UCLA baseball fends off LMU offense, pitches shutout
Sophomore infielder Trent Chatterton scored UCLA’s first run of the game in the fifth inning after doubling to left field to get in scoring position. (Katie Meyers/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Marion Patricio
April 23, 2014 12:48 a.m.
In the Bruins’ third faceoff against the Loyola Marymount Lions this season, the key to their successful 3-0 shutout win was consistently sticking to their approach and not letting up throughout the night.
“We just stuck with our plan the whole game,” said senior infielder Kevin Williams. “When it comes around, it comes around, and we had a lot of quality at-bats earlier in the game but just didn’t get rewarded.”
Feeling like it played exceptionally well, the 3-0 score did not reflect UCLA’s resilience, Williams said.
Tuesday night’s win was attributed to successful executions in every aspect of the game, from the performance of the bullpen to base running and even the Bruins’ effective at-bats.
“We had a good approach at the plate even though we didn’t really score until later in the game,” said sophomore infielder Trent Chatterton.
Chatterton kicked off the scoring for the night, scoring on a RBI from senior infielder Pat Gallagher in the fifth inning.
UCLA came through on base running with junior catcher Shane Zeile, redshirt sophomore Christoph Bono and Williams each registering a stolen base, and Williams directly contributing to his scored run in the sixth inning with the help of Chatterton’s ground out to the pitcher.
Williams also registered a RBI in the eighth, bringing Zeile home.
Freshman pitcher Grant Dyer proved himself yet again on Tuesday night, with six shutout innings, managing to shake off various tough situations.
“(LMU) had a lot of opportunities with 11 guys on base,” said coach John Savage. “They had Dyer up against the wall several times.”
In the top of the fourth inning, Dyer was backed into a corner. After walking LMU’s Cole Trezek, David Edwards came in and singled to right field, advancing Trezek.
With two runners on base and one out, Dyer walked LMU’s Jimmy Jack after reaching a 3-2 count.
With bases loaded, the freshman pitcher managed to squeeze out of this situation with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.
“Sometimes for a guy’s development we have to leave him in those type of situations,” Savage said. “And it’s difficult to do, but I think Dyer has our trust in the sense that he can pitch himself out of those problems, and he did (Tuesday night).”
Dyer demonstrated his perseverance throughout the night by repeatedly having to force himself out of tight situations, having runners in scoring position numerous times during the game.
Dyer was able to fend off the Lions’ attacks on offense, with help from his teammates.
“It was a close game, but we dodged bullets and played good defense,” Savage said. “The guys really stepped up and I think we did a good job competing with what we have.”
