UCLA
16-7, 6-4
Washington State
16-9, 4-6
Bruins Drop Washington State Opener, 9-5
March 31, 2023 | Baseball
PULLMAN, Wash. โ The No. 12-ranked UCLA baseball team suffered a 9-5 loss at Washington State on Friday night at Bailey-Brayton Field.
The Bruins (16-7, 6-4 Pac-12) retired 12 consecutive Cougars (16-9, 4-6) to close out the game, but couldn't overcome a pair of early two-out rallies from the hosts, who built a 9-3 lead by the end of the fourth inning.
A trio of UCLA pitchers combined for that 12-up, 12-down spree in the latter half of the game.
Senior lefty Jake Saum got it started, entering the game in the fourth inning and getting a strikeout to strand two Cougars in scoring position and stem what had been a four-run rally.
After a leadoff walk in the fifth, Saum got the next three batters in order before going 1-2-3 with a pair of strikeouts in the sixth.
Freshman righty Cody Delvecchio and redshirt sophomore right-hander Chris Aldrich followed with three-up, three-down frames of their own to finish off the game.
UCLA was led offensively by senior catcher Darius Perry, who went 2-4 with a double and a home run. Sophomore first baseman Jack Holman added a pair of base hits to join the multi-hit club.
That duo was key to getting the Bruins on the board in the second, as Holman scorched a single off the glove of the second baseman before Perry drove one into the right-center field gap for a two-bagger that put the Bruins in business. UCLA would ultimately cash in both, as JonJon Vaughns lofted a sac fly to left to open the scoring before Perry came around on an attempted back pick from the catcher that got into the outfield.
WSU would go ahead for good with a four-spot in the bottom of the next frame.
UCLA would cut the deficit to four in the fifth after Perry went oppo taco for a two-run home run, but that shot would close the scoring for both teams.
For the Cougars, eight starters had at least one hit on Friday while seven drove in at least one run.
UCLA and Washington State continue the series on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. PT. The game will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hawkins, Dakota (3-3)
L: Brooks, Jake (4-3)
Batting:
2B: Perry, Darius 1
HR: Perry, Darius 1
RBI: Perry, Darius 2 ; Vaughns, JonJon 1
SF: Vaughns, JonJon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Holman, Jack 2 ; Perry, Darius 2 ; Vaughns, JonJon 1
HBP: Loposer, Knox 1
Batting:
2B: Russell, Kyle 1 ; Brown, Sam 1 ; Hainline, Elijah 1 ; Cresswell, Will 1
3B: Hainline, Elijah 1
HR: McKeon, Jacob 1
RBI: Magee, Cam 1 ; Russell, Kyle 1 ; McKeon, Jacob 2 ; Brown, Sam 1 ; Advincula, Jonah 1 ; Cresswell, Will 1 ; Harvey, Jake 2
SH: Harvey, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Russell, Kyle 1 ; McKeon, Jacob 2 ; Brown, Sam 1 ; Advincula, Jonah 1 ; Hainline, Elijah 1 ; Cresswell, Will 1 ; Harvey, Jake 2
SB: Advincula, Jonah 1
HBP: Harvey, Jake 1
