No. 6 Arizona State outscored the UCLA baseball team 32-18 and
outhit the Bruins 48-29 in three games this weekend.
But UCLA (19-24, 5-7 Pac-10) shocked the No. 4 Sun Devils (38-9,
7-5) twice, pulling out one-run wins Thursday and Friday for a very
successful trip to Tempe, winning 2 of 3.
That the Bruins won on the road against one of the
nation’s best teams was surprising enough, but they also did
so coming off of a seven-game losing streak.
Thursday featured UCLA roughing up No. 1 starter Erik Averill
who came in 7-0, but gave up five runs in two and two-thirds
innings for a no-decision. His brother, Brandon, is the
Bruins’ third baseman; and, in what was no doubt an
entertaining at-bat for the family, Erik hit Brandon with a pitch
in their only match-up. Senior Christian Lewis then tripled to
drive home Averill and Ryan McCarthy.
Sophomore Wes Whisler and McCarthy had two-run homers, and
sophomore Bryan Beck pitched four innings allowing a lone run for
the victory in the 9-8 win. Sophomore Chris Jensen scored the
winning run on a wild pitch, capping a tie-breaking two-run ninth
inning rally. Ironically, it was a wild pitch that felled the
Bruins in the ninth last Friday against USC.
Friday was an even more dramatic win, as sophomore Billy Susdorf
hit a two-out, two-run double in the top of the 13th, which was
enough to hold off a one-run Sun Devil rally in the bottom half of
the inning.
Susdorf had three hits, including a home run, and junior Preston
Griffin homered. Senior Doug Silva, who pitched six effective
innings of relief and only gave up two runs, picked up the win.
Saturday, it seemed Arizona State let out all of its
frustrations from the first two games, as the team erupted for a
17-1 victory.