UCLA
Oklahoma
UCLA Baseball Blasts Oklahoma, 10-5
May 27, 2000 | Baseball
May 27, 2000
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - UCLA parlayed two big innings into a 10-5 victory over Oklahoma Saturday afternoon at the Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ball Park in the winner's bracket of the NCAA Regional Baseball Tournament.
The Bruins scored five times in the first inning, chasing Oklahoma starter Logan Cuellar, and added four more in the bottom of the eighth, answering Oklahoma's four run outburst in the top of the inning that had narrowed UCLA's lead to a single run.
Josh Karp (10-1) picked up the win for UCLA, giving up four runs, two of them earned, and seven hits in seven and a third innings of work. He struck out six and walked two. Ryan Carter was touched for a run in a third of an inning, and Jon Brandt came on to pitch the final inning and a third.
Cuellar (3-3), who failed to finish the first inning, took the loss. Rocky Cherry turned in 6 2/3 innings of effective work, allowing only two runs on six hits, and Austin Coose finished.
UCLA used two walks, an error and singles by Matt Pearl, Bill Scott, Forrest Johnson, Charles Merricks and Randall Shelley to put five runs on the board in the initial frame. UCLA didn't score again until the seventh, when Chase Utley circled the bases with an inside the park home run. They added four more in the eighth on a double by Merricks, an infield out and a suicide squeeze bunt by Josh Canales. Coose fielded the ball and fired it past first for a two-base error, opening the floodgates for UCLA's game-clinching rally. A single by Garrett Atkins and Scott's double completed the uprising.
Oklahoma scored in the second on a ground out by Jeff Bajenaru. The Sooners made a game of it with a four-run top of the eighth. After leadoff hitter Jerome Godsey reached on an error, Zach Lekse singled . After a passed ball, Tommy Whiteman scored a run on a sacrifice fly. Sean Murphy singled and Jason Bartlett drew a walk to load the bases for pinch hitter Rick Park, who fly to left plated another run. Following Jeremy Vidales' walk, OU's fourth run of the inning scored when Josh Witcher struck out but reached base when the pitch bounded away from catcher Forrest Johnson. Godsey grounded out to end the inning.
Merricks and Shelley paced the UCLA offense with three hits each while Murphy had a pair of hits for Oklahoma.
