UCLA left-hander Gavin Brooks was up to the task.
With the Bruins leading the Arizona Wildcats by two runs in the ninth inning, the junior pitcher walked in from the bullpen. Arizona had the tying runs on base with no outs, yet Brooks managed to strike out two of the three batters he faced to seal UCLA’s second conference series victory on Sunday at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
“Gavin went into a real tough situation,” coach John Savage said. “No one scored, so you can’t do it any better than Gavin did.”
The Bruins (10-14, 4-2 Pac-10) secured the three-game series with Sunday’s 8-6 win. UCLA took the series opener 7-6 Friday night before Arizona (12-12, 1-5) won 19-5 on Saturday afternoon.
Sunday afternoon’s game was a back-and-forth affair that came down to the final inning. After the Bruins scored three runs in the bottom of the first, the Wildcats scored six unanswered runs to take a lead. The advantage was short-lived, as the Bruins responded with three runs of their own in the fourth inning to even the score at 6-6. UCLA regained the lead with two runs in the fifth inning, and freshman right-hander Trevor Bauer took it from there.
“The team needed someone to come in and throw up a zero,” Bauer said.
Bauer threw up more than one zero, tossing 5.1 scoreless innings before giving way to Brooks in the ninth.
“I was nervous,” Bauer said. “Two runners on with no outs is not a good situation to give someone else. But he came out of the bullpen with that look in his eyes.”
Brooks got Arizona cleanup hitter junior Dillon Baird to strike out swinging on a hooking breaking ball. Both Wildcat runners advanced following a ground out, but Brooks struck out freshman Steve Selsky to end the threat and the game.
“Trevor did a great job,” Brooks said. “I just had to come in and throw strikes. I had to pick my teammate up.”
“With Brooks and Bauer we have two talented guys that can come in and shut down a game,” Savage said.
Junior outfielder Gabe Cohen, hitting sixth in the lineup, drove in two runs with two doubles on Sunday. Cohen also propelled the Bruins past the Wildcats with four runs batted in on Friday night. Cohen’s biggest hit came with the bases loaded in the seventh inning; he lined a triple to give the Bruins a four-run lead.
“Gabe had a big weekend,” Savage said. “If we can get him going, we’re talking about another offensive threat that we need.”
Cohen’s base-clearing triple was magnified after Arizona outfielder Brad Glenn connected for a three-run home run with two outs in the ninth to pull the Wildcats within one. But like on Sunday, Brooks struck out Baird to end the game.
UCLA was not as fortunate on Saturday, when the Wildcats trounced all over the Bruins’ pitching staff. Arizona scored 19 runs on 20 hits, as UCLA starting left-hander Rob Rasmussen allowed eight runs in a laboring three innings.
The Bruins have won eight of their last 12 games after losing 10 straight.
“We’re playing a lot better baseball right now,” Brooks said. “We’re playing as a team, executing on offense, and pitching. As long as we keep getting better we’re going to be a threat in the Pac-10.”