UCLA hangs on for victory

What a difference a week made.

It would be an understatement to say that UCLA pitcher Garett Claypool struggled in his previous start, in which the junior right-hander surrendered four runs and was replaced before he retired a single batter.

The outcome was completely different Tuesday night, as Claypool tossed six scoreless innings to lead the Bruins (20-21) to a 7-5 nonconference victory over Long Beach State at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

“There was some pressure, so I tried to come out and be aggressive,” Claypool said. “I tried to attack each hitter.”

Claypool’s strategy worked, as he struck out seven batters and allowed just one hit. He also lowered his earned-run average from 5.00 to 3.75, en route to earning his first victory in his longest outing of the season.

“I really needed this start,” Claypool said.

“He stayed focused and threw the ball extremely well,” coach John Savage said.

Claypool shut down a Long Beach State (20-20) team that scored a combined 34 runs in its three-game sweep of Pacific last weekend. But he wasn’t alone in guiding UCLA to its 10th win in the last 14 games.

With the bases loaded in the first inning, junior designated hitter Casey Haerther, who has been battling a foot injury, lined a hanging breaking ball thrown by Long Beach State starter Jeff Lease. The ball sailed over former coach Gary Adams’ retired No. 13 banner in left field.

“I just tried to put the ball in play and score a run,” Haerther said. “He hung a curveball, and I took advantage of it.”

The grand slam, Haerther’s seventh home run of the season, gave the Bruins a comfortable 4-0 lead.

UCLA added a run in the second inning on senior second baseman Eddie Murray’s double, which brought home sophomore shortstop Niko Gallego.

After starting the third inning with a double, redshirt junior center fielder Blair Dunlap crossed the plate on a single off the bat of Haerther. The hit extended the Bruins’ lead to 6-0.

“We had a good offensive (night),” Savage said. “Long Beach State is always a good test, regardless of who they throw out there. We put a lot of quality at-bats together.”

The six runs turned out to be all the run support Claypool would need.

Long Beach State, though, was happy to see Claypool exit the game after the sixth inning, scoring five runs off of the UCLA bullpen in the final three innings.

Due to the bullpen’s ineffectiveness, Savage was forced to call on junior closer Gavin Brooks for a fourth straight game.

“When your back is against the wall, you’ve got to have every bullet in the gun,” Savage said.

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