UCLA
19-33, 9-21
Stanford
20-32, 11-19
UCLA Finishes Stanford Sweep in Season Finale
May 18, 2024 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ The UCLA baseball team bounced back from an early six-run deficit to log a 10-8 win over Stanford in Saturday afternoon's season finale at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
The result clinched a series sweep for the Bruins, who finished the 2024 campaign with a 19-33 overall record and a 9-21 mark in Pac-12 competition. Stanford, losers of 10 in a row, dropped to a 20-32, 11-19.
UCLA's senior class played a big part on Senior Day. On offense, seniors combined for seven RBIs highlighted by a four-ribbie afternoon from left fielder Carson Yates. First baseman Daylen Reyes added two RBIs and scored twice. Senior right-hander JonJon Vaughns also received the win on the mound for the Bruins.
A pair of freshmen also made a big impact in the Saturday win, as third baseman Roch Cholowsky went 4-5 with three runs scored while center fielder Dean West drew four walks and scored three times. They were in the middle of three UCLA crooked numbers over the course of the game.
Stanford got plenty of production from the top of its lineup, including a 3-4, two-run day from leadoff man Owen Cobb, but lineup spots 4-9 combined to go just 3-25.
UCLA fell behind 6-0 by middle of the first inning, but quickly turned it around and out-scored Stanford 10-2 the rest of the way.
The Bruins began the charge back with a three-spot in the second. Cholowsky and West set the stage for that rally with a leadoff single and walk, respectively, and Reyes made it a bases-loaded situation after wearing a 1-1 offering from Stanford starter Ryan Speshyock. UCLA would go on to cash in each of those runners, with one run coming in on a Vaughns sac fly and two more coming in when Yates drove a liner over the center fielder's head for a two-run double.
The Bruins took the lead for the first time with a five-run fifth. Cholowsky and West again set the table for that big inning, reaching with nobody out after a leadoff Duce Gourson single to load the bases for UCLA with nobody out. After one run came across on a sac fly, Reyes shot a base hit the other way to right field to bring in a pair and get UCLA back within one at 7-6. Two batters later, Yates jumped on a first-pitch fastball and deposited it over the wall in left field for a go-ahead two-run homer. It was his first roundtripper of the year.
Stanford knotted it back up with a single run in the top of the sixth, but UCLA would take the lead for good with a two-spot in the bottom half of that frame. The freshman duo of Cholowsky and West once again were in the middle of the action, reaching on a single and walk to lay the foundation of a two-out rally for UCLA. The next batter, junior shortstop Cody Schrier, fisted a base hit back up the middle to bring in the go-ahead and ultimate game-winning run, and West scored moments later on a wild pitch to close out the game's scoring.
Freshman righty Justin Lee closed the door the rest of the way to seal the win for UCLA and earn his first-career save.
Lee inherited a two-on, two-out jam in the seventh, and got a Backwards-K of three-hitter Jimmy Nati to get UCLA out of the inning unscathed. He then went 1-2-3 in both the eighth and ninth innings, striking out the side in order in the ninth to finish it off. He even got an at-bat in the last of the seventh, fouling off a pitch and forcing Stanford reliever Toran O'Harran to throw seven pitches.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Vaughns, JonJon (2-1)
L: O'Harran, Toran (1-4)
S: Lee, Justin (1)
Batting:
2B: Cobb, Owen 1 ; MacDonald, Cort 1 ; Nati, Jimmy 2 ; Becerra, Temo 1
RBI: Cobb, Owen 1 ; Nati, Jimmy 1 ; Saum, Charlie 2 ; Moore, Malcolm 1 ; Lavin, Luke 1 ; Becerra, Temo 2
SF: Moore, Malcolm 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cobb, Owen 2 ; MacDonald, Cort 3 ; Saum, Charlie 1 ; Moore, Malcolm 1 ; Becerra, Temo 1
SB: MacDonald, Cort 1 ; Nati, Jimmy 1
CS: Nati, Jimmy 1
Batting:
2B: Yates, Carson 1
HR: Yates, Carson 1
RBI: Schrier, Cody 2 ; Reyes, Daylen 2 ; Vaughns, JonJon 1 ; Yates, Carson 4
SF: Schrier, Cody 1 ; Vaughns, JonJon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gourson, Duce 1 ; Cholowsky, Roch 3 ; West, Dean 3 ; Reyes, Daylen 2 ; Yates, Carson 1
SB: Gourson, Duce 1 ; Cholowsky, Roch 1 ; West, Dean 1 ; Yates, Carson 1
HBP: Schrier, Cody 1 ; Reyes, Daylen 1 ; Yates, Carson 1
