The rally fell just short.
The UCLA baseball team scored three runs over the last three innings, but it wasn’t enough as host Arizona held on for a 6-4 victory Sunday in Tucson, Ariz. in the finale of a three-game series between the two teams.
Despite the loss on Sunday, the No. 5 Bruins (29-7, 7-5 Pac-10) were able to take the series after winning on Friday and Saturday.
UCLA junior starter Rob Rasmussen had his roughest outing of the season on Sunday, giving up eight hits and three earned runs in 3.2 innings before he was chased by the No. 17 Wildcats (28-11, 8-7).
With a 6-1 lead after six innings, Arizona pitchers began doing everything they could to let the Bruins back in the game. After a hit and a pair of walks loaded the bases in the seventh, UCLA was able to score a run on a hit batsman and a wild pitch. The Bruins tacked on an additional run off of closer Nick Cunningham in the ninth.
In winning the initial two games of the series, UCLA got strong starts from sophomores Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer. Although he failed to get the win in a 6-3 game that went 10 innings, Cole pitched eight strong innings, giving up just two runs and striking out 10. Perhaps most importantly for the wild-pitch-prone righthander, he walked none.
Bauer followed suit on Saturday with a near-identical performance. The righthander pitched a complete game, giving up two runs and striking out 13 in UCLA’s series-clinching 6-2 victory.
It was the second consecutive series win on the road for UCLA. The Bruins return home for a Tuesday game with UC Irvine before welcoming in the nation’s top-ranked team, Arizona State, for a three-game tilt in Westwood this weekend.
Compiled by Ryan Eshoff, Bruin Sports senior staff.