In retrospect, the members of the UCLA baseball team were a run short of earning a vital series victory last weekend against Cal State Fullerton.
The Bruins were a run short of enhancing their postseason chances.
They were a run short of defeating the nemesis Titans, who have eliminated the Bruins from the playoffs each of the last two years.
But that run never crossed the plate.
“If we had a couple of clutch hits (Saturday), we win the game,” coach John Savage said.
The resilient Bruins (26-26) erased a five-run deficit by scoring five times in the seventh inning of Saturday night’s game. The comeback was capped by senior first baseman Cody Decker, who hit a dramatic game-tying grand slam to send the crowd at Jackie Robinson Stadium into a frenzy.
Just like that, the momentum swung.
“Everyone wanted to win,” Decker said. “Fullerton has had our number since I’ve been here.”
After the Titans failed to score in the eighth inning, junior outfielder Justin Uribe slapped a double down the right field line to put the Bruins in a favorable position.
But even with no outs and the go-ahead run standing on second base, the Bruins failed to score.
The Titans regained the momentum, scoring a run off Bruin junior closer Gavin Brooks in the 10th frame to seal the game and the series.
There was only one word Savage could come up with to describe Saturday’s disappointing finish: heartbreak.
Despite the senior day victory on Sunday, the Bruins know they wasted an opportunity on Saturday.
“It’s bittersweet,” said senior catcher Gino Aielli, who recorded three hits in his final home game. “Letting Saturday’s game slip away and letting the series slip away is real tough.”
The Bruins look to bounce back tonight against the top-ranked Anteaters (40-12) at Anteater Ballpark where UC Irvine is 20-4 this season. The teams split the previous two meetings, with UCLA winning the latest.
“We did prove that (UC Irvine) is beatable,” Decker said. “We can beat them. We can hang with just about anybody. We just need to get out of our own way.”
Despite losing the series to the Titans, the Bruins feel that they have an opportunity to secure a regional berth with an impressive showing during the last week of the regular season.
“We still don’t think the season is over with,” Savage said. “We believe that if we can play well over the next four games, we’ve got to be on the board. I think our resume is strong enough.”
Decker had similar sentiments.
“The way we see it, we’re not out of this thing yet,” he said.
The strength of the Bruins’ remaining opponents ““ No. 1 UC Irvine and No. 3 Arizona State ““ is the main reason why they still have a chance to make a case for themselves.
“It’s a push,” Aielli said. “We know we’ve got to take care of business this last week. Even if we do, it’s still pretty up in the air whether we make the postseason or not.”
Savage is confident that a successful week against such highly ranked teams, especially this late in the season, would show the selection committee that the Bruins deserve a bid.
“I like the way we’re going about it,” Savage said. “If we do something against that schedule, the committee is going to see that and say, “˜Hey, that team deserves to be in.’ … When you’re talking about having the best 64 teams in there, we’re certainly one of them.”