UCLA
North Carolina
No. 11 UCLA Downs No. 17 North Carolina, 8-5, in Orlando
February 20, 2015 | Baseball
ORLANDO, FLA. – The No. 11 UCLA Bruins took game one of a three game series, 8-5, over the No. 17 North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday night at Jay Bergman Field in Orlando, Fla. The Bruins remain unbeaten, moving to 5-0 on the season.
Junior James Kaprielian (2-0) earned his second win, going six innings, allowing four runs and striking out seven batters. Spencer Trayner (1-1) was assessed the loss after giving up three runs over two-thirds of an inning of work.
The top four batters in the Bruin lineup provided eight of the team's 12 hits and seven of the team's eight runs. Sophomore Brett Stephens continued to get on base from the lead-off position, reaching base four times and scoring three runs and sophomore Luke Persico added three hits and two RBIs from the three-spot.
Proving to be a chaotic game, North Carolina racked up six errors, four wild pitches and one passed ball, while UCLA totaled five errors of their own on the afternoon. The Bruins wasted no time getting the scoring started, putting a run on the board in the top of the first inning. Stephens, Kevin Kramer and Persico stroked three consecutive singles to give UCLA the early one-run edge.
In what became a trend in the first few innings, the Bruins and Tar Heels would trade one run innings several times to eventually reach a 3-3 tie after five innings of play.
In the top of the sixth, the Bruins put the pressure on the North Carolina pitching staff by loading the bases with just one out. The Tar Heels proceeded to throw two-straight wild pitches, allowing the Bruins to go up two runs. Then, senior Chris Keck reached first base on a throwing error by the second baseman, bringing the third run of the inning home.
That three-run inning proved to be enough to earn the victory. UCLA would go on to add two more runs, one in the eighth and one in the ninth, to eventually claim the 8-5 victory over the Tar Heels.
The Bruins and Tar Heels will play again tomorrow at 11:00am PT. The game can be hear live at uclabruins.com.
Notes: This marks the first 5-0 start for UCLA since 2010. So far this season, Ty Moore has hit at least two hits in all five games. Brett Stephens is averaging 2.6 runs scored per game and has accumulated an on-base-percentage of .654.
