University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
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UCLA Drops Series Opener to Cal, 2-0
April 17, 2015 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES – The No. 3 UCLA Bruins fell to the California Golden Bears, 2-0, on Thursday evening at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Cal used a two-run sixth inning to claim the first win of the weekend series.
Cal starter Daulton Jefferies (4-2) allowed no runs on seven hits over 6.2 innings to earn the victory. UCLA's James Kaprielian (7-3) struck out a season-high 11 batters, but allowed two runs on six hits in six innings to garner his third loss of the year. Dylan Nelson threw a perfect ninth inning to get his fifth save for the Golden Bears.
UCLA totaled seven hits, led by Chris Keck (2-for-4) and Brett Stephens (2-for-4) who each recorded multi-hit games.
Kaprielian dominated the first five innings for UCLA (26-8, 12-4), allowing just two hits and tallying 10 strikeouts.
However, the game's first run came in the sixth inning when Lucas Erceg's solo home run put Cal (23-11, 10-6) on top, 1-0. Kaprielian was in a groove, having recorded six-straight outs, including five consecutive strikeouts before the Erceg long ball. Then, things slightly unraveled as the Golden Bears strung three consecutive singles together to add another tally, going up 2-0.
The Bruins struggled offensively all night, but had chances in the seventh and eighth innings to climb back in it. In the seventh, Keck and Kort Peterson slashed back-to-back singles with one out. However, Darrell Miller Jr. and Sean Bouchard both struck out to end the threat.
In the eighth frame, with two outs, Stephens and Luke Persico both reached on consecutive errors to set up Ty Moore. But, again, the Bruins couldn't cash in, as Moore grounded out to short to end the inning.
Game two between UCLA and Cal will be tomorrow, April 17, at 4:00pm PT. The game will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks. Fans can also access live audio on uclabruins.com.
Notes: The Bruins wore special edition 40's era uniforms in honor of Jackie Robinson tonight. Chris Keck recorded his 13th multi-hit game, while Brett Stephens recorded his seventh. James Kaprielian recorded his second double-digit strikeout game of the season.
