No. 8 UCLA baseball overcomes Pepperdine, racks up highest run total of season

For the second game in a row, the Bruins recorded a season-high run total, responding to all three of the Waves’ attempts to take the match.

Propelled by a seven-run eighth inning, No. 8 UCLA baseball (6-3) beat Pepperdine (1-7) 16-8 on Friday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins’ last contest saw them score 14 runs against Cal State Fullerton, also a season-high posting at the time.

This is UCLA’s first time scoring 14 or more runs in two consecutive games since April 20 and 21 of 2018 when it scored 16 and then 19 runs, respectively, against USC.

“Tonight just happened to be a really good night for us as far as quality at-bats up and down the lineup,” said junior catcher Noah Cardenas. “Coach (John) Savage always says that you can always tell a really good lineup when you don’t know where you’re at in the order, and I felt like tonight, whenever somebody was stepping up there, you really couldn’t tell who was hitting where.”

Unlike in Tuesday’s game, the Bruins did not open the scoring. Senior right-hander Zach Pettway’s first start of 2021 saw him allow three earned runs in the first inning on one single and a fielder’s choice, giving the Waves an early advantage.

Pettway’s time on the mound lasted only two frames and a total of 46 pitches, within the range Savage planned to let him pitch. The right-hander finished the night allowing the three runs on five hits and a walk, adding three strikeouts.

“The first inning was a rough inning,” Savage said. “I thought (Pettway) made pitches – he had a couple ground balls, but he didn’t make the plays, … but that happens. The good news is (Pettway) is healthy. He feels good. We can build off this.”

Taking over for Pettway was sophomore right-hander Jared Karros, who tossed five innings and only allowed one earned run while striking out six.

“My fastball command today was really good for me,” Karros said. “My slider was really good, also (my) changeup – I had all four pitches working for me which is a really big plus for me.”

After going three-up, three-down in the first, the Bruins chipped into the Waves’ lead in the bottom of the second, scoring two on a single by Cardenas, giving the backstop his first RBIs of the season.

UCLA was able to take a short-lived lead in the fourth at 4-3, to which Pepperdine center fielder Billy Cook responded in the next frame by hitting the only long ball of the night to tie the score. The Bruins came back in the next frame, scoring on doubles by junior shortstop Matt McLain and sophomore designated hitter/left-hander Josh Hahn and also added four runs throughout the sixth and seventh innings, opening up a five-run advantage.

Pepperdine scored three in the eighth against redshirt senior right-hander Kyle Mora and one against senior righty Michael Townsend. Coming off a start where he allowed no earned runs Tuesday, junior right-hander Sean Mullen managed to finish the inning with a 9-8 lead still intact.

“He did a great job tonight, outstanding, very gutsy,” Karros said. “Came in in a big situation (and) made pitches. He’s done it all year for us. He’s been outstanding at the back end (of the bullpen) and also starting, so he’s a great guy to have coming in.”

The Bruins put up their biggest inning after Mullen snuffed out the Waves’ rally, adding seven to their lead – six of which came on two outs. Four of the runs came on a pair of two-run doubles, the other two on two bases-loaded walks.

“You got to really take what people give you, and I thought we did a pretty good job of taking our walks,” Savage said. “We did a lot more damage tonight like we did on Tuesday. We had some doubles, and I think we had five hits with two strikes, just a lot of quality at-bats. It was one of those Friday night games you don’t really see here very often. Fortunately for us, we came out on the good side of it.”