A team picked to finish eighth out of nine teams in its own
conference usually isn’t expected to win a series against a
team ranked among the nation’s top 50.
But with good solid pitching and clutch performances from its
upperclassmen, the UCLA baseball team did just that, taking two out
of three games from 44th-ranked Fresno State over the weekend at
the Bulldogs’ Pete Beiden field.
“This was really big for us,” UCLA coach John Savage
said. “We’re really making progress.”
“This weekend we came together as a team against a team
that is probably going to compete for a league title in the
(Western Athletic Conference).”
In Sunday’s rubber game, junior catcher Chris Denove tied
his career high in RBI when he knocked in his fourth run of the
afternoon in the ninth inning to put the Bruins ahead for good at
6-5.
Denove, one of just two returning starters from last year,
accounted for five of the Bruins’ six runs.
“His leadership was outstanding this weekend,”
Savage said of Denove. “He had a tough game on Saturday, but
he really stepped up on Sunday. We’re going to need him to be
our leader this season, and he really showed something this
weekend.”
Redshirt sophomore Hector Ambriz, UCLA’s No. 1 starting
pitcher, had a very strong performance in Friday’s opener,
tying his career high in strikeouts with eight while giving up only
two runs in six innings, as the Bruins won 7-4.
Ambriz, who was hurt all of last year, has answered some of the
questions about UCLA’s pitching staff coming into the season
by posting a 2.45 ERA through his first two starts.
“Coach Savage told me to come out Friday and set the tone
for the weekend,” Ambriz said. “This weekend was just
huge for the team. We came out of our first two series at
.500.”
Adam Simon pitched 4-1/3 scoreless innings over the weekend and
picked up the win in Sunday’s game. Simon, who initially
wanted to be a starter at the beginning of the season, appears to
have embraced his new role as the team’s closer.
“We’re trying to establish roles with this
team,” Savage said. “He wanted to be a starter, but we
needed him to be our closer. He seems to have found his niche
closing teams out.”
The Bruins lost 8-4 on Saturday, when Fresno State scored six
runs during a decisive fifth inning. Freshman Brendan Lafferty,
pitching in relief of Bryan Beck, received his first loss.
The series was the first road trip for the Bruins this year, and
it was crucial for the experienced players to play well and help
lead the younger players.
“It’s really important to have experience on the
road, because playing on the road is a hard thing to do,”
Denove said. “We came into a tough, hostile environment that
can be intimidating and we did a good job of stepping up on the
road.”