 game. We’re in much better shape and I can go out and pound the zone. You can go attack with a big lead like that.”
Sophomore third baseman Cody Regis continued to be an offensive force, reaching base all four times and driving in three runs. The three and four spots in the order ““ Espy and Regis ““ combined to drive in five of the six runs.
Tuesday night was the first meeting between the two teams since UCLA eliminated UC Irvine at last season’s Los Angeles regional. The matchup between the two teams is always a little more special because Savage is the former head coach of the Anteater program, and was also an assistant to UC Irvine coach Mike Gillespie when both were at USC in the late ’90s.
Tuesday’s win sets the stage for a big weekend series with Oregon State, the front-runner in the conference and the No. 3 team in the country.
“We were all kind of upset after Saturday’s loss,” sophomore outfielder Jeff Gelalich said. “I think we came out and took it to these guys and took out a little bit of our frustration. It’s good to get back on the good track again.”
With reports from Sam Strong, Bruin Sports senior staff.
