Down one run in the fifth inning, the Bruins needed to find an answer to their early offensive drought and put themselves over the top.

Then, up stepped junior outfielder Carson Yates.

The crack of his metal bat and the ball soaring over the outfield wall was enough to cause the UCLA faithful to erupt with cheers.

No. 13 UCLA baseball (14-3, 4-1 Pac-12) rode the momentum of Yates’ homer toward a 7-5 win against Arizona (12-5, 3-2). The victory marked the Bruins’ second win against the Wildcats as the blue and gold clinched the series.

The victory appeared potentially elusive in the beginning of the game, however. While no team was able to break the deadlock in the opening two innings, a single and a walked batter helped put runners on base for Arizona in the third. Finally, a three-run homer from the Wildcats opened the scoring.

The early deficit prompted UCLA coach John Savage to bring in freshman right-hander Michael Barnett from the bullpen with one out in the frame.

Despite him usually opening team’s mid-week contests, a rain-out of Tuesday’s game against San Diego led to an extended period of rest for the right-handed pitcher.

“My mental game has improved a lot, which has helped me deal with these big situations,” Barnett said. “I had to pick my guys up and just dig deep to get us back into the game and get us out of that inning.”

With runners on first and second and his team down by three runs, Barnett managed to strike one batter out before a fielder’s choice ended the inning.

The Bruins’ offense took charge in the fifth inning. An RBI single from junior outfielder JonJon Vaughns opened the floodgates for UCLA. Then Yates took advantage of a high fastball, sending it over the left field fence to give UCLA the lead.

“I was just looking for a fastball right there to hammer it as hard as I could,” Yates said. “When he gave it to me, I was right on time and gave it my best swing.”

A Wildcats’ wild pitch and five hits from the Bruins powered the six-run inning, capped off by a single from senior catcher Darius Perry.

Savage credited his squad’s hitting ability to his assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Bryant Ward.

“Coach Ward does a really good job of building their belief in the identity of our offense,” Savage said. “It’s the quality at bats, fundamental hitting, a fundamental offense. When we do that we can string some at bats together, and fortunately that inning we did.”

A Vaughns solo home run in the following inning was the final piece of scoring for the blue and gold. The rest of the contest remained quiet until a final attempt at a rally from Arizona in the ninth inning managed to muster one run before the defense closed the game out.

With the second win against Arizona taken care of, UCLA will have a chance to sweep the series at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m.