UCLA
1-1
North Carolina
1-1
#10 UCLA Evens Series with Walk-Off
February 21, 2016 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES – Eric Filia delivered a walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to lift #10 UCLA to a, 6-5, win over North Carolina on Saturday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The single brought Luke Persico around from second to even the series at one game apiece.
After the first two batters of the final inning were retired, Persico worked a five-pitch walk to set the table for the senior Filia. The right-fielder didn't disappoint, bouncing a single up the middle to plate Persico from second, after he took the base on a wild pitch, for the winning run.
The hit was Filia's first of the game, going 1-for-3 with a run, an RBI and a walk. Kort Peterson chipped in two RBI and Christoph Bono led the team with two hits offensively.
Tucker Forbes (1-0) pitched two shutout innings, striking out one batter to earn the victory. North Carolina reliever Cole Aker (0-1) garnered the loss after allowing a walk and the game-winning hit in his two batters faced.
For the second game in-a-row North Carolina (1-1) scratched first, putting up three runs in the top of the second. The inning was propelled by a Bruin throwing error to put runners on the corners with no outs. The Tar Heels then went on to get an RBI-single from Logan Warmoth, an RBI-double from Adam Pate and an RBI-groundout from Cody Roberts to take the early three-run advantage.
UCLA (1-1) bounced back to tally a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to pull within one. After the lead-off hitter was retired, Persico drew a walk and Filia was hit with a pitch to put two runners on. Peterson then laced a ball that went between the second baseman's legs for an error, allowing Persico to score. Then, following a strikeout, Bono legged out an infield single, scoring Filia, to cut the deficit to a single run.
The Bruins proceeded to take the lead in the next frame behind a two-RBI single from Peterson. After North Carolina walked the bases loaded, the junior designated hitter tagged a single up the middle with two outs to plate a pair of runs and give UCLA a 4-3 edge.
That lead didn't last long, however, as the Tar Heels bounced back with two runs of their own in the top of the sixth inning. A Warmoth lead-off triple was cashed in by a single from Pate to knot the game at four apiece. Then, Roberts singled to bring Pate home, following a sacrifice and a passed ball, giving the Tar Heels a one-run lead.
UCLA battled back once again and tied the game in the bottom of the seventh to bring the game even at five. Jake Hirabayashi and Brett Stephens drew walks to begin the inning. Pinch-runner Daniel Amaral then moved to third on a sac-bunt and eventually came into score the tying run on a wild pitch.
The UCLA bullpen was stellar for a second consecutive night, posting four shutout innings to keep the Bruins alive for the eventual game-winning walk-off hit in the ninth.
UCLA and North Carolina will play the rubber match of the three-game series tomorrow at 1:00pm PT at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Tickets are available and can be purchased by visiting uclabruins.com/tickets or by calling 310-UCLA-WIN. Fans can also listen live on uclabruins.com.
Notes: The UCLA relief pitchers have combined to throw eight shutout innings in the series, adding four strikeouts … Jake Hirabayashi made his first collegiate start and appearance at catcher … dating back to last season, Kort Peterson has recorded a hit in seven-straight games.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Forbes, Tucker (1-0)
L: Cole Aker (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Adam Pate 1
3B: Logan Warmoth 1
RBI: Logan Warmoth 1 ; Adam Pate 2 ; Cody Roberts 2
SH: Kyle Datres 1 ; Zack Gahagan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tyler Ramirez 1 ; Brandon Riley 1 ; Logan Warmoth 2 ; Adam Pate 1
SB: Tyler Ramirez 1 ; Cody Roberts 1
Batting:
RBI: Filia, Eric 1 ; Peterson, Kort 2 ; Bono, Christoph 1
SH: Persico, Luke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stephens, Brett 1 ; Persico, Luke 3 ; Filia, Eric 1 ; Amaral, Daniel 1
SB: Persico, Luke 1
HBP: Filia, Eric 1
