The UCLA baseball team was so close to making a stunning
statement to the Pac-10.
Still, they’ll settle for an encouraging series win.
The Bruins (23-17, 6-6 Pac-10) dropped a close Sunday contest
that came down to the last out, but still returned from the Bay
Area with two wins over last-place Cal (22-25, 7-11).
“Anytime you go on the road and win two out of three,
it’s a good weekend,” coach Gary Adams said.
A sweep would have put the Bruins in excellent playoff position.
But the two wins still provide a positive step both psychologically
and in the standings.
“We’re putting it together and coming up with
consistent performances more often,” said Casey Janssen,
Friday’s starting pitcher.
Janssen exemplified this theme with another classic performance.
Despite a rough first inning in which he allowed a run, the Bruin
ace shut down Cal, allowing two runs in 7-2/3 innings en route to a
7-2 win, his seventh of the year.
“I struggled in the first inning, but I was throwing well
and thought it would be a good day,” Janssen said. “And
then I just found the zone and worked ahead in the
count.”
The offense rode a three-run home run by left fielder Brandon
Averill in a five-run third and a two-run sixth inning shot by
catcher Chris Denove.
“Everybody is coming through with hits when we need
them,” Denove said. “We’re really clicking as an
offensive unit.”
In Saturday’s 10-7 win, the Bruins’ offense took
over, erasing a three-run deficit with an encouraging mix of
patience and clutch hitting.
“(Our come-from-behind wins) are definitely
reassuring,” Denove said. “We’ve seen ourselves
come back before, so we know not to worry.”
The key to Saturday’s win was simply not swinging the bat.
Cal out-hit UCLA, but the Bruins drew ten walks, including five in
a six-run sixth inning that gave it the lead.
“You really had to be here to appreciate the
hitting,” Adams said. “We did a great job of laying off
of bad pitches. We had a very disciplined approach and didn’t
flail away.”
Denove added his second homer of the weekend, a two-run blast,
in the eighth that provided a cushion for the bullpen, which looked
sharp in holding Cal to two runs in seven innings. Adam Simon
picked up his first win with 2-1/3 innings of one-hit ball.
“Today was a staff day. We got great efforts from
everyone,” Denove said.
Overall, the Bruin bats weren’t cold in Sunday’s 3-2
loss, collecting 15 baserunners with nine hits. However, they
lacked the clutch hit, stranding runners in scoring position
repeatedly, including three runners in the eighth.