UCLA baseball defeats Washington State after five-run comeback
Sophomore right fielder Jeremy Ydens put the finishing touch on UCLA baseball’s five-run comeback Saturday afternoon. Ydens went 3-for-3 on the day and drove home the winning run in the eighth inning. (Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin staff)
By Jack Kearns
March 17, 2018 7:18 p.m.
The Bruins dug themselves a hole early, but managed to find a way out.
No. 17 UCLA baseball (12-4, 2-0 Pac-12) gave up five runs in the third inning, but came back to defeat Washington State (4-11, 0-2) 8-5 in the second game of the conference series opener Saturday at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Junior center fielder Daniel Amaral drove in the tying run in the eighth inning, knocking a double down the third base line to bring home sophomore designated hitter Jack Stronach.
That run would open the floodgates for the Bruins.
UCLA loaded the bases, bringing up right fielder Jeremy Ydens, who singled in the eventual winning run. The sophomore went 3-for-3 with two RBIs on the day, improving his batting average to .351, good for second on the team.
Junior third baseman Jake Hirabayashi then hit a single with the bases loaded to bring home two more runs for UCLA. The Bruins were able to load the bases once more via a pair of walks, however, the same batter who scored the tying run, Stronach, struck out swinging to end the inning up 8-5.
Freshman pitcher Zach Pettway started in place of junior Jon Olsen, who underwent surgery Friday to repair facial fractures suffered against USC. Olsen is expected to be discharged from Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on Saturday.
Pettway threw 95 pitches through seven frames and gave up five runs – all in the third inning – nine hits, six strikeouts and no walks.
Washington State erupted in the third inning, taking a 5-0 lead. Pettway allowed two hits, eventually leading to a pair of runs for the Cougars. Washington State’s hitter Justin Harrer then blasted his second homer of the season to add on two more runs. One pitch later, Pettway gave up another moonshot, this time flying over the hitting facility in right field.
Down 5-1, UCLA was quick to answer. In the bottom of the third, sophomore second baseman Chase Strumpf hit his fourth homer of the year to cut the deficit in half.
The Bruins would tack on another run while loading the bases in the fourth, but Washington State southpaw Scotty Sunitsch struck out Strumpf to hold the Cougars’ lead at 5-4.
The Bruin bats exhausted 4.32 pitches per batter off Sunitsch, who ended his day after four innings and 95 pitches.
Freshman Holden Powell earned the win for UCLA. The right-hander came in for relief in the top of the eighth and earned a putout at home to keep the deficit at just 1. UCLA got a Washington State runner in a pickle at third, but junior third baseman Hirabayashi dropped a pass while the runner was sprinting home. Hirabayashi recovered and made the throw to Powell who barely got the out.
UCLA, who now has three starting-level pitchers shelved with injuries, went four pitchers deep without any walks allowed.
Sophomore Ryan Garcia will throw the first pitch for UCLA on Sunday. The final game of the series is set for 1 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
