On a bone-chillingly cold Wednesday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium, the No. 15 Bruins (6-5, 0-0 Pac-10) welcomed Japan’s St. Paul University to Los Angeles for a friendly exhibition game.
Though the Bruins played host, it was St. Paul, also known as Rikkyo University, who came out on top, defeating the Bruins 10-7.
Because of the nature of the game, UCLA coach John Savage did not play many everyday starters. He instead took the opportunity to let some of the less-used players play.
“It was an exhibition game,” Savage said. “We played a bunch of guys that hadn’t been playing. It was good to see some guys get some swings and some innings. The exhibition part of it was more about getting some guys some work.”
One player in particular who did well was sophomore outfielder/designated hitter Blair Dunlap. This season, Dunlap was expected to contribute heavily for the Bruins both at the plate and in the outfield. However, Dunlap had offseason surgery on his shoulder and has been limited so far this season. Then came Wednesday, when Dunlap hit leadoff for the Bruins and went 3-for-4 with 2 runs, 1 RBI and 1 walk.
“I saw the ball well and was able to get a few base hits and help the team out,” Dunlap said. “My shoulder is still sore. It’s getting better. I’m looking forward to getting back out there. It will be nice to play every day and to help the team out.”
Savage commented that Dunlap still had some restrictions on throwing and that it was hard to say when he would be ready to go at 100 percent.
The Bruins began the game hot, scoring three runs in the first off a three-run double by redshirt freshman second baseman Corey Ashner, then adding one in the second when Dunlap drove in shortstop Nolan Rouse.
Then the Bruin bats went dormant as the bats of St. Paul began to heat up. St. Paul put one run up in the second, four runs in the third and three runs in the fifth to take an 8-4 lead mostly due to their ability to draw walks and hit seeing-eye singles.
While the Bruins staged a mini-comeback in the eighth inning to cut the lead to 9-7, St. Paul held on, adding one more in the ninth to win 10-7.
This game against the Bruins was the final game of St. Paul’s two-week trip to California. The team began its trip on Feb. 13 against Stanford, a game they lost 5-1. During the trip, St. Paul has also lost to San Francisco 3-2 and Cal State Northridge 14-2. In addition to defeating the Bruins, St. Paul has beaten USC 4-3.
Despite the loss, Savage and the players felt it was a positive game they will surely remember.
“It was a good experience to play this team,” Dunlap said. “Every pitch, those guys were in it. There was a lot of excitement in the dugout and a lot of energy. They love to play the game.”
Savage thought that it was beneficial for his team to play against a team like St. Paul.
“There are a lot of things you like about playing these guys because they are fundamentally sound,” Savage said. “It’s a good test for the guys that haven’t played much during the year to get some reps.”