UCLA
7-11, 2-4
Washington State
10-8, 2-4
UCLA Takes WSU Rubber Match, 9-4
March 17, 2024 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ The UCLA baseball team captured a 6-4 win over Washington State on Sunday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium in a rubber match between the two squads.
The result gave the Bruins (7-11, 2-4 Pac-12) their first league series win of the year. Washington State dropped to 10-8, 2-4 with the loss.
UCLA never trailed in the contest, putting together a go-ahead four-spot in the bottom of the first inning. Though that lead eventually would evaporate into a 4-4 tie midway through the fourth, the Bruins took the lead for good with a two-spot in the bottom half of that inning.
Freshman DH Roman Martin led the way for UCLA offensively, going 3-4 with a career-high five RBIs. Junior center fielder Malakhi Knight added a two-hit, two-RBI performance. Overall, eight of UCLA's nine starters reached base at least once.
Senior right-hander Chris Aldrich earned the decision for the Bruins in his season debut, tossing 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Collectively, UCLA's bullpen posted five consecutive zeroes to close the game after WSU had tied the game in the top of the fourth.
The Bruins came hot out of the gates on Sunday, as each of the first six batters reached in the bottom of the first to bring in four runs. Freshman third baseman Roch Cholowsky brought in the first run after wearing a 1-1 offering with the bases loaded, and senior first baseman Daylen Reyes and Knight followed with RBI singles to center.
The Bruins got a bit fortunate in their go-ahead fourth-inning rally, as โ with the bases loaded โ Martin fisted a pop-up into shallow right field that got lost in the sun and fell between a trio of Cougar defenders to score a pair. That flair turned out to be the game-winner.
Martin also provided some key insurance for the Bruins in the eighth. Once again at-bat with the bases loaded, Martin ripped a grounder inside the third-base bag and into the left-field corner for a three-run double. That two-bagger made him the first Bruin in 2024 to have a five-RBI game.
Washington State rarely threatened in the back half of the game. Their best chance at getting on the board came after a one-out single was followed by a walk in the sixth, but sophomore righty Cody Delvecchio responded by getting a pop-out and fly ball to left.
WSU mustered just one baserunner against Delvecchio and graduate closer Rashad Ruff over the final two frames of the contest.
UCLA has no midweek on the schedule due to finals, and returns to action next weekend by hosting USC for three games at Jackie Robinson Stadium starting on Friday night at 7 p.m. PT. The entire set will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Aldrich, Chris (1-0)
L: Jones, Spencer (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Russell, Kyle 2 ; Kramer, Joey 1
RBI: Hartman, Max 1 ; Russell, Kyle 2 ; Kramer, Joey 1
SF: Hartman, Max 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Russell, Kyle 1 ; Cramer, Cole 1 ; Swarts, Nate 1 ; Parke, Crew 1
Batting:
2B: Martin, Roman 1
RBI: Martin, Roman 5 ; Cholowsky, Roch 1 ; Reyes, Daylen 1 ; Knight, Malakhi 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Schrier, Cody 1 ; Martin, Roman 1 ; Gourson, Duce 1 ; Cholowsky, Roch 1 ; Knight, Malakhi 1 ; Dugger, Cashel 2 ; Salgado, AJ 1 ; Vaughns, JonJon 1
SB: Knight, Malakhi 1
HBP: Cholowsky, Roch 1 ; Dugger, Cashel 1
