The Bruins got their revenge over UC Irvine on Tuesday night.
On April 10 at Jackie Robinson Stadium, UCLA faced off against the No. 12 Anteaters and lost in disappointing fashion 5-4.
This time, the No. 22 Bruins (25-18, 10-2 Pac-10) avenged the first loss and followed up an impressive weekend with a 4-2 victory over the Anteaters (31-13-1, 7-5 Big West) at Anteater Ballpark.
“(Tuesday) was a big win for us,” coach John Savage said. “Irvine is a good team that is highly ranked, so it was nice to beat them. Whenever you beat a team on the road that is of the quality of Irvine, it is a big win.”
Freshman pitcher Garett Claypool (2-0) took the mound for the Bruins for the sixth time this year, looking for his second win of the season. Even though Claypool did not have his best stuff, he was effective, spreading five hits, two runs, one walk and one strikeout over five innings of work.
“It felt good to get the win (Tuesday) because we needed a big win … coming off last weekend,” Claypool said. “I thought that I did not pitch great and did not have my best stuff, but I competed with what I had and got the win.”
Claypool and the Bruins were put in an early 0-2 deficit, with Irvine designated hitter Sean Madigan driving in two with a double in the first inning.
But Claypool would settle down and the Bruin bats would finally awaken. In the fifth with two outs, designated hitter Casey Haerther doubled to right-center and then advanced to third on catcher Ryan Babineau’s single through the left side of the infield. Then, up came third baseman Jermaine Curtis, who this past weekend against Arizona hit the first home run of his Bruin career. Curtis added one more to his resume, taking the 1-2 offering from Irvine starter Dylan Axelrod and depositing it over the left-field wall, driving in three runs and giving the Bruins a 3-2 lead.
“My mentality going into the at-bat was pretty basic,” Curtis said. “The previous at-bats, he was throwing me a lot of sliders, so I just waited for a good pitch to hit. He threw me a slider and I stayed on it and it flew out.”
Three consecutive singles by Alden Carrithers, Brandon Crawford and Cody Decker resulted in one more run for the Bruins, pushing their lead to 4-2.
The Bruin bullpen held up for the remainder of the game, shutting down the Anteater hitters and ensuring a victory for Claypool.
Bruin relievers Brendan Lafferty, Jason Novak and Tim Murphy combined for four innings of relief, allowing no runs, two hits and two walks while striking out eight. Murphy earned the save.
This weekend, the Bruins return to Jackie Robinson Stadium where they will host Cal (23-22, 7-8 Pac-10). So far this season the Bruins have won every Pac-10 series they have played (4) and have complied a 16-8 record at home.
QUICK HITS: Sophomore shortstop Crawford was named this week as one of 50 semifinalists for the 2007 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, an award given to the best amateur baseball player in the nation. Additionally, last week, Crawford was named by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association to their annual Dick Howser Trophy Watch List. For the third time this season, senior pitcher Tyson Brummett was tabbed as Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week. The staff ace guided the Bruins past Arizona in a 9-3 win on Friday night. Brummett threw his sixth complete game of the season, allowing three runs (two earned) and five hits while striking out six.