UCLA baseball extends winning streak with victory over CSU Fullerton

This post was updated March 10 at 12:44 a.m.

It took six pitchers and timely hitting, but the Bruins narrowly edged out their midweek opponent.

UCLA baseball (9-4) defeated CSU Fullerton (2-9) by a score of 5-4 at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Tuesday night, extending its winning streak to three. Four of the Bruins’ five runs came with two outs, including the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth.

However, coach John Savage said the highlight of the day came before graduate student left fielder Kenny Oyama scored the eventual winning run.

“The play of the game was Oyama when he got picked (off),” Savage said. “He saw the rundown was not fully executed, and he got back to second base. Then the next pitch goes into right field, and we get a run.”

Oyama led off the home half of the eighth with a walk, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. The left fielder was picked off while attempting to steal third, but a circus-stunt slide back to second allowed him to avoid the out and score on junior third baseman Michael Curialle’s double.

“I wasn’t expecting him to pick off, but I just didn’t give up on the play,” Oyama said. “I busted my butt back to the bag, and I was able to beat the throw.”

Curialle’s game-winning double was his second RBI hit of the game. The junior’s first hit plated freshman shortstop Cody Schrier, who reached on an error before stealing second – his fifth swiped bag of the season. Schrier’s five steals trail only Oyama, who leads the team with 13.

Oyama said coach Bryant Ward’s assistance on the base paths has made all the difference.

“Coach Ward’s given us and the other base stealers on the team the foundation of base stealing, and it made a lot of sense,” Oyama said. “It’s led to a lot of stolen bases and success.”

Oyama was also a part of the RBI action, recording a two-out single in the second that scored freshman center fielder Malakhi Knight. The blue and gold hung a crooked number in the inning behind a single from graduate student first baseman Jake Palmer to push across the second run of the frame.

All nine players in the lineup reached base at least once throughout the contest through a hit or walk. Curialle and Palmer led the team with two RBIs each.

“One through nine, we do a good job of competing and not giving up,” Curialle said. “We know that we’re never out of a fight. We knew we could get on base and score runs whenever we need to.”

The Bruins’ offense propelled the team to a 4-1 lead entering the seventh inning, but Savage needed three different pitchers to complete the frame that was marred by a pair of errors and three unearned runs.

Savage said the box score is likely misleading for his seventh-inning pitchers.

“We didn’t take care of the baseball, so their numbers are skewed,” Savage said. “I thought they pitched a little better than how they feel right now.”

Two freshmen bookended the game for the blue and gold, as right-hander Thatcher Hurd pitched the first 4.1 innings while left-hander Ethan Flanagan recorded the win with 1.2 innings of shutout ball. The southpaw’s 1-2-3 ninth was the only clean inning of the day for the Bruins.

“The pitching staff this year is electric,” Curialle said. “We have a lot of freshmen that are stepping up and playing big roles.”