UCLA baseball ties up Stanford series with win on Jackie Robinson Day
No. 12 UCLA baseball junior left fielder Michael Curialle rounds the bases in a game Feb. 26. Curialle recorded two runs and two RBIs in the Bruins’ win over No. 22 Stanford on Friday. (Marc-Anthony Rosas/Daily Bruin)
Baseball
| No. 22 Stanford | 4 |
| No. 12 UCLA | 5 |
By Joseph Crosby
April 16, 2022 10:34 a.m.
The Bruins bounced back to tie up their weekend series.
No. 12 UCLA baseball (24-10, 9-5 Pac-12) defeated No. 22 Stanford (19-11, 10-7) on Friday night 5-4 at Jackie Robinson Stadium to even the series at one game apiece. Coming off their worst loss of the season the night before, the Bruins won late behind eighth-inning heroics.
Junior left fielder Michael Curialle said UCLA played with extra motivation after Thursday’s opener.
“You come out with a little more edge, a little more chip on your shoulder when you lose,” Curialle said. “We came out here today and competed our butts off.”
With the game tied 4-4 heading into the home half of the eighth, Curialle singled before advancing to scoring position on an errant pickoff attempt. With one out on the board, junior catcher Darius Perry knocked a single up the middle to give the Bruins the lead.
Despite allowing what would have been the go-ahead run to reach base in the ninth, freshman left-hander Ethan Flanagan held the Cardinal scoreless to secure the win. Sophomore right-hander Max Rajcic said Flanagan has been a big contributor this year.
“(He’s) one of our most reliable relievers,” Rajcic said. “It always feels like he’s getting outs when we need them and always coming up clutch for us.”
Rajcic, who started the game for UCLA, pitched seven innings and allowed four runs, three of which were earned, while striking out 10. The sophomore’s seven innings tossed represented a career high for the closer-turned-starter.
Coach John Savage said Rajcic is still growing as the season progresses.
“He’s evolving. … It’s taken some time to evolve into that sort of starter that we wanted,” Savage said. “It was a very competitive game, and you have to give Max a lot of credit for pitching to that sort of standard.”
Rajcic allowed three runs via the long ball, including a two-run blast by right fielder Braden Montgomery, his second of the series. Stanford’s unearned run came in the eighth after the leadoff batter reached on an error to end Rajcic’s time on the mound and eventually scored.
The Bruins struck first offensively, taking a 2-0 lead off a home run by Curialle, his second blast of the week. The blue and gold followed up with two more runs in the fourth inning on a single by graduate student first baseman Jake Palmer before Perry’s late-game single sealed the victory for UCLA.
The Friday night matchup was televised on ESPN2 as part of a nationwide celebration of Jackie Robinson Day. Seventy-five years ago on April 15, 1947, Robinson, a former UCLA baseball player, broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier.
Savage said the win was more meaningful because of who the team was honoring.
“(There’s) a lot of appreciation for Jackie and the entire Robinson family,” Savage said. “It’s Jackie Robinson Day in Jackie Robinson Stadium, almost a full house, playing against Stanford, and you get to win. Pretty good night.”
UCLA drew a crowd of 1,494 people for the annual Jackie Robinson Day game, its third-largest crowd of the season. Rajcic said he was honored to play in Robinson’s name.
“To win for him, … it’s really cool,” Rajcic said. “To have him at our school, he played in the same uniform as us, and that statue – he’s watching us. We made him proud tonight (Friday).”
