UCLA baseball concludes Utah series with 1st tie in 9 years
Freshman right-hander Cody Delvecchio follows through on his delivery. Delvecchio hurled seven innings of scoreless ball across three games against Utah. (Jordan Guzman/Daily Bruin)
Baseball
Utah | 0 |
No. 23 UCLA | 1 |
Utah | 10 |
No. 23 UCLA | 10 |
By Shane Smith
April 9, 2023 2:24 p.m.
This post was updated April 9 at 9:37 p.m.
For the first time since 2014, a UCLA baseball game has ended in a tie.
After losing two consecutive series against Pac-12 opponents, No. 23 UCLA baseball (19-8-1, 8-5-1 Pac-12) bounced back over the weekend by winning two of three games against Utah (11-18-1, 3-11-1) and tying in the series finale, which was called after 11 innings at 10-10 because of a 4:30 p.m. travel curfew for the visiting Utes. The Bruins’ last tie came in an April 2014 game against UC Santa Barbara that was ended after 12 innings because of darkness.
On Friday, the blue and gold fought for its second extra-innings win of the week in a 12-inning 1-0 shutout of the Utes. The pitching staff that remains top 10 in the nation in both earned run average and walks and hits per inning pitched posted 12 consecutive scoreless frames, six of which came from junior right-hander Jake Brooks.
A trio of righties – freshman Cody Delvecchio, sophomore Luke Jewett and senior Charles Harrison – each contributed two scoreless innings on a night in which the Bruins struck out 12 batters and issued just one walk.
UCLA didn’t record an extra-base hit until the 11th inning and was 0-8 with runners in scoring position before the decisive 12th inning in which all four batters reached without recording an out. With the winning run 90 feet away, junior outfielder JonJon Vaughns punched a walk-off single through the left side of the drawn-in infield to end the game 1-0.
Vaughns said he was happy to have brought home the winning run.
“It still was no outs, so I was just thinking something up and something I could drive to the outfield to score,” Vaughns said. “That was my first one (walk-off). It felt exciting. I feel good about it.”
Sophomore right-hander Alonzo Tredwell earned the start in Saturday’s game, completing five innings and allowing three earned runs. He struck out the side in the first frame before getting into trouble in the second inning when the Utes took a 2-0 lead behind a trio of hits and a sacrifice bunt.
Utah tacked on a third run in the top of the fourth on a double from infielder Matt Flaharty before the Bruins rallied with two outs in the bottom half to score five, including a two-run double by junior outfielder Carson Yates and the first career triple for freshman outfielder Jarrod Hocking.
Both teams went back and forth in the late innings, with a four-run sixth frame from Utah giving it the lead before UCLA responded with a crooked number of its own to pull ahead 9-7. Utah tied the game at nine and 10 in the seventh and eighth, respectively, manufacturing the final run of the game with a delayed steal to make it 10-10.
Coach John Savage said he was displeased with the way the series ended.
“We didn’t play very well as a group,” Savage said. “Disappointing for sure. We did win two games this weekend, which is always good, but whenever you play like that, … it’s just disappointing.”
Though Savage’s Bruins weren’t able to secure the win, they were able to keep the game close late because of a career-high four innings of scoreless ball from Delvecchio, who pitched in all three games against Utah.
Despite throwing three innings across the first two games of the series, Delvecchio told his coach he was ready.
“I just gave him what I had,” Delvecchio said. “Obviously a little tired, a little burned out, but I told Coach, ‘Hey, if you need me, I’m there for you,’ and gave it all I got.”
Through 27.2 innings, Delvecchio has just a 0.33 ERA and 0.69 WHIP. He leads UCLA in pitching appearances and has been a cornerstone of the Bruins’ bullpen.
Savage had only positive things to say about the freshman right-hander.
“He’s been invaluable,” Savage said. “Everybody could look at him and go, ‘I want to act like him. I want to play like him. I want to pitch like him.’ I mean, who wouldn’t? So he’s been fantastic.”
UCLA will travel to Malibu to play Pepperdine at Eddy D. Field Stadium on Tuesday at 3 p.m.