This is just the way they draw it up.
Good pitching? Tyson Brummett threw nine innings of one-run ball
to earn the win.
Good hitting? The Bruins pounded out 12 runs and 14 hits off
Trojan pitching.
Good defense? The Bruins were errorless, and senior second
baseman Sean Smith killed a Trojan rally with a spectacular double
play in the third inning.
In the rubber game of the annual rivalry series between the UCLA
baseball team and the USC Trojans, the Bruins were nearly flawless.
The Bruins (27-21, 10-8 Pac-10) dominated the Trojans (25-25,
11-10) on Sunday by a score of 12-1.
“It was just one of those games where everyone came out to
play,” UCLA coach John Savage said. “Everyone was just
locked in, offensively and defensively.”
The Bruins were led at the plate by senior Chris Jensen, who
went 4-for-4 on Sunday and had eight hits on the weekend.
Freshman Cody Decker, who started at designated hitter in the
final two games of the series over junior Hector Ambriz, had home
runs in both games and appeared to hit the ball hard every time he
put it in play.
“I was extremely pumped up to get the start against
USC,” Decker said. “We were all just ready to go out
there and play. I grew up around here. Fights used to break out in
school over the rivalry, so this was really, really big to
me.”
Brummett, a junior, had his first career complete game on
Sunday, as he allowed only six hits and had five strikeouts over
his nine innings.
He was helped out on the defensive end by his middle infielders,
freshman Brandon Crawford and Smith, who seemed to conspire against
the Trojan bats, robbing them of at least three hits.
In the third inning, Smith made a diving stop of a ground ball
by Trojan leadoff hitter Matt Cusick.
Knowing he’d have to hurry, he flipped the ball up in the
air over second base with his glove, where Crawford was waiting to
throw to first to end the inning.
“It’s so fun to be able to just sit back and watch
them play (when they’re playing like that),” infielders
coach Brian Green said.
“The great thing is, that intensity that we saw tonight on
the field is there every time these guys go out and
practice.”
Brummett was certainly helped by that intensity. Until late in
the game, nearly every ball put in play by the Trojans was a ground
ball.
But even when it wasn’t a ground ball, the defense was up
to the task, as in the eighth inning when left fielder Anthony
Norman made an over-the-back diving catch of a Trojan drive.
Brummett himself recorded the final out of the game on a ball
hit to the mound that he flipped to first.
“It’s a great feeling to be able to turn around and
see eight guys back there who can catch anything,” Brummett
said.
“I can pretty much throw it anywhere. I can even mess up a
little, and they’ve got me covered. That was just
awesome.”
Brummett was not the only Bruin pitcher who went the distance
against USC.
On Saturday, despite struggling early, junior Dave Huff rallied
to pitch his third complete game of the season.
Huff gave up three runs in his nine innings pitched. If one can
be said to scatter eleven hits, then Huff certainly did so, as the
Bruins went on to win 8-3.
On Friday, the Bruins lost to the Trojans 8-6. Hector Ambriz,
who gave up seven runs in his five and a third innings, received
the loss.
The Bruins had a playoff atmosphere for the three games. On
Saturday, over 1,300 people were at the game, and on Sunday the
marching band was in attendance. Both games were also locally
televised by Fox Sports Net.
“It was a great atmosphere,” Savage said. “We
were on TV, we had the band out there. The environment this weekend
is one we’d like to have all the time.”