Baseball makes 16-1 comeback against USC at Friday series opener
UCLA baseball defeated USC 16-1 at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Friday night. Senior right-hander Jake Bird threw seven innings and recorded his fifth win of the season. (Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
By Jack Kearns
April 20, 2018 11:34 p.m.
This post was updated April 21 at 11:40 a.m.
The Bruins equaled their run total from March’s loss to USC by the third batter Friday.
No. 13 UCLA baseball (23-10, 12-4 Pac-12) fell to USC (18-16, 6-10) 3-2 at Dodger Stadium on March 11, but defeated the Trojans 16-1 in the series opener Friday at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
The Bruin bats removed any rust left from their 8-1 Tuesday loss to UC Irvine, plating 5 runs in the first frame. Sophomore second baseman Chase Strumpf led the charge with a double to score sophomore left fielder Jeremy Ydens and freshman shortstop Kevin Kendall, the first two hitters in the batting order.
Junior center fielder Daniel Amaral scored a run in the first inning and plated a run in the second,hitting a single to bring home sophomore first baseman Michael Toglia.
UCLA tied its season high for runs in a game this season, recorded April 13 against Utah.
USC scored in the fifth to make it 7-1, but UCLA answered with another 4 runs of its own. Redshirt junior catcher Daniel Rosica hit an RBI single to bring home Amaral, and then Kendall blasted a three-run homer over the right-field wall and left of the foul pole to make it 11-1.
“This win felt good. Coming off a good road sweep, it was good to carry the momentum into this game and it was nice to get a win,” Kendall said. “We’re stringing quality at-bats together and our success throughout the lineup has been contagious.”
Kendall finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs including the homer, boosting his batting average to .310.
“Kendall has sparked the team with his defense and his offense. He can hit, man. We got back from (the California series) and made a concerted effort that we needed to be a little different,” said coach John Savage. “We moved Kendall to short (and) sophomore Ryan (Kreidler) to third. The first time we played that lineup was at Loyola. It looked right. It felt right.”
USC pitcher Kyle Hurt allowed 7 runs on eight hits in the first two innings.
Hurt wasn’t originally the Trojans’ Friday ace, beginning the season starting on Sundays for three weeks before shifting over for a series against Utah on March 15. He solidified his place in that game with a no-hitter through seven and two-thirds innings. However, he has posted a 4.20 ERA on the season, fourth best among pitchers who started at least two games for USC.
He pitched one inning in USC’s win over UCLA in March. The Bruins were held to five hits and lost on a game-winning home run in the eighth inning.
Senior Jake Bird went seven innings deep on the mound, a feat he’s accomplished his past fives starts. The right-hander hasn’t been striking too many batters out, averaging 3.7 a night, but he’s been consistent in getting his team out of innings. He owns a 1.65 ERA, good for third best in the Pac-12.
“(Bird’s been) gigantic. With (junior Jon) Olsen and (redshirt sophomore Kyle) Molnar and (junior Justin) Hooper being on the blink, it’s been huge,” Savage said. “I don’t know where we’d be without Bird. No idea. This guy knows how to be himself, he’s really matured in our program over the last couple years, and you’ve seen it really paid dividends.”
He allowed 1 run off eight hits with one strikeout Friday night.
“I almost forgot we played (USC) a month ago just because of how the season goes. But it was a really good win all around,” Bird said. “(I’m focusing on) mostly just moving onto the next pitch. Whether it’s good or bad, just moving on and continuing to compete throughout the game,” Bird said. “Making adjustments where needed and not overthinking things.”
Game two of the series begins 4 p.m. Saturday at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Freshman Zach Pettway will take the mound for UCLA.
