When the ball came off the bat of Oregon State’s Adalberto Santos, the fans at Jackie Robinson Stadium held their collective breath.
But as UCLA redshirt junior center fielder Blair Dunlap settled underneath it, the cheering began. By the time Dunlap caught the harmless fly ball, a number of his teammates had already hopped the dugout screen and were making their way to the mound. The UCLA baseball team had reason to celebrate its 5-2 win Sunday, which secured a crucial conference series win over No. 17 Oregon State.
“There was a lot of excitement,” coach John Savage said.
Sunday’s victory came after the Bruins (19-21, 11-7 Pac-10) lost 5-3 Saturday. UCLA was two outs away from winning Saturday afternoon’s game, but junior closer Gavin Brooks was unable to preserve a 3-2 lead. The Beavers (24-11, 9-6) tagged Brooks for three runs in the final inning after freshman starter Trevor Bauer allowed just two in eight innings.
Leading 5-2 in the ninth on Sunday, Savage called on Brooks again. This time, the left-hander was able to close out the game by retiring Santos, who represented the tying run.
“Saturday was such a heartbreaker,” Savage said. “Gavin’s really pitched well for us, and I think a lot of guys saw him getting another opportunity. Everyone was pumped for him. It was a team moment, really.”
“We had a lot of good energy,” said junior starter Charles Brewer, who earned the win Sunday by surrendering two runs in five innings pitched. “Everyone knows we’re getting toward the end of Pac-10 play. Every game is the biggest game we’ll play all year.”
The weekend started well after the Bruins erased an early 5-1 deficit in Friday night’s game. UCLA, behind Dunlap’s three runs scored and 3-for-4 effort, eventually won 7-5. Freshman starting pitcher Gerrit Cole allowed five runs in the first three innings, but settled down to earn his fourth victory of the season. Brooks pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the save.
On Sunday, the Bruins fell behind in the first inning after Brewer allowed a run on a pair of hits. UCLA tied the score at 1-1 when freshman catcher Steve Rodriguez led off the third inning with a line-drive home run over the 370-foot sign in right-center field.
“Whatever Stevie can give us offensively is a plus,” Savage said. “He controls the running game and controls the pitching part of it. If we can get a couple hits out of him, that’s icing on the cake.”
But the Bruins were fortunate to even have Rodriguez hit his first collegiate home run.
A few pitches prior to his game-tying home run, Rodriguez skied a pitch to Oregon State first baseman Jared Norris in foul territory. Norris, though, lost sight of the ball in the sun and dropped it, giving Rodriguez a second chance.
“It was a great feeling,” Rodriguez said of his first home run. “I didn’t think about the (second opportunity) at first, but then the guys pointed it out.”
Oregon State regained the lead on a pair of doubles off Brewer in the fifth inning, but the Bruins responded with two runs of their own. Rodriguez singled to start the fifth and moved to second base on a balk. Senior second baseman Eddie Murray followed with a single to right field, with the ball sneaking past Beaver right fielder Michael Miller.
The miscue allowed Rodriguez to score and Murray to advance to third base with no outs. Junior outfielder Justin Uribe flied out to center field on the very next pitch, and Murray beat the throw at home plate to put the Bruins ahead by a run. UCLA scored twice in a sloppy seventh inning for Oregon State, which committed three errors.
Savage was impressed by his team’s resiliency following Brooks’ loss on Saturday.
“That’s always good to see ““ guys backing each other after a tough loss,” he said.