For the second weekend in a row, the Bruins narrowly escaped the sweep.
In the last series of the regular season, UCLA (30-26, 14-10 Pac-10) fell twice to No. 23 Oregon State (38-17, 10-14 Pac-10) at home to open the weekend, losing its first three-game series at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins finished strong, however, winning by a score of 5-2 on Sunday.
“(Sunday’s) win was the biggest of the season,” coach John Savage said. “It got us to 30 wins and well above .500. It was also dedication to win the last one for (the seniors) at home against the defending national champion.”
UCLA had lost five of its last six going into Friday night and fell 10-7 in a game that lasted nearly five hours. Senior right-hander Tyson Brummett allowed five runs on nine hits while striking out two in 5 2/3 innings pitched.
After the Beavers tagged Brummett for three runs in the top half of the first frame, the Bruins responded with three runs of their own. Down by a run in the third inning, freshman right fielder Gabe Cohen evened up the score with a towering home run to deep left-center field, his 10th of the season.
In the next inning, a laser shot over the right field wall by sophomore shortstop Brandon Crawford gave the Bruins a 5-4 lead. The home run was his seventh of the season.
The Bruins trailed by a run with two outs in the eighth inning, but an errant throw by sophomore third baseman Jermaine Curtis got past sophomore first baseman Cody Decker and gave the Beavers two more runs.
“The errors are part of baseball and are not the reason we lost,” Savage said. “We didn’t play well, didn’t pitch well.”
The Bruins rallied in the ninth inning, but Decker, representing the winning run, struck out with the bases loaded to end the game.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon with a big crowd on hand, the Bruins dropped the second game of the series 13-5. Sophomore left-hander Tim Murphy allowed eight runs (five of them earned) on six hits while striking out four in 4 2/3 innings. Murphy, along with three other Bruin pitchers, combined for eight walks in a game that did not feature many positive highlights for the home team.
The unquestionable mishap of the game came in the fourth inning, when the uncommon happened. With runners on first and second and no one out, the Beavers were willing to sacrifice an out in order to move both runners into scoring position.
The batter managed to get the ball on the ground, but Murphy’s wild throw to first grazed off the glove of junior second baseman Alden Carrithers.
The ball ended up next to the visitor’s bullpen in foul territory, and by the time Cohen got to the ball, two runs had scored and the batter was on his way to third. Cohen then threw to third without anyone there and the runner scored, resulting in an error-aided, three-run inside-the-park bunt home run.
Senior first baseman Tim Stewart was the lone bright spot for the Bruin offense, which was mostly stifled by the elusive lefty Joe Paterson. Stewart drove in four of the five runs, three of those coming from his home run to left field in the sixth inning.
The senior class was honored before the game on Sunday afternoon, but a freshman pitcher took the spotlight.
Left-hander Gavin Brooks pitched a complete game, allowing an earned run on three hits while punching out seven.
“Gavin’s performance is as big as it gets,” Savage said. “He stepped up on the mound on today. We knew he was a special kid, but he has really evolved and has been grinding through the ups and downs, staying with the plan.”
Brooks had a no-hitter intact and had retired 13 in a row until he gave up a home run with two outs in the fifth inning.
The most trouble Brooks faced all game was in the top half of the eighth inning with runners on first and second, but he got out of the jam by stepping off the rubber and faking a pick-off throw to second. Both middle infielders and the center fielder acted as if the ball had sailed into the outfield, causing the runner to start his sprint toward third base. Brooks still had the ball in his glove and threw out the runner after he tried to scurry back.
“I was surprised when we called it,” Brooks said. “It was a big situation and Jermaine came over and made the call. There was a pinch runner out there and we thought we could surprise him. It was just a huge play that our dugout and players sold real well.”
In support of Brooks, eight of nine Bruins had at least one hit, including a pair of run-scoring singles by Stewart.
“Brooks pitched great and gave us what we needed,” Stewart said. “He is definitely a good arm to have on Sunday.”