UCLA
3-0
Omaha
0-3
No. 12 UCLA Finishes Omaha Sweep With 8-1 Sunday Win
February 19, 2023 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ The No. 12-ranked UCLA baseball team finished off a weekend sweep of Omaha after recording an 8-1 win on Sunday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
UCLA (3-0) never trailed in the contest, going ahead for good on a two-run homer from Jack Holman in the second inning. Senior righty Kelly Austin and six Bruin relievers combined to limit the Mavericks (0-3) to one run on six hits.
Junior third baseman Kyle Karros (2-4, RBI) and senior catcher Darius Perry (2-4, two RBIs) led UCLA with two hits apiece. Junior right fielder JonJon Vaughns added a moon shoot home run in the eighth inning, his second roundtripper in as many days.
Omaha was led by first baseman Brennen Bales, who finished 2-3 and reached base three times. Infielder Zach Lechnir hit a solo home run for the Mavs in the eighth inning to spoil the shutout.
The Bruins needed just three pitches to take the lead in the bottom of the second inning. Sophomore second baseman Duce Gourson opened that rally by pulling a 1-0 offering into right field for leadoff single. Holman then pounced on the first pitch he saw from Omaha starter Preston Tenney, depositing it into the Gifford Hitting Facility beyond right field for a go-ahead two-run homer. It was Holman's first career homer at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
UCLA continued to add to the lead over the middle portion of the game, plating an unearned run on a Carson Yates RBI groundout in the fourth before stretching the lead with a three-spot in the seventh.
Redshirt sophomore first baseman AJ Salgado set the table for that rally with an opposite field double, coming around moments later when Karros rolled one through the left side for an RBI base hit. Later in the inning, Perry went the other way with an outside fastball and shot it through the right side for a two-run single.
After Lechnir's solo shot in the top of the eighth, Vaughns responded in the bottom half with a mammoth fly to center field.
Austin was outstanding for UCLA in his first outing of the year, holding the Mavericks scoreless and allowing just three hits over five innings. He picked up at least one strikeout in each frame he pitched, ending his afternoon with a two-K fifth inning. The Mavs got a runner past second base on just one occasion against Austin.
The UCLA bullpen kept it rolling with a strong performance in the late innings.
Of note, freshman right-hander Cody Delvecchio struck out the side in the seventh, senior righty Charles Harrison did the same in the eighth, and sophomore closer Luke Jewett ended the game with a nine-pitch, 1-2-3 ninth.
The Bruins conclude a season-opening four-game homestand on Tuesday evening, hosting Pepperdine at 5:00 p.m. PT. The game will be streamed live on Pac-12.com.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Austin, Kelly (1-0)
L: Preston Tenney (0-1)
Batting:
HR: Zach Lechnir 1
RBI: Zach Lechnir 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Zach Lechnir 1
SB: Drew Lechnir 1
Batting:
2B: Salgado, AJ 1 ; Karros, Kyle 1
HR: Holman, Jack 1 ; Vaughns, JonJon 1
RBI: Karros, Kyle 1 ; Holman, Jack 2 ; Perry, Darius 2 ; Yates, Carson 1 ; Vaughns, JonJon 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Salgado, AJ 1 ; Karros, Kyle 1 ; Gourson, Duce 2 ; Holman, Jack 2 ; Yates, Carson 1 ; Vaughns, JonJon 1
SB: Schrier, Cody 1
CS: Perry, Darius 1
HBP: Holman, Jack 1 ; Yates, Carson 1
