UCLA
26-19-1, 11-12-1
Oregon State
34-15, 16-12
UCLA Uses Big Seventh Inning to Down No. 15 Oregon State
May 12, 2023 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ Outfielders Jarrod Hocking and JonJon Vaughns hit key home runs to power UCLA to a 12-5 win over No. 15 Oregon State in Friday night's series opener at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
The Bruins (26-19-1, 11-12-1 Pac-12) never trailed in the contest, going ahead 4-0 after three before holding off the Beavers (34-15, 16-12) and putting the game away with a six-run seventh inning.
UCLA employed a balanced attack on Friday, with nine batters collecting a hit and seven driving in at least one run. Five different UCLA players notched multiple hits, including standout efforts from Hocking (2-5, two runs, two RBIs) and Darius Perry (2-4, two runs, two RBIs).
The Bruins applied offensive pressure from the jump, scoring in each of the first three innings to build a four-run lead.
Sophomore first baseman Jack Holman opened the game's scoring, wearing an 0-1 pitch with the bases loaded to force in a run in the first. Hocking followed by legging out a potential double play ball to bring in another run.
UCLA would add single runs in the next two innings on a Daylen Reyes RBI double and a solo homer from Hocking. The latter was an opposite-field shot to right-center, and represented the third roundtripper of the season for Hocking.
From there, Oregon State would go on to score in three consecutive innings to get back in the game, ultimately bringing the score to 6-5 after six and a half.
However, UCLA would pull away from there, batting around as part of a six-spot in the bottom half of the seventh inning.
Vaughns sparked that big inning with a two-run homer, as he pounced on a full-count change-up and snuck it inside the right-field foul pole to plate senior DH Josh Hahn.
That was the beginning of a sequence that saw eight consecutive Bruins reach base, resulting in a further four runs after Vaughns's blast. Perry had the key swing in the late part of the rally, bouncing one inside the third-base bag and into the left-field corner for a two-run double. Duce Gourson and Holman followed with RBI singles to cap the six-spot.
Junior right-hander Jake Brooks got the win for the Bruins, moving to 6-5 on the year.
He was especially strong early on, allowing just a walk over his first three frames and not allowing his first hit against until there was one out in the fourth. He ended his evening having allowed five runs (all earned) on six hits with six strikeouts and four walks over 5 2/3 innings.
A trio of Bruin relievers held OSU off the board the rest of the way, collectively allowing just one hit, a single in the eighth.
Redshirt sophomore righty Chris Aldrich drew the longest assignment out of the 'pen, finishing off the last two innings of the game.
A pair of Bruins made their return to the field on Friday night after missing time to injury, and both made significant contributions. Redshirt sophomore AJ Salgado started in center field and had a team-high three hits while scoring a run. Senior right-hander Charles Harrison tossed a shutdown, scoreless seventh inning to stop OSU's run-scoring streak.
Oregon State was paced by leadoff hitter Travis Bazzana, who finished 2-4. His two-run double in the sixth inning trimmed the Beavers' deficit to one run, at 6-5.
UCLA and Oregon State continue the series on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. PT. The contest will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Brooks, Jake (6-5)
L: Sellers, Trent (6-5)
Batting:
2B: Bazzana, Travis 1 ; Smith, Tanner 1
RBI: Bazzana, Travis 2 ; Forrester, Garret 1 ; Guerra, Mason 1 ; Kane, Mikey 1
SH: Macias, Dallas 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bazzana, Travis 1 ; McDowell, Micah 1 ; Kane, Mikey 1 ; Smith, Tanner 1 ; Dernedde, Kyle 1
SB: McDowell, Micah 1
HBP: Kane, Mikey 1
Batting:
2B: Reyes, Daylen 1 ; Perry, Darius 1 ; Hocking, Jarrod 1 ; Salgado, AJ 1
HR: Hocking, Jarrod 1 ; Vaughns, JonJon 1
RBI: Reyes, Daylen 1 ; Perry, Darius 2 ; Gourson, Duce 1 ; Holman, Jack 2 ; Hocking, Jarrod 2 ; Hahn, Josh 2 ; Vaughns, JonJon 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Reyes, Daylen 1 ; Perry, Darius 2 ; Gourson, Duce 2 ; Karros, Kyle 1 ; Hocking, Jarrod 2 ; Hahn, Josh 1 ; Yates, Carson 1 ; Vaughns, JonJon 1 ; Salgado, AJ 1
CS: Holman, Jack 1
HBP: Reyes, Daylen 1 ; Gourson, Duce 1 ; Holman, Jack 1 ; Vaughns, JonJon 1
