UCLA baseball fails to find rhythm in loss to UCSB
Freshman starting pitcher Grant Dyer had less success in his second start than his debut, giving up five runs in four and a third innings against UC Santa Barbara. (Joseph Chan/Daily Bruin)
By Jason Drantch
Feb. 26, 2014 1:12 a.m.
In the last game of an eight-game homestand to open the season, UCLA baseball needed a victory to avoid going out on the road with a .500 record.
UC Santa Barbara (4-1), however, was not just going to roll over and let UCLA leave Jackie Robinson Stadium on a good note.
The Gauchos had the long ball working for them and sent No. 19 UCLA (4-4) packing with a 6-4 loss Tuesday night.
“We got to keep the ball in the park,” said coach John Savage. “Pitchers made some mistakes. … They did a good job of capitalizing on mistakes and that was the difference in the game.”
Freshman starting pitcher Grant Dyer (1-1) did not allow a hit through the first two innings, but the Gauchos broke through in the third inning. After two singles and a wild pitch to lead off the inning, junior shortstop Peter Maris hit a three-run home run over the right field wall.
The Bruins were able to strike back in the bottom half of the inning by capitalizing off Gaucho mistakes to push two runs across.
UCSB took control of the game in the fifth inning, when they scored three runs off of an errant throw to second base from UCLA junior catcher Shane Zeile on a double steal and a two-run home run by redshirt junior first baseman Tyler Kuresa.
“When you have a coverage and we don’t cover … that’s just bad baseball,” Savage said. “Every mistake that we make right now has come back to get us.”
The Bruins mustered a few runs in the later innings on some more Gaucho defense gaffes, but the comeback fell short.
“There’s going to (be) some bumps along the way right now until we really figure out what we have,” Savage said.
The offense went hitless in four innings and only had one multi-hit inning.
The Bruins were able to get runners on base, such as when senior center fielder Brian Carroll reached base twice after being hit by pitches. He scored both times, but overall, the offense struggled to find a rhythm.
“We need to make some changes,” Carroll said. “There’s some stuff that we need to do a little bit better job at. We need to execute a little bit better. Grind out at-bats, win pitches and get on base and just try to have good at-bats.”
For a team that has already lost several players for the season, the Bruins have a few more injuries to worry about.
In the fourth inning, sophomore Ty Moore slid into the left field sidewall trying to catch a foul ball and stayed down for a few minutes. Despite sliding into a pole along the wall, he remained in the game.
“It’s pretty swollen and I can feel a little bit of pain,” Moore said. “Sprinting is going to be a little bit of a problem, but I don’t think it’s going to be anything serious.”
After an RBI single in the seventh, Zeile came out of the game for a pinch runner. Savage said that Zeile tweaked his knee, but said he thinks that he will be okay.
With the homestand over, the Bruins now head east to Cary, N.C., for the Notre Dame Classic.
“It’s still early in the year. We’re still a few weeks away from conference before we go to Cal,” Savage said. “I think the timing’s good for us to get on the road and get better.”
