UCLA
CSU Bakersfield
Top-Seeded UCLA Takes Postseason Opener, 7-2, over CSU Bakersfield
May 30, 2015 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES – The top-seeded UCLA Bruins scored in each of the final six innings to top the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners, 7-2, in game two of the Los Angeles Regional at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Friday night. The Bruins advance in the winner's bracket to face Maryland, while CSU Bakersfield falls to the loser's bracket to face Ole Miss.
The Bruins strung together 10 hits, reaching the double-digit mark for the 30th time this season. Kevin Kramer (3-for-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI) led the charge with three hits, while Luke Persico (2-for-5, 2 RBI) and Christoph Bono (2-for-4, 2 RBI) each had a pair of runs driven in.
James Kaprielian (10-4) struck out six, while allowing two runs in seven innings of work to earn the victory. James Barragan (7-4) allowed five runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings to garner the loss.
CSU Bakersfield (36-23-1) scored the game's first run with a two-out rally in the top of the second. Ryan Grotjohn worked a walk after the first two Roadrunners were retired. Then, consecutive singles from Chance Gusbeth and Logan Trowbridge brought Grotjohn around to score, giving CSU Bakersfield the early, 1-0, lead.
UCLA (43-14) rebounded to tie the game in the bottom of the third with a two-out RBI of its own. With one away, Kramer launched a double off of the top of the right-center field fence to get a Bruin in scoring position. Then, following a groundout which moved Kramer up, Persico laced a single to right field to knot the game up at one.
The Bruins backed up their one-run third with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take their first lead of the contest. Kort Peterson was hit with a pitch to begin the frame, followed by a sacrifice-bunt by Trent Chatterton in which he reached on an errant throw. With runners on the corners, Bono reached on a bunt-single, bringing in the go-ahead run. Then, after a sacrifice-bunt from Brett Stephens, Kramer singled through the right side to put UCLA up, 3-1, after four.
Scoring for the third consecutive frame, UCLA put another run up in the fifth to push the advantage to three. Following a walk, a sacrifice-bunt and a single, Chatterton grounded out to second base to bring in the fourth run of the game for the Bruins.
Continuing the scoring trend, a fourth-straight inning with a run put UCLA up, 5-1, on the Roadrunners. In the bottom of the sixth, with runners on the corners and one out, Persico grounded into a fielder's choice to bring in Stephens from third and give the Bruins a four-run edge through six.
CSU Bakersfield finally stopped the Bruins' run with a tally in the top of the seventh to cut the deficit to three. Chance Gusberth led off the inning with a deep solo home run over the left field fence, his third of the season, to make it a 5-2 game. However, that would mark the final run for CSU Bakersfield.
UCLA went on to add one more run in each of the next two innings to push the final count to 7-2. An RBI-single by Bono in the seventh and a run that came home on an error in the eighth represented the final two tallies.
The Bruins will continue Los Angeles Regional play tomorrow at 8:05pm PT against the Maryland Terrapins. The game is set to be broadcast live on ESPNU and can be heard live on uclabruins.com. Fans can purchase single game tickets on uclabruins.com/tickets.
Notes: UCLA has won 11-straight postseason games dating back to 2013. The Bruins are now 12-2 in regional games hosted at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Under Coach John Savage, UCLA is 33-14 in postseason games. The Bruins are 7-1 in opening games of a postseason regional under Coach Savage.
