The UCLA baseball team began Tuesday night’s game in good form, mustering one run on two hits versus the UC Riverside Highlanders in its first round of at-bats.
Then UCR’s Carl Uhl stepped into the batter’s box and hit a home run on the third pitch he saw.
The scenario didn’t get much better for the Bruins, who proceeded to give up five runs in the inning. UCLA (17-20) would not recapture its short-lived lead, eventually falling to UCR (21-13) 17-6 in its midweek road contest.
“They just outplayed us, from the first pitch to the last pitch,” coach John Savage said.
UCLA junior right-hander Garett Claypool got rocked by the top of the Highlanders’ batting order early on, giving up hits to three of the four batters he faced. All four batters would cross home plate.
The Bruin pitching staff would give up a total of 24 hits on the evening, affording 16 earned runs to the quick-swinging Highlanders.
Seven pitchers took the hill for UCLA during the course of the game, the longest appearance not lasting more than 3 innings.
Savage credited the potent Highlander offense and defense in the infield for the Bruins’ convincing one-sided defeat.
“They played aggressively, at the plate and on defense,” Savage said. “They deserve a lot of credit.”
UCR’s lead-off batter Uhl went 3 for 6 on the night with one home run and two runs batted in. The Highlander pitchers held the Bruins to six runs on nine hits.
But Savage also acknowledged that his team’s own efforts were not particularly unsatisfactory.
Senior first baseman Cody Decker had a solid night at the plate for the Bruins, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs. He belted his team-leading 13th homer on the season and is batting an average of .306.
The Bruins will take this loss and use it as a motivating force going into their weekend series versus Oregon State.
“We’re still fighting for our lives,” Savage said. “We’ve got to get back on our feet because every game now is crucial for us.”
COLE EARNS INVITE: Freshman right-hander Gerrit Cole was named to the list of 17 initial invitees to the 2009 USA Baseball National Team Trials this June in Cary, N.C. He is one of five college freshmen to receive an invitation. Cole is the first Bruin to be invited to the trials since shortstop Brandon Crawford played for the USA National Team in the summer of 2006.