Chris Jensen got a great birthday present on Tuesday. On the
night of his 23rd birthday and his last home game as a Bruin, he
and his teammates ran all over the visiting Anteaters for a 10-1
victory.
UCLA (31-22, 12-9 Pac-10) and UC Irvine (34-21, 9-9 Big West)
were knotted early. Jensen started off the scoring with an RBI
double in the first, bringing freshman Brandon Crawford home.
Freshman Jason Novak (2-1) started off the game and looked
strong until a solo shot from second baseman Cody Cipriano tied the
game in the top of the fourth. The home run would end up being
Irvine’s only score in the contest.
The Bruins, on the other hand, got their bats out for some
birthday fireworks. Crawford gave UCLA the lead with a two-run bomb
in the fifth .
Redshirt senior Sean Smith, also playing in his final game at
Jackie Robinson Stadium, added his own touch, giving the Bruins
more than enough breathing room with a three-run home run in the
sixth. “I just put a really good swing on the ball and it got
out of here,” Smith said. “That’s the way to go
out if you can choose your way. I’d kind of liked to hit it
on the last one, but they hit me. I would’ve hit a home run
on the last one, by the way.”
Smith’s phantom second home run proved unnecessary, as a
group effort from the bullpen kept any offensive efforts from UC
Irvine at bay. UCLA used a total of five pitchers in the game, with
the win going to Brian Schroeder and seniors Scott Botterman and
Garrett White getting a sort of curtain call for their Westwood
careers in the ninth.
With the win, the Bruins finish up the year on a very strong
note against coach John Savage’s former team.
“It’s real important,” Savage said.
“They’re a regional team and RPI-wise it’s real
important that we played well tonight.”
Along with ratings, in a sport in which momentum plays such a
big part, the baseball team appreciates what an emphatic win can do
for a clubhouse. “It’s a great start to the week going
into Oregon State,” said freshman Ryan Babineau. “We
put a lot of emphasis on getting this win and building some
momentum going into this week.”
The Bruins built a lot of steam against the Anteaters while the
seniors took a moment to think about what it all meant. With the
playoffs a likely conclusion for UCLA, the end of the home season
does not mean the end of college baseball for the graduating
seniors. “It helps that we have a lot more games left,”
Jensen said. “Hopefully we go to playoffs. I think last year
our last game was at home and then our season was over.”