UCLA
37-19
Gonzaga
32-23
UCLA Walks-Off in Regional Opener Over Gonzaga, 6-5
June 01, 2018 | Baseball
MINNEAPOLIS โ The No. 2 seed UCLA baseball team scored four runs in the ninth inning with Jake Pries driving in the game-winning run to earn a walk-off win over No. 3 seed Gonzaga, 6-5, in the opening game of the Minneapolis Regional on Friday from Siebert Field. The Bruins advance to the winner's bracket and will play the winner of Minnesota-Canisius on Saturday at 5 p.m. PT.
The Bruins came into the ninth inning trailing 5-2 before rallying with four runs for the victory. Ryan Kreidler led off the inning being hit by a pitch followed by pinch hitter RJ Teijeiro ripping a double down the first-base line to put runners on second and third. With one out, Kevin Kendall drove in the first run of the inning with an infield single followed by Chase Strumpf hitting a line drive to right-center field to make the score 5-4. Michael Toglia tied the game with a ground-rule double down the right-field line and put runners on second and third with only one out. That brought up Pries who hit the second pitch of the at-bat deep into left field to allow Strumpf to cross home on a sacrifice fly for the game-winning run.
???STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND WATCH THESE HIGHLIGHTS! @UCLABaseball pulls off some BruWIN magic to produce a four-run 9th inning rally to win at Regionals! #BackThePac #RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/ZrfbkmeEcq
โ Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) June 1, 2018
Offensively, the Bruins were led by Strumpf with three base hits, including a double, with two runs scored, while Toglia collected two doubles and Pries drove in two runs.
Kyle Mora (6-2) earned the win tossing the final 1.1 innings without allowing a run or a hit, while starter Jake Bird went 7.2 innings allowing five runs, four earned, on only six hits with two strikeouts.
Gonzaga scored the first runs of the game in the second inning as Nick Brooks hit a RBI-double to right field followed by Jack Machtolf with a sacrifice fly to center field for a 2-0 advantage. The Bulldogs added a run in the third inning on a Branson Trube sacrifice fly to centerfield, but looked to extend the lead on a fly ball to left field but Jeremy Ydens was able to make the play and throw out the runner at home attempting to score.
The Zags made it a four-run lead in the sixth inning as they recorded their third sacrifice fly of the game, this time to left field off the bat of Jake Vieth.
Trailing 4-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, UCLA cut the deficit in half with a two-run frame. Strumpf led off with a single to right-center field followed by Toglia smacking a double down the third-base line to put runners on second and third. Pinch hitter Pries drove in the first run with a groundball to the shortstop and the next batter Daniel Amaral also grounded out to short to plate another run and make the score 4-2.
Gonzaga pushed its lead back to three in the eighth inning when Trube scored on a wild pitch.
UCLA (37-19) scored six runs on nine hits with one error, while Gonzaga (32-23) ended the game with five runs on six hits with one error.
Saturday's game will be streamed live on WatchESPN/ESPN3 at 5 p.m. (PT).
Game Notes: This marks the second walk-off win for the Bruins this season โฆ UCLA earns its first win when trailing after the eighth inning this year โฆ Chase Strumpf recorded his 7th three-hit game of the season โฆ Michael Toglia has recorded two doubles in a game five times this season โฆ Jake Pries tallied just his second multi-RBI game of the year โฆ Daniel Amaral drove in his 34th run of the year โฆ RJ Teijeiro recorded his fourth career double โฆ Jake Bird tossed 7.0 or more innings for the 10th time this year โฆ Bird allowed a season-high four earned runs โฆ Kyle Mora made his 33rd appearance on the mound this season, while Garrett Barker made his 31st โฆ Mora is fourth on the team with six wins.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mora, Kyle (6-2)
L: LEGUMINA, Casey (3-3)
Batting:
2B: BROOKS, Nick 1
RBI: TRUBE, Branson 1 ; VIETH, Jake 1 ; BROOKS, Nick 1 ; MACHTOLF, Jack 1
SF: TRUBE, Branson 1 ; VIETH, Jake 1 ; MACHTOLF, Jack 1
Base Running:
RUNS: BARRERA, Isaac 1 ; TRUBE, Branson 3 ; PINORINI, Austin 1
HBP: TRUBE, Branson 1
Batting:
2B: Strumpf, Chase 1 ; Toglia, Michael 2 ; Teijeiro, RJ 1
RBI: Kendall, Kevin 1 ; Strumpf, Chase 1 ; Toglia, Michael 1 ; Pries, Jake 2 ; Amaral, Daniel 1
SH: Rosica, Daniel 1
SF: Pries, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kendall, Kevin 1 ; Strumpf, Chase 2 ; Toglia, Michael 1 ; Kreidler, Ryan 1 ; Teijeiro, RJ 1
SB: Amaral, Daniel 1 ; Kreidler, Ryan 1
HBP: Toglia, Michael 1 ; Amaral, Daniel 1 ; Kreidler, Ryan 2
