These days, the Bruins are playing so well that they are winning more than just baseball games and series; they are winning yearlong competitions. This weekend at Dedeaux Field, the Bruins (18-16, 8-1 Pac-10) brought out the brooms, sweeping their crosstown rivals, the USC Trojans (19-18, 2-7 Pac-10). UCLA breezed to a 5-2 victory on Friday night, came from behind to win in dramatic fashion on Saturday 7-6, and outlasted the Trojans 12-9 on Sunday.
The series victory over USC also secured the Lexus Gauntlet, a yearlong, 18-sport battle between UCLA and USC. But more important than that was the ability of the Bruins to win yet another Pac-10 series, their third of the year.
“I think that we just put all of the pieces together this weekend,” coach John Savage said. “We swung the bats well all weekend long, we played solid defense, and we had good starting pitching on Friday night and at spots on Saturday and Sunday.
“We believe that right now we are playing the way that we think we are capable of playing.”
Once again, the Bruins began the weekend on a strong note, winning with relative ease in Friday’s opener, 5-2. Senior Tyson Brummett (6-4) showed once again why he is considered one of the premier pitchers in the Pac-10 and the nation, tossing his fourth complete game of the season and second such game in his career against the Trojans. Brummett allowed two runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out four.
“One of the major reasons that I did so well is that we played amazing defense,” Brummett said. “Whenever a pitcher gets a big-time accomplishment like a complete game, it is a big tribute to the defense.”
The Bruins provided Brummett with a comfortable cushion before he even took the mound. In the first inning, following a Brandon Crawford walk, sophomore catcher Cody Decker hit his first bomb of the series, taking the first pitch over the left-field wall. The home run gave the Bruins an early 2-0 lead they would not relinquish.
During the weekend, the Bruins were led by Decker, who finished the series with seven hits, 10 RBIs, and three home runs. They needed some more Decker heroism on Saturday.
The Bruins went into the ninth inning down by a score of 6-4. With two outs in the inning and runners at second and third, Crawford came through in the clutch once again, taking an 0-2 pitch into left field, scoring both runners and tying the game at six apiece. Next up was Decker, who hit a seeing-eye single to the right side of the infield, scoring Crawford and giving the Bruins a 7-6 lead and victory.
“I went into the at-bat saying that I have to get my pitch up in the zone,” Decker said. “Then when they got two strikes on me, I had to go away from that. I had noticed early that when they had two strikes on me, they would pitch me away. So I looked outside and they threw it outside.”
On Sunday, the Trojans put the Bruins in an early hole, pouncing on freshman starter Gavin Brooks (3-4) and jumping out to a 4-0 lead going into the fourth. But Brooks settled down and the Bruins bounced back, taking a 7-6 lead into the eighth. In the eighth, Decker came up to the plate with the bases loaded and proceeded to take the 3-1 offering over the center field wall for a grand slam, which gave the Bruins just enough runs to ensure the sweep.
With a sweep of USC, an 8-1 Pac-10 record and the Lexus Gauntlet back in Westwood, the Bruins are riding high.