Baseball hits season-high at 19
Junior outfielder Gabe Cohen hit two home runs in UCLA’s 15-2 win Tuesday.
By Blair Angulo
May 5, 2009 9:55 p.m.
The bats came out on Tuesday night.
Behind a season-high 19 hits, the UCLA baseball team eased to a 15-2 victory over Cal State Bakersfield at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Six different Bruins recorded multi-hit performances, led by senior infielder Gino Aielli’s career-high five hits.
“When we stay with our plan and do what we want to do, we’re a team to be reckoned with,” Aielli said.
UCLA batters tagged Cal State Bakersfield starting pitcher Jonathan Montoya early and often. Junior outfielder Gabe Cohen cranked two home runs in two at-bats against Montoya, who lasted just 3.1 innings and allowed nine earned runs. Aielli and junior designated hitter Casey Haerther also added home runs of their own.
Cohen was the first to contribute offensively for the Bruins (23-22), belting an opposite field, two-run home run to break a scoreless tie in UCLA’s three-run second inning.
“I’m seeing the ball well,” Cohen said. “I’m paying attention to sequences and how pitchers are pitching guys similar to me. I know what’s coming and I’m hitting it.”
UCLA added four more in the third inning behind Cohen’s second home run of the game. The Bruins then scored four runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth before capping the night with a run in the eighth.
“Offensively, we have a lot of guys that fill certain roles,” Aielli said. “We have guys that get on base and set the table. Then we’ve got big guys like Gabe that can hit the long ball.”
While Cohen supplied the power, junior pitcher Garett Claypool, stifled Cal State Bakersfield (9-31).
For the second consecutive start, Claypool did not allow any runs and surrendered just one hit. He struck out seven in five innings to earn his second victory in as many starts.
“I’m really proud of (Claypool),” coach John Savage said. “He’s really stepped up for us on Tuesdays. … We really have a true fourth starter.”
With the win, the Bruins moved a game over .500 for the first time since Feb. 22, when they were 2-1.
“It shows a lot of character,” Savage said. “It shows that they’re staying with one another. We knew it was a very difficult schedule and we knew we were going to take some bumps and bruises along the way. But it’s all about May and June.”
