Bruins salvage series with win against Utes in Sunday finale

The Bruins wanted Kyle Molnar to take the ball in position to win this weekend’s series with the Utah Utes.

The series didn’t play out that way, but the freshman right-hander did his job Sunday, helping UCLA baseball (20-21, 10-11 Pac-12) earn a 10-3 win in the final contest of its three-game set with conference-leading Utah (16-23, 11-7).

Molnar (4-4, 3.36 ERA) lasted 6.2 innings, striking out eight and allowing just one earned run as he picked up the win. The freshman pounded the zone with all three of his pitches and threw his slider as well as ever Sunday, said coach John Savage.

“I’m just really proud of him,” Savage said. “When your back’s up against the wall like ours was tonight, you’ve got to give credit where credit’s due and he did a hell of a job coming out and competing.”

By losing the first two games to the Utes, the Bruins put themselves in a tough spot in the race for the Pac-12 title. Three and a half games out of first place with just nine conference games left, the Bruins are all but out of contention for the crown, though the standings are very tightly packed.

“To think that you’re out of it is certainly not the right approach,” Savage said. “Am I saying that we’re going to win the Pac-12? No, but if you ask me who is, I don’t know that answer either.”

The Bruins could have won the series if it weren’t for one poor defensive inning in Friday night’s 6-4 loss. As usual, ace right-hander Griffin Canning delivered an impressive outing, giving the bullpen a night off for the third week in a row as he tossed eight innings on just 95 pitches.

His defense let him down in the second inning, though, making a pair of errors that led to four unearned runs and gave Utah a 4-1 lead.

The Bruins battled back, notching a run in the third and then tying the game with a two-run seventh, before Canning surrendered a run each in the seventh and eighth innings to give the Utes a 6-4 victory.

“I thought Canning deserved better on Friday – I thought he pitched well again,” Savage said. “We’re just challenged a lot. We’re challenged defensively – range-wise in the infield.”

On Saturday, junior righty Grant Dyer continued to struggle as a starter, letting up five runs in 4.1 innings before being pulled. The bullpen had a tough time, too, giving up another four runs in a 9-4 loss.

With his team in danger of being swept, Molnar took the ball Sunday and worked into the seventh inning, throwing a career-high 119 pitches.

“It was really good, really good win for us,” Molnar said. “The weekend wasn’t over on Sunday – don’t give up and we can always use a win.”

Bright spots

Amidst the disappointing weekend result, a couple Bruin hitters stood out. Junior designated hitter Kort Peterson earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors for his 11-RBI output between Tuesday’s matchup with Cal State Fullerton and the three games against Utah.

Peterson produced five hits against the Utes, including a three-for-five day on Sunday with two triples.The junior has raised his average to .293 by cutting his strikeout rate down lately. He’s punched out in just four of his last 32 at-bats, after striking out in around 30 percent of his trips to the plate before that point.

“I’m just more dedicated now and that just cleaned up my whole approach in my at-bats,” Peterson said. “Being patient at the plate – recognizing pitches, just getting a pitch I can hit, not swinging at strikes just to swing, getting a pitch I can really place somewhere.”

The lefty placed two balls down the left-field line Sunday, turning each into a triple as he drove in five runs.

“It was a lefty starter, (he) wasn’t throwing too firm so I was thinking just middle-opp,” Peterson said. “He threw a couple inside pitches and I pulled a couple of them down the line.”

Redshirt freshman Daniel Rosica also performed well over the weekend, continuing to stake his claim to the starting catcher spot. Rosica now has hits in seven of his last eight games and has brought his once-paltry batting average up to .250.

He and junior right-hander Moises Ceja, both former walk-ons, now occupy major roles for the Bruins as the starting catcher and closer, respectively.

“Pretty fun to watch as a coach when you talk about two kids that both walked on and weren’t expected to do much and one’s a starting catcher and one’s a closer,” Savage said. “Both those kids have really taken over those roles and I don’t think they’re giving them up any time soon.”

What’s next

UCLA will head to Long Beach State Tuesday with freshman right-hander Jon Olsen on the mound. The 49ers pummeled the Bruins 10-1 early in the season during UCLA’s stretch of frustrating midweek results.