The weather forecast for next week in Omaha, Neb. calls for thunderstorms that could potentially delay the College World Series.
UCLA probably won’t mind having to stay a little longer.
The Bruins (48-14) officially punched their ticket to Omaha on Sunday night, getting a masterful performance from starting pitcher Rob Rasmussen in defeating Cal State Fullerton 8-1 to win Game 3 of the Los Angeles Super Regionals. It will be the first trip to the College World Series for UCLA since 1997.
“We needed to do this as a program,” UCLA coach John Savage said. “Cal State Fullerton was a tremendous challenge, and we got them. Now it’s on to Omaha, and we look forward to the challenge next week.”
Rasmussen was the story of the game for the Bruins. The junior left-hander ““ who has started on Sundays the entire season ““ pitched a complete game gem, giving up just two hits and striking out nine. Fullerton junior shortstop Christian Colon singled in the first at-bat of the game and came around to score, but that was virtually it for the Titans (46-18).
“You can’t say enough about how (Rasmussen) pitched,” Savage said. “He made (the first inning) a quiet inning, and then just had complete control the rest of the evening.”
A costly miscue by Fullerton senior centerfielder Joey Siddons turned the momentum in UCLA’s favor in the third. With two outs in the inning, Siddons dropped a ball hit off the bat of sophomore Tyler Rahmatulla that allowed two runs to score and gave the Bruins a 3-1 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
UCLA tacked on two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh before freshman centerfielder Beau Amaral all but sealed the deal with a two-run homer to right in the bottom of the eighth.
“After last night was kind of a tough game for both sides, whoever went out and there and threw the first punch was probably going to come out on top,” Amaral said. “Being able to score runs late in the game really helped us finish it off.”
It was only fitting that the Bruins had to go through the Titans in order to get to Omaha, as Cal State Fullerton has long been UCLA’s postseason nemesis. But now it’s full steam ahead for the Bruins, who will meet Florida in the opening game of the College World Series sometime next weekend.
“Every person that signs up wants to go to Omaha,” Rasmussen said. “It’s very special.”