All night long, the Bruins had been slamming balls over the
fence. Even senior Christian Lewis, who until last night had one
home run to his credit in four years, hit one out.
But despite four home runs, UCLA still found itself down a run
to UC Santa Barbara in the bottom of the ninth, its playoff hopes
hanging on whether or not someone could hit another one out of
Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Freshman Brett McMillan didn’t hit a pitch over the fence,
but he did hit one right off of it, and it turned out that was all
the Bruins needed. Two runs scored off of McMillan’s walk-off
double and the Bruins topped UCSB 8-7 before 271 fans.
“All season long, whether it’s batting practice or
the game, Brett has done the same thing,” UCLA head coach
Gary Adams said. “For a freshman to carry over what
he’s done in batting practice to a crucial situation like
that is just great.”
McMillan began the home run barrage in the bottom of the third
when he hit the first pitch over the right field wall. The next
inning, senior Brandon Averill hit a two-run shot, and the inning
after that, Lewis and sophomore Wes Whisler tacked on another three
runs with their two long balls.
At that point, the Bruins led 6-4 and senior pitcher Mike Kunes
was rolling. He had posted two straight 1-2-3 innings and was
working with speed and confidence, until the Gauchos’ Chris
Malec tagged him for a solo homer in the top of the seventh.
With UCSB within a run, Kunes walked the next batter, saw him
move over on a sacrifice bunt and then score on a single to center.
That tied the score, and a misdirected throw from center fielder
Matt Thayer allowed the runner to advance into scoring
position.
The next batter, Nic Rodriguez, hit a sharp grounder to the left
side, and sophomore Ryan McCarthy was unable to control it. UCSB
took the lead and held on, all the way until McMillan sent Thayer
and pinch runner Sean Carpenter home with his off-the-wall shot to
right.
Sophomore Bryan Beck got the win after throwing
two-and-one-third innings of no-hit ball and capping a
pitcher-by-committee evening where almost every Bruin on staff was
available.
“We would have been pretty down if we had lost
tonight,” said junior Chris Cordeiro, who started the game
and went three innings. “It’s an uphill climb as it
is.”
The win improves UCLA’s record to 23-26. The Bruins must
go 7-3 in their last ten games in order to qualify for NCAA
tournament consideration.
“It’s definitely a playoff-type atmosphere every
time we come out,” McMillan said. “You see guys willing
to play different positions, you see pitchers willing to pitch two
straight days, and it really fires the team up.”