UCLA
5-7, 0-1
California
9-3, 1-0
UCLA Drops Pac-12 Opener at California, 11-7
March 08, 2024 | Baseball
BERKELEY, Calif. – Junior second baseman Duce Gourson had four RBIs and was one of three Bruins to hit a home run in Friday night's Pac-12 opener at Stu Gordon Stadium, but California scored in three of its final four offensive innings to claim a comeback 11-7 win over UCLA.
The Bruins (5-7, 0-1 Pac-12) led 7-1 at the midway point of the game, but Cal (9-3, 1-0) plated 10 unanswered runs in the back half of the contest to take the win. The Golden Bears knotted it up with six runs in the bottom of the fifth, and produced a game-winning three-spot two frames later.
Six separate UCLA batters collected at least one hit on Friday, led by Gourson's 3-4 effort. Freshman first baseman Mulivai Levu added a two-run homer as part of a 2-4 performance, and junior center fielder Malakhi Knight got UCLA on the scoreboard with a solo homer – his first of the year – in the third inning.
Cal was led by second baseman Jarren Advincula (2-4, three RBIs), shortstop PJ Moutzouridis (3-5, RBI), and third baseman Max Handron (1-3, two RBIs). On the mound, the Golden Bears received four scoreless relief innings from the duo of Christian Becerra (3 IP, 2 H) and Tyler Stasiowsky (three-up, three-down ninth).
Knight's roundtripper – which went the opposite way to right field – kicked off a go-ahead three spot for the Bruins in the top of the third. Following the game-tying solo shot, freshman third baseman Roch Cholowsky wore the first pitch of his plate appearance, then came around two batters later when Gourson hit a no-doubter off the netting past right field for his fourth home run of the season.
Gourson was at the center of another UCLA crooked number in the fifth, hitting a liner to center field that got past Cal's Rodney Green Jr. for a two-run double. Moments later, the left-hitting Levu sent a fly ball over the fence in left-center field for a two-run shot that made it 7-1 in UCLA's favor.
Cal would respond to tie it in the bottom half of that very frame though, plating six runs on the strength of homers from Advincula and Handron. The Golden Bears tied it up with Advincula at the plate for the second time in the inning, as – with the bases loaded – he hit a grounder into the 3-4 hole that caromed off a UCLA infielder and allowed two runs to come across.
The hosts would go on to push across three unearned runs in the seventh, followed by a solo homer off the bat of Peyton Schulze in the eighth that capped the scoring.
Junior righty Luke Jewett was tagged with the loss for UCLA, allowing seven runs (all earned) over 4 2/3 innings. He had been cruising before the fifth inning, limiting Cal to just one run over his first four frames.
UCLA and Cal continue the series on Saturday afternoon starting at 2 p.m. PT.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Becerra,Christian (3-0)
L: Rodriguez, Luke (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Gourson, Duce 1
HR: Gourson, Duce 1 ; Levu, Mulivai 1 ; Knight, Malakhi 1
RBI: Gourson, Duce 4 ; Levu, Mulivai 2 ; Knight, Malakhi 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cholowsky, Roch 2 ; Salgado, AJ 1 ; Gourson, Duce 2 ; Levu, Mulivai 1 ; Knight, Malakhi 1
HBP: Cholowsky, Roch 1 ; Schrier, Cody 1
Batting:
2B: Green Jr.,Rodney 1
HR: Handron,Max 1 ; Schulze,Peyton 1 ; Advincula,Jarren 1
RBI: Moutzouridis,PJ 1 ; Green Jr.,Rodney 1 ; Handron,Max 2 ; Schulze,Peyton 1 ; Gwynn,Seth 2 ; Advincula,Jarren 3
SH: Ritch,Alec 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Moutzouridis,PJ 2 ; Handron,Max 1 ; Schulze,Peyton 3 ; Crawford,Carson 2 ; Ritch,Alec 1 ; Advincula,Jarren 2
SB: Moutzouridis,PJ 2
HBP: Green Jr.,Rodney 1 ; Crawford,Carson 1 ; Ritch,Alec 1
