Baseball rides Pac-12 championship momentum to 13-3 win over UC Irvine

Fresh off of winning a Pac-12 championship Sunday, UCLA baseball showed no signs of slowing down in its win over UC Irvine.

The No. 2 Bruins (41-12) handled the Anteaters (31-22) without a lot of trouble Tuesday night, winning by a score of 13-3.

“It’s very important that we continue our momentum,” said coach John Savage. “You can’t take anything for granted this time of year. We just gotta keep on going down that path of playing good baseball.”

Early on, Tuesday’s game looked very similar to the game on April 21, in which UCLA hosted UC Irvine. The Bruins lost a 6-0 lead in that, but eventually won 15-8.

UCLA was up 6-0 once again Tuesday when UC Irvine began to mount a comeback, putting up three runs in the bottom of the third to cut the lead in half. Despite the similarities in the two games, junior pitcher Cody Poteet said that Tuesday’s game did not give him any flashbacks of his outing against the Anteaters in April.

“I was just trying to get out there and make pitches and do the best I can to help our team get that win,” Poteet said. “I try to keep a positive mindset every time I get out there and just try to make pitches.”

Poteet got out of the jam this time, forcing a 5-4 fielder’s choice to end the third inning and then putting up a zero in the fourth inning. The junior earned his sixth win of the year on four innings pitched, with four strikeouts and four walks.

The Bruins put up five runs in the next frame, two of which came on a two-run single by senior third baseman Chris Keck, putting an end to the Anteaters’ hope of a big comeback. Keck went two-for-five with a double and a team-leading three RBIs.

“(The top of the fourth) was definitely a momentum shift,” Keck said. “He threw me the slider again, which I figured he was going to, so I was kind of sitting on it. He threw it elevated. Against lefties, I mainly try to go opposite field, and I was able to hit it right over the shortstop’s head and drive in two. They had the infield in, and I was able to take advantage of that.”

The 13-run, 18-hit performance featured many strong offensive performances. Junior infielder Trent Chatterton and sophomore outfielder Brett Stephens each had three-hit nights, while junior left fielder Ty Moore contributed a team-high three runs.

While Tuesday was a nonconference win and UCLA has already clinched the Pac-12 championship, the road victory is a big deal for the Bruins since the RPI system weighs road wins as more valuable than home or neutral wins. The RPI system determines seeding for the NCAA Tournament, and UCLA entered the game third in rankings.

“RPI, road wins and seedings, all those things are just so critical for what goes on next Monday,” Savage said. “Getting those road wins is a big deal for the committee, and that’s very important for us.”

UCLA travels to Oregon this weekend for the last three games of its regular season.