UCLA
USC
UCLA Downs USC Again, 8-5
June 21, 1999 | Baseball
May 2, 1999
LOS ANGELES - The UCLA Bruins defeated crosstown rival USC, 8-5 on Sunday afternoon in a Pacific-10 Conference game at Dedeaux Field in front of a crowd of 1,605.
The Trojans (30-22 overall, 15-6 Pac-10) fell two games behind first-place Stanford in the Pac-10 standings. UCLA won two of the three games over the weekend and improved to 26-26, 10-8. The red-hot Bruins have won eight of their last nine Pac-10 games and 13 of the last 16 overall.
The pitching of UCLA sophomore LHP Bobby Roe (3-3) and timely hitting of senior c Jason Green proved to be the difference. Roe went a career-high eight innings, scattering nine hits, two walks and four earned runs while striking out six against the Pac-10's second-best offensive club. It was a vintage Bobby Roe performance, as he teased the Trojans and their fans by stranding eight USC baserunners. Sophomore RHP Chad Cislak pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his fifth save.
Jason Green turned in another clutch performance, going 3-for-4 with three RBI against four different USC pitchers. Green needed a triple to hit for the cycle, as he hit his 15th double and his fifth homer of the year, a solo shot in the eighth inning that gave UCLA a two-run cushion. The Bruins are now 5-0 when Green goes deep.
The Bruins took an early 4-1 lead, highlighted by sophomore lf Bill Scott's team-high 19th homer of the season, a solo shot in the first inning off starter Steve Immel. The Trojans tied the game in the bottom of the fourth when sophomore SS Seth Davidson sliced a two-run double down the left-field line and senior RF Greg Hanoian followed with an RBI single.
But UCLA came right back in the top of the fifth, scoring twice off USC sophomore reliever Rik Currier (3-6) on an RBI single by Green and an RBI fielder's choice by sophomore ph/rf Matt Pearl.
The Trojans cut UCLA's lead to 6-5 in the seventh on junior c Eric Munson's sacrifice fly, but that would be USC's last run. The 1999 Preseason Player of the Year, who made his first start in 22 games, was 0-for-2 with one RBI on the afternoon. In four games versus the UCLA pitching staff, the '98 All-American was 0-for-15, including 0-for-5 against Roe.
Green hit a solo home run to start the top of the eighth, and sophomore 1B Garrett Atkins had an RBI double in the top of the ninth to help pad UCLA's lead.
Atkins was 3-for-4 with two doubles (15 on the season), two runs, and an RBI.
The Bruins end up taking 4 of 6 from their crosstown rival. After losing the first game of a nonconference series at Jackie Robinson on March 5, the Bruins stormed back to win the last two, 6-5 and 8-7 (10). After losing the first game of this series, the Bruins scored three runs in the top of the ninth, overcoming a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2. Today's victory was UCLA's 100th all-time versus USC. The last time UCLA took four of six from USC was in 1987, when the Bruins swept the Trojans in one series and took one of three in the second set. The last time the Bruins won both series was in 1986, when UCLA swept both sets from the Trojans.
Next up for the Bruins is a three-game Pac-10 conference set versus Oregon State (15-33, 3-15 Pac-10) May 6-8 at Jackie Robinson Stadium. UCLA's May 5 game at CS Fullerton has been canceled.
UCLA 103-020-011 --- 8-11-1 USC 100-300-100 --- 5-9-0Roe, Cislak (9) and Green. Immel, Currier (4), Smyth (5), Montrenes (9) and Craig. WP -- Roe (3-3) LP -- Currier (3-6). HR -- UCLA: Scott (19), Green (5).
