In one of the more dramatic, strange and exhilarating games for the UCLA baseball team, a season possibly changed.
Amid the plethora of story lines in UCLA’s 8-7 victory over UNLV Tuesday ““ a UCLA offense that was alive, then dead, a dominating pitching performance by sophomore Garett Claypool, a shoddy bullpen appearance by a normally reliable unit, a walk-off single in the 11th inning ““ one had the potential to change the course of the season for the Bruins: The sight of outstanding shortstop Brandon Crawford on the mound with the game on the line.
“The pieces fell into place where we needed him,” coach John Savage said. “Looking back on it, (his performance) could change our whole season.”
An early 5-0 UCLA lead evaporated as UNLV clawed its way back into the game, coming within one run in the top of the ninth.
With one out, two men on and the Rebels’ best player, Xavier Scruggs, coming to the plate, Savage turned to his standout shortstop to win the game on the mound.
“The game gets tight, and we run out of right-handed pitchers,” Savage said. “They have two right-handed hitters coming up in Scruggs and (Braden) Walker. We felt that to stay within distance, we needed to go with Crawford.”
The decision to have Crawford pitch was not an act of desperation that was blindly decided that night; Savage had secretly been contemplating the decision to have Crawford pitch for some time.
During the past week, Crawford threw a couple of quality bullpens, and because of a rash of injuries to the Bruin bullpen, especially on the right-handed side, UCLA was finally presented with a perfect situation for Crawford to make his pitching debut.
“We had some guys in the bullpen knicked up,” Savage said. “We feel like the depth on the left-handed side is more deep than our right-handed side. Brandon came up to me and made it known that he wanted to pitch. He told me that he was open to the option … and that if we needed him, he would be ready to go.
“And we took him through the necessary steps. This wasn’t something that we decided on Tuesday night. It has been under the radar for some time, and we hadn’t really told anyone about it.”
According to junior catcher Ryan Babineau, Crawford had approached him a couple of times, asking for Babineau to catch a few bullpens.
“I always said when the games are over, I would catch a bullpen with him,” Babineau said.
And so Crawford found himself on the mound facing a player who had already driven in three runs, with the game on the line.
“Honestly, I wasn’t paying attention about who it was at the plate,” Crawford said. “I was just trying to focus and hit the glove.”
Crawford showed no hesitation, no sign that he would back down against Scruggs, throwing a fastball registering in the low 90s and establishing an effective breaking ball.
With the count full at 3-2, Crawford challenged Scruggs, throwing a high fastball that Scruggs swung at and missed.
“To face Xavier Scruggs, one of the most feared hitters on the West Coast, and to strike him out, tells you all you need to know about (Crawford),” Savage said.
Crawford’s final line was a sparkling 2.2 innings pitched, with no runs off two hits and four strikeouts.
While the plan was not for him to go that many innings, Savage said that Crawford pitched well and the team could not afford to take him out of the game.
The performance that Crawford had begs the question of what his role on the team is. Because of injuries that have robbed the team of depth in the bullpen, Crawford could become a legitimate option coming out of the bullpen, Savage said.
Yet there is a sense of caution with Crawford. Earlier this season, sophomore Justin Uribe, a stalwart in the outfield, made the transition to the mound in order to offset the injuries to relievers Dan Klein and Rob Rasmussen. Due to the extra work on the mound, Uribe tore a ligament in his throwing elbow and is out for the season.
For a Bruin team that is fighting to stay in playoff contention, losing Crawford for the rest of the season to injury would be a devastating blow.
“Personally, I kind of want to stay away from using him very much,” Savage said. “But I think that in small doses, he can be very effective, in situations where it’s one hitter, two hitters. Last night, the plan wasn’t having him going 2.2 innings. But he pitched well, and you know what, he’s a part of the bullpen now.”
For Babineau, Crawford’s performance last night might be a sign of things to come.
“Last night, I didn’t know what to expect because I had never seen him pitch before,” Babineau said. “But he did a good job.
“We have a lot of good pitchers on this team, but I would have to say that he is one of the best pitchers on this team.
“That is by no means a slap in the face to our other pitchers because I think we have great pitchers on this team, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw him on the mound again this year,” Babineau said.