No. 24 UCLA Baseball Downs Cal State Bakersfield, 3-2
May 15, 2011
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LOS ANGELES - Right-hander Adam Plutko struck out a season-high 12 batters in eight innings to earn the win, leading the No. 24 UCLA baseball team past Cal State Bakersfield, 3-2, before 1,267 at Steele Field at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Plutko (5-3) secured his third consecutive victory, allowing two runs and four hits. Right-hander Nick Vander Tuig collected his team-leading seventh save by pitching a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bruins (29-19) clinched a series victory over the visiting Roadrunners (27-21) after having recorded a 10-1 win on Saturday afternoon.
Cal State Bakersfield left-hander Jonathan Montoya (7-5) absorbed the loss despite striking out a season-high 10 batters in his seventh complete game of the season. Montoya surrendered three runs and eight hits in eight innings and issued two walks.
UCLA got on the board early, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning before adding one run in the bottom of the third. Plutko and Vander Tuig clamped down the rest of the way to help lead the Bruins to a 3-2 win.
Dean Espy led the Bruins' offense by going 2-for-4 with one home run, one double, two RBI and one run. Chris Giovinazzo went 2-for-3 with one run and one double.
In the bottom of the first, Giovinazzo opened the frame with a double to the right field corner. Beau Amaral's single to center field scored Giovinazzo. Espy followed with a run-scoring double down the left-field line, sending home Amaral.
Espy belted a solo home run to left field with two outs in the bottom of the third inning, pushing UCLA's cushion to 3-0.
Cal State Bakersfield reduced the Bruins' advantage to 3-2 with two outs in the top of the sixth. Andrew Letourneau drew a hit-by-pitch on a 2-2 count and Jeremy Rodriguez reached on a full-count walk. Martin Medina belted a two-run double to the gap in left-center field, scoring Letourneau and Rodriguez.
UCLA returns to action against No. 9 Cal State Fullerton (36-14) on Tuesday at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Game time is 6 p.m., and admission costs $2 for adults and children as part of UCLA's "Two-Dollar Tuesday" promotion.
Game Notes: Adam Plutko has pitched six innings or more in 12 of his 13 appearances this season and has limited the opposition to two runs or fewer in 11 of his 13 games this spring ... UCLA has gone 7-4-1 on three-game weekend series this season ... Plutko ranks second on the Bruins' pitching staff with a 1.65 ERA, having logged 80 strikeouts in 87.1 innings ... Dean Espy tallied his team-leading 18th multiple-hit game of the year and is tied with Cody Keefer for the team lead in multiple-RBI efforts (seven) ... Beau Amaral extended his hitting streak to eight games on Sunday, going 1-for-4 with one run and one RBI.