UCLA baseball continues winning streak with victory over Oregon

The Bruins overcame losing their starting pitcher to injury to finish off a perfect weekend.

UCLA baseball (19-8, 6-3 Pac-12) defeated then-No. 21 Oregon (18-10, 7-5) by a score of 5-4 on Sunday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium to secure its second series sweep of the season. The win marks the second consecutive weekend that the Bruins have won a series against a ranked opponent after going to Tucson and taking two games from then-No. 11 Arizona the weekend prior.

Coach John Savage said the Bruins have looked like a complete team over the last couple of weeks.

“We got a very talented team and very, very offensive team,” Savage said. “We played our style of baseball. We pitched, and we played good defense. I just think they showed a lot of fight over the last couple weeks.”

Freshman Thatcher Hurd took the mound for the Bruins on Sunday, making his sixth start of the season. However, the right-hander only lasted to his third batter before he had to leave the game with a back injury.

After Hurd left the game, sophomore third baseman Kyle Karros – playing in his fourth game since Feb. 19 after injuring his wrist – said the infield knew they had to finish what Hurd started.

“We all gathered around the mound, and I literally told the guys, ‘This is going to be sweet. We’re going to pick up Thatcher here,'” Karros said.

With a runner on third, junior right-hander Charles Harrison came in to replace Hurd in the first. Although the run ended up scoring to give Oregon an early 1-0 lead, Harrison got the final two outs of the inning.

The Ducks’ lead did not last long, as Karros knocked a single into left field to score freshman shortstop Cody Schrier and tie the game in one in the bottom of the frame.

Savage said Karros’ strengths are visible both at the plate and as a leader on the field.

“Just having that guy come into your lineup, on both sides of the ball, it’s a major impact,” Savage said. “You see his leadership at third base, his coverage at third base and his arm accuracy. He’s a really, really good defensive third baseman.”

Oregon shortstop Josh Kasevich broke the tie in the top of the second inning by crushing a 1-1 breaking ball from Harrison over the left field wall.

Freshman right-hander Luke Jewett pitched the third inning for the Bruins and allowed one more run to make the score 3-1, but junior catcher Darius Perry launched his first career home run in the bottom half to pull the blue and gold within one.

UCLA loaded the bases in both the third and fourth innings but failed to cash in on either opportunity, while the Ducks tacked on another home run to bring their lead to 4-2.

Savage said despite leaving 10 runners on base throughout the game, having chances to score is most important.

“We had a lot of opportunities, and that’s what we’re striving for, opportunities,” Savage said. “I really liked our fight, and we kept putting pressure on our defense with good at bats.”

The Bruins came back to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth after freshman center fielder Malakhi Knight drove a double down the line to score a pair.

Knight said he was looking for something to drive to find a way on base for his team.

“I just had an approach,” Knight said. “Getting a fastball, hit through the slider. (Oregon right-hander Caleb Sloan) threw a slider in the dirt, and I swung and missed, but I had to forget about it and get the next pitch, and he threw me a slider.”

After Oregon scored a run in each of the first four innings, UCLA brought in junior Jake Saum. The left-hander proceeded to go four shutout innings, allowing one hit and two walks.

After giving up a run against USC on March 11, Saum has gone 11.1 innings without allowing a run.

UCLA took its first lead of the day in the bottom of the seventh when Karros smacked his first home run of the season over the left field wall to give the blue and gold a 5-4 lead.

After grounding out into double plays his previous two at bats, Karros said he tried to refocus heading into the pivotal seventh inning at bat.

“I had a pretty rough game up until that point,” Karros said. “I hit into two pretty bad double plays, and after the second one, I was like, ‘I’m not going to go into my own head here.’ So I came up with my fourth at bat and was just looking to do anything I could to help the team, and he hung a slider and I got a good swing off on it.”

Freshman left-hander Gage Jump logged his second save of the year after going the final two innings giving up no runs, no hits and one walk.

UCLA will return to action and put its five-game winning streak on the line Tuesday against Loyola Marymount.