UCLA
6-7
Texas
7-7
Late Rally Falls Short for #14 UCLA
March 12, 2016 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES – The No. 14 UCLA Bruins dropped the series opener to the Texas Longhorns, 7-5, on Friday evening at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins rallied for three runs in the ninth, but fell short in their comeback efforts.
Bruin starter Griffin Canning (2-1) received the loss after allowing seven runs (four earned) on eight hits over 6.2 innings of work. Earning the win for Texas was Jon Malmin (1-2) who pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless baseball, while Nolan Kingham (1) claimed his first save of the season.
The UCLA offense totaled seven hits, led by Trent Chatterton (2-for-4), Kort Peterson (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB) and Brett Stephens (2-for-4, RBI, BB) who each notched a pair of knocks.
UCLA (6-7) took the early lead in the game with a first-inning run supplied by Luke Persico. The Bruins began the game with two walks and a single to load the bases with nobody out. However, an RBI-groundout from Persico stood as the only run-scoring play in the first to give UCLA the 1-0 edge.
Texas (7-7) took the lead away in the third inning with a pair of two-out runs. After the Longhorns loaded the bases, Tres Barrera delivered a looping single to center to plate two runners and lift Texas to the 2-1 advantage.
Peterson brought the Bruins back even in the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run to right center. The junior designated hitter wasted no time, sending the first pitch he saw deep into the night for his first career home run.
However, the Longhorns broke out for four runs in the fourth to regain their lead. Zane Gurwitz doubled in two runs and Bret Boswell supplied a long home run to right field to score another two and Texas led, 6-2.
The Longhorns would go on to add another run in the top of the seventh to stretch their lead to five.
UCLA made one last stitch effort in the ninth to conquer the deficit, but could tally just three of the five runs they needed. The Bruins had ample opportunity to score runs in tonight's game, but left a total of 16 runners on base.
Game two between UCLA and Texas begins tomorrow at 2:00pm 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 at uclabruins.com.
Notes: Eric Filia has reached base in all 13 games this season…Kort Peterson recorded his first career home run…Jon Olsen set a new career-high with 2.0 innings pitched…this is the first time UCLA has ever lost a game that Griffin Canning started, going 14-1 in 15 starts…tonight was the first time Coach Savage had faced Texas as a head coach.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Malmin, Jon (1-2)
L: Canning, Griffin (2-1)
S: Kingham, Nolan (1)
Batting:
2B: Clemens, Kacy 1 ; Gurwitz, Zane 2
HR: Boswell, Bret 1
RBI: Jones, Travis 1 ; Boswell, Bret 2 ; Barrera, Tres 2 ; Clemens, Kacy 1 ; Gurwitz, Zane 1
SH: Harlan, Brady 1
SF: Jones, Travis 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jones, Travis 1 ; Boswell, Bret 1 ; Mathis, Patrick 1 ; Denny, Kaleb 1 ; McKenzie, Jake 1 ; Gurwitz, Zane 2
Batting:
HR: Peterson, Kort 1
RBI: Stephens, Brett 1 ; Persico, Luke 1 ; Peterson, Kort 1 ; Pries, Jake 1 ; Bouchard, Sean 1
SF: Stephens, Brett 1 ; Bouchard, Sean 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Urabe, Brett 1 ; Peterson, Kort 2 ; Bono, Christoph 1 ; Jarvis, Scott 1
HBP: Jarvis, Scott 1
PO: Persico, Luke 1
