UCLA
Oregon
#2 UCLA Drops Game Two to Oregon, 5-4, in Extra Innings
May 24, 2015 | Baseball
EUGENE, ORE. – No. 2 UCLA's win-streak ended at six games as the Bruins fell to Oregon, 5-4, in 11 innings on Saturday night at PK Park. The loss is just the second in seven extra-inning games this season for UCLA.
Oregon relief pitcher Garrett Cleavinger (5-2) threw 2.2 scoreless innings, striking out three to earn the victory. Grant Dyer (4-1) allowed one run over 3.2 innings of relief to garner the loss for the Bruins.
UCLA reached the double-digit hit mark for the 29th time, recording 10 hits on the evening. Brett Stephens (1-for-6, HR, R, 3 RBI), who extended his on-base streak to 16 games, led the team with three runs batted in. Trent Chatterton (3-for-5, R) also had a strong night, finishing with a team-high three hits.
The game began as a true pitcher's duel, with no runs being scored in the first five innings. Both Grant Watson and David Peterson were controlling the opposing offenses, leaving the contest scoreless through the first two hours of play.
Oregon (36-23, 15-14) finally got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the sixth. Austin Grebeck led off the inning with a triple into the left-center field gap. Then, with one out, Phil Craig-St. Louis hit a sacrifice-fly to right field to put the Ducks up, 1-0, after six.
UCLA (42-13, 22-7) wasted no time responding, getting three in the top of the seventh on one swing of the bat. Sean Bouchard began the frame with a single back up the middle and was moved to second on a sacrifice-bunt by the next batter. Chatterton then singled to put runners on the corners for Stephens. The Bruin right fielder did not waste the opportunity, putting a charge into an 0-1 pitch, sending it deep into the Oregon night to put UCLA up, 3-1.
However, the Ducks would come back with a homerun of their own in the bottom of the seventh to re-gain the lead. With one out, Daniel Patzloff singled and pinch-hitter Shaun Chase doubled to put runners on second and third. Nine-hitter, Mark Karaviotis, subsequently followed by launching his first homerun of the year into the left field bullpen to put the Ducks up, 4-3.
The resilient Bruins bounced back yet again in the top of the eighth to even the score at four. With one down, Chris Keck doubled and moved up to third on a wild pitch in front of a walk to Darrell Miller Jr. Then, with runners on the corners, pinch-hitter Kort Peterson struck out, but the next batter, Christoph Bono, cashed in the two-out RBI with a single to right field to knot the game up.
UCLA then had a chance to seize the lead in the top of the ninth. Kevin Kramer walked with one out and Ty Moore followed with a single to put runners on first and third. However, back-to-back strikeouts ended the threat and kept the game tied.
In extras, the Ducks seemingly won the game in the bottom of the 10th on a sacrifice-fly to left field. With the bases loaded and one out, Kyle Kasser hit a fly ball to left field that Mitchell Tolman tagged up and scored on to give Oregon the win. However, Tolman left early from third and the Bruins were awarded the third out on appeal after throwing down to third base.
The Ducks would eventually capture the victory one inning later. Oregon loaded the bases once again, this time with two outs, and win on a walk-off single from Phil Craig-St. Louis.
The final deciding game between UCLA and Oregon will be played tomorrow at 12:00pm PT, live on the Pac-12 Networks. Fans can also listen to the game live on uclabruins.com.
Notes: The Bruins are now 5-2 in extra-inning games this season. Chris Keck and Brett Stephens extended their hitting streaks to seven games. Brett Stephens tied a season-high with three runs batted in. Grant Watson tied a season-high with six strikeouts.
