UCLA
3-2
TCU
6-0
Bruins Drop Middle Game to TCU, 6-3
February 24, 2024 | Baseball
FORT WORTH, Texas – On the strength of a four-run sixth inning, No. 5 TCU notched a 6-3 win over No. 20 UCLA on Saturday afternoon at Lupton Stadium.
With the result, the Bruins (3-2) picked up their first series loss of the year. The Horned Frogs improved to 6-0 on the year.
Redshirt junior right fielder AJ Salgado (2-4, double) and freshman left fielder Dean West (2-3) both had solid days with the bats as eight different Bruins collected at least one hit. Freshman infielder Roman Martin had a single in the ninth inning for his first-career hit.
TCU never trailed in the contest, plating single runs in the second and third innings before breaking it open with the four-run sixth. Cleanup hitter Kurtis Byrne was at the center of that game-winning rally, hitting a three-run homer to center field to cap the frame's scoring. The Horned Frogs had earlier scored a run on a bunt single to the right side of the infield, scoring Brody Green from third base.
Salgado was largely responsible for getting the Bruins on the board in the fifth. He opened up that frame by going the other way on a 1-2 offering from TCU starter Kole Klecker and sending it into left field for a leadoff single. He later stole second and moved to third on a base hit from freshman center fielder Payton Brennan, allowing him to score easily on a sac fly from freshman catcher Cashel Dugger and make it 2-1 in TCU's favor.
The Bruins showed some life in the late innings, plating a pair in the eighth to get back within three.
Freshman infielder Cameron Kim had the big hit of that rally, coming off the bench and launching a fly ball over the right fielder's head for a double that put runners on second and third for UCLA. The Bruins would ultimately cash in both those runners – on a Martin comebacker that went off the pitcher's legs for an RBI single and a Roch Cholowsky sac fly – but could get no closer the rest of the game.
UCLA used four pitchers on Saturday, with strong outings coming from freshman righty Luke Rodriguez, who didn't allow a hit over 2 2/3 innings, and sophomore right-hander Cody Delvecchio, who picked up four strikeouts as part of a six-up, six-down outing.
The Bruins will look to salvage the series on Sunday afternoon, as the finale is scheduled for an 11 a.m. PT start. The game will be streamed live via Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sloan, Braeden (1-0)
L: McIlroy, Finn (1-1)
S: Hoover, Chase (1)
Batting:
2B: Kim, Cameron 1 ; Salgado, AJ 1
RBI: Martin, Roman 1 ; Cholowsky, Roch 1 ; Dugger, Cashel 1
SF: Cholowsky, Roch 1 ; Dugger, Cashel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Schrier, Cody 1 ; Kim, Cameron 1 ; Salgado, AJ 1
SB: West, Dean 1 ; Salgado, AJ 1
Batting:
2B: Green, Brody 1
HR: Byrne, Kurtis 1
RBI: Chatagnier, Peyton 1 ; Maxwell, Logan 1 ; Byrne, Kurtis 3 ; Bowen, Karson 1
SF: Chatagnier, Peyton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Chatagnier, Peyton 1 ; Maxwell, Logan 1 ; Silva, Anthony 1 ; Byrne, Kurtis 1 ; Basseer, Jack 1 ; Green, Brody 1
SB: Chatagnier, Peyton 1 ; Bowen, Karson 1
HBP: Boyers, Luke 1 ; Green, Brody 1
PO: Maxwell, Logan 1
