UCLA baseball picks up win in final game despite dropping Stanford series

For the second weekend in a row, the Bruins dropped two of three games in their series against Pac-12 opponents.

No. 21 UCLA baseball (17-11, 6-6 Pac-12) fell two games to one to Stanford (19-6, 6-3) this weekend, marking its second series loss in a row following the same outcome against Washington a week ago. The Cardinal took the first two contests of the weekend 6-2 and 11-6, respectively, while the Bruins took the Sunday matinee 6-1.

“We’ve had a tough couple weeks,” said coach John Savage. “(Sunday) was a must-win game. Guys really stepped up. (Junior second baseman Mikey) Perez had a big game and (junior right-hander Sean) Mullen had a big game so that was good to see.”

In its Friday game, UCLA took an early lead in the first frame via a solo shot to left by junior shortstop Matt McLain.

The lead helped out senior right-hander Zach Pettway who allowed only a base hit and a walk in his first four innings of work, but in the home half of the fifth, after a leadoff double, Stanford third baseman Drew Bowser launched a two-run home run, giving the Cardinal a 2-1 lead.

A single and a double brought home a third run for Stanford in the fifth, securing a lead it would not let up for the remainder of the game.

Pettway’s outing ended on a two-run shot from shortstop Adam Crampton in the seventh, serving as the second start in a row the Bruins’ ace got tagged for five earned runs.

“It was a good start,” Savage said. “He struck out eight guys, threw a ton of strikes. A couple balls left the ballpark, but for the most part, he was very competitive and he gave us a chance to win. Unfortunately, there were two two-run homers and that was kind of the difference in the game.”

In the next inning, freshman third baseman Kyle Karros recorded his third single of the afternoon, beginning a stretch of three consecutive hits which culminated in UCLA’s second and final run. Stanford tacked on an insurance run in the bottom half via its third homer of the afternoon, securing the 6-2 win.

The Cardinal took the early lead in Saturday’s contest, putting up a six-spot in the opening frame. The rally began with five consecutive singles before junior right-hander Jesse Bergin could record an out. Bowser then knocked in his second home run in the series, driving in three runs and ending Bergin’s outing after only a third of an inning.

The Bruins responded with a sacrifice fly in the second by redshirt junior center fielder Kevin Kendall to get on the board. In the next frame, redshirt sophomore first baseman JT Schwartz knocked in an RBI single to score McLain, and Perez launched a two-run blast past the 375-foot sign in left field to bring Schwartz home and cut Stanford’s lead to two runs.

A two-run RBI single from redshirt senior left fielder Kyle Cuellar in the fourth concluded the Bruins’ six runs scored against the Cardinal.

A single, an error and a ground out helped Stanford add on two runs in the bottom of the third, and two solo shots by first baseman Nick Brueser in the fifth and seventh innings capped off the Cardinal’s 11 runs in the contest.

“Stanford can really hit,” Savage said. “(They’re) a very offensive team – probably one of the more offensive teams we’ve played all season.”

The Bruins exhausted eight pitchers Saturday, including junior right-hander/infielder Jack Filby, making only his second pitching appearance this season. They also made two errors, accounting for two of the Cardinal’s runs.

To open the series finale, Perez smoked a three-run long ball to left, giving the Bruins a lead they would not forfeit for the remainder of the contest. Kendall plated another run for UCLA via a sacrifice fly in the second, and Karros grounded a single through the left side to score Perez in the eighth.

“After kind of a tough loss on Saturday, kind of a lot of stuff going on, we kind of rallied together, and I thought we did everything together as a unit (Sunday),” Mullen said. “I think the first inning was a good show of that, that we were going to kind of do it for each other.”

McLain added a solo shot in the ninth to continue his six-game hitting streak, as well as recording his sixth home run on the season. McLain finished the weekend going 6-for-12 with two home runs and three RBIs while only striking out once.

Mullen tossed 6.1 scoreless innings, allowing only two base hits to go along with seven strikeouts. Mullen now owns a 6-1 record and is the Pac-12’s 2021 wins leader.

“(Mullen) probably pitched the biggest game of the year for us up to date,” Savage said. “We needed to win today and we did – he got it done.”

UCLA will travel back to Los Angeles for its third Tuesday game this season against Loyola Marymount.