UCLA Baseball Takes Two From Arizona State
UCLA Bruins
The No. 2 UCLA baseball team won two games in a three-game series at the No. 9 Arizona State Sun Devils this weekend, extending their conference lead to three games with six to play.
On Friday behind ace James Kaprielian‘s seven shutout innings, the Bruins racked up 16 hits for a 9-0 victory. Every batter had a hit, led by Chris Keck and sophomore RF Brett Stephens, who each had three. Keck also had the game’s only home run. It being Mother’s Day weekend, Kaprielian battled through an emotional game, one he dedicated to his mother, who passed away in June of last year.
On Saturday, it looked like UCLA hadn’t saved any runs from the night before. With the Bruins trailing 4-0 in the eighth (and my SF Giants getting killed by the Marlins) I went to bed disgruntled with baseball.* I even woke up on Sunday and oh-so-eloquently voiced my lingering displeasure on Twitter:
RE: last night, baseball is stupid. The Bruins are stupid. The Giants are stupid. Everything is stupid.
— Nathan (ˈneɪ•θən) (@sideoutpar) May 10, 2015
It was only then, scrolling through my Twitter feed from the game, that I realized UCLA had scored four in the eighth to tie it up, then one more in the 15th to take a 5-4 lead before allowing the Sun Devils to re-tie the game in the bottom of the inning. In the 17th inning, the Bruins, having had enough of this nonsense, exploded for six runs and then put the Sun Devils away scoreless to record the 11-5 win. The Bruin offense totaled 17 hits, and the bullpen put together a herculean 10.1 innings, including a six-inning marathon session from senior closer David Berg.
Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
On Sunday, the Bruins avoided the sweep, as it were. After amassing 33 hits in the previous two games, UCLA could only muster three, as the fatigue from Saturday’s almost-doubleheader took its toll. Additionally, scheduled starter Griffin Canning was scratched before gametime due to back spasms, replaced by sophomore LHP Hunter Virant, making his first career start.
After this weekend, Manager John Savage‘s Bruins sit in first at 36-12 (18-6), with a three game lead over USC, Cal, and Arizona State. UCLA will play at Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday night before hosting the seventh-place Arizona Wildcats next weekend in the regular season’s penultimate conference series.
* I promise I’m not as lame as that makes me sound. I live on the east coast and have a toddler at home; it’s a rarity that I get to stay up to catch the end of the west coast games I follow.