UCLA baseball's offense falls silent again as improved pitching from freshman Zack Weiss can't save team from low-scoring loss to UC Irvine
Sophomore third baseman Cody Regis went 2-for-4 at the plate and drove in the Bruins’ lone run of the evening in UCLA’s 2-1 loss to UC Irvine on Tuesday. As has become a glaring pattern throughout the season, the offense struggled to generate runs as Anteater starter Andrew Thurman limited the Bruins to just four hits in seven innings. UCLA ends the regular season with a series against Arizona State this weekend.
Baseball
UC Irvine 2
UCLA 1
By Daily Bruin Staff
May 25, 2011 1:27 a.m.
When Hall of Famer UC Irvine coach Mike Gillespie turned to his right-handed closer, UCLA coach John Savage was in a bind.
If he wanted to bat a left-hander ““ the traditional practice against a righty ““ he had seven options, three of them combining for one total at bat on the season.
He decided on freshmen Brenton Allen and Kevin Williams, both of them striking out to end the Bruins’ final nonconference game in a 2-1 decision for the Anteaters.
The usually clutch pinch-hitting services of redshirt junior Marc Navarro were gone because he started the game at designated hitter. And sophomore right fielder Jeff Gelalich, boasting UCLA’s sixth-best batting average, struck out as a pinch hitter in the eighth.
“I don’t know if that would have been any different in the ninth,” Savage said of not having Gelalich for the final inning. “To say we didn’t have our go-to guys, I mean, they both played in the game.”
Nonetheless, Savage said he had confidence in the two freshmen’s ability to move sophomore third baseman Cody Regis around from first base to tie the game.
“We wouldn’t pinch-hit them if we didn’t have trust in those guys,” Savage said. “They’re young players and it’s a tough situation coming off the bench.”
Regis accounted for the only run the No. 23 Bruins were able to push across in the low-scoring affair, knocking in his fifth home run of the season. Regis, UCLA’s home run leader, said he and his teammates weren’t proactive enough at the plate.
“I think we didn’t come out very aggressive tonight,” he said. “It was kind of like we sat back and tried to see what would happen instead of making things happen for ourselves.”
The deciding run for the Anteaters (38-14) came in the bottom of the eighth inning. UCLA freshman pitcher Nick Vander Tuig came into the game with two men on base.
After Vander Tuig allowed a single through the left side, a swinging bunt from Irvine’s redshirt senior right fielder Sean Madigan drew UCLA catcher Tyler Heineman out just enough to force a throw to first rather than home, allowing the run to score.
“(Vander Tuig) did his best, but he would have been safe and it could have turned into a worse situation if I didn’t go out and throw to first base,” the sophomore catcher said.
Freshman Zack Weiss gave up just four hits in seven innings on the hill for UCLA (31-21), a far cry from his last start at Long Beach State where he was pulled after just four innings of work.
“Weiss was really good,” Savage said. “He got back on track and he’s a freshman, too. That’s a tough environment and I thought both Zack and Nick came in and pitched well. That’s baseball.”
“He did an outstanding job and it’s just one of those days where we didn’t get it done offensively and he has to suffer the loss,” Heineman added. “But he pitched unreal.”
