Bruins come from behind to beat UCSB in 14 innings
By Daily Bruin Staff
Feb. 14, 2001 9:00 p.m.
UCLA 6 UCSB 5
By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Staff
The few fans who stayed until the end of Wednesday night’s
baseball game saw a thriller in which the UCLA baseball team beat
the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 6-5 in 14 innings.
Matt Pearl lined a single to right after Josh Arhart singled and
stole second to extend UCLA’s winning streak to seven
games.
“This game showed what we were made of,” Arhart
said.
The Bruins (7-2) trailed UCSB (1-3) most of the game, entering
the eighth inning down 4-1.
With two outs, UCLA senior shortstop Josh Canales singled and
was doubled home by Pearl.
In the ninth, catcher Casey Grzecka singled in Brian Baron to
bring the Bruins within one.
Adam Berry moved to third on the play and scored when Gaucho
pitcher Jared Schumaker tripped on the mound, drawing a balk call
and giving the Bruins the chance they needed.
UCLA and UCSB traded runs in the 11th to extend a game that
featured 13 pitching changes, 32 strikeouts, and a lot of hot
chocolate to keep the fans toasty.
Besides Pearl’s heroics, the story of the game was the
Bruins’ bullpen. Seven pitchers combined to give up just two
earned runs in 11 innings of work, including eight straight shutout
innings.
Doug Silva got the win after pitching two innings of perfect
baseball while striking out five.
“Our pitching kept us in it,” Adams said. “It
was a great staff effort.”
Offensively, Pearl led the way with three hits. He homered in
the sixth, doubled in the eighth and had the game winner in the
14th.
Shortstop Josh Canales and designated hitter Brian Baron each
had a pair of hits to contribute to the victory.
“This was a good team effort,” Bruin head coach Gary
Adams said. “This was a win we needed to get.”
The win gives UCLA momentum heading into a big weekend series
against crosstown rival USC.
“We’re hot right now,” Pearl said. “You
just don’t know who’s going to win the game for us on
any given night. It’s a team effort.
With contributions from David Scott Bair, Daily Bruin
Contributor.
