Kyle Molnar had pitched well – six strong innings of two-run ball – but he exited Sunday’s game on the hook for the loss.
The freshman right-hander’s teammates quickly took care of that, plating five runs in the bottom of the sixth to set up Molnar for his first collegiate win in No. 20 UCLA’s 6-3 series-clinching victory over Texas.
Molnar watched from the dugout as UCLA (8-7), down 2-0 after five shutout frames by Texas starter Connor Mayes, sent 10 men to the plate and faced four different pitchers in the sixth.
A leadoff single from junior left fielder Brett Stephens quickly chased Mayes from the game, and the Bruins proceeded to string together two walks and four more hits before making an out.
“That was pretty exciting, getting hit after hit,” Molnar said. “Attacking, attacking, attacking – we just ran down those pitchers.”
Coach John Savage then handed the ball to his bullpen.
Redshirt freshman Nathan Hadley held the Longhorns scoreless in the top of the seventh, and the Bruins added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning thanks to a double from junior third baseman Luke Persico and an RBI single by sophomore first baseman Sean Bouchard.
Hadley got into trouble in the top of the eighth, giving up back-to-back singles with one out. Freshman closer Brian Gadsby entered and allowed one of the inherited runners to score before getting a strikeout and a ground out to escape with a 6-3 lead.
Just as he did Saturday, Gadsby made things interesting in the ninth. He threw nine balls in his first 14 pitches of the inning, walking two and letting the Longhorns load the bases with one out.
Then he locked in, finding the zone with six of his final seven pitches. The young closer notched a three-pitch strikeout and forced a game-ending fly-out to wriggle out of a tight spot for the second day in a row.
“He makes pitches when he has to,” Savage said of Gadsby. “A freshman could have melted last night, could have melted today – and he didn’t.”
Texas coach Augie Garrido told the opposite story about the Longhorn hitters.
“We got right to the edge of success and then over-competed and did not produce quality at-bats in key situations,” Garrido said. “We’re a young team, an inexperienced team and I think it showed up.”
The Bruins are young and inexperienced, too, but their underclassmen are increasingly finding their way. Gadsby has cemented himself as the closer, and Molnar has settled in as a reliable Sunday starter.
“I’m just very proud of (Molnar’s) work,” Savage said. “Whenever you get six innings on Sunday, or five innings on Sunday, what he’s doing – we’ll take (that) any time. And he’s going to grow into more than that.”
Early in the season, Molnar had trouble with command of his low-90s fastball and leaned heavily on his mid-80s changeup, which has drawn raves for its downward action.
Against North Carolina in his first collegiate start, the highly touted freshman used the devastating change to pile up six strikeouts – but the lack of precision with his fastball allowed the Tar Heels to tag him for five runs.
Molnar has found more confidence in the fastball in his past couple of starts, challenging hitters with the pitch on both edges of the plate and aligning with the philosophy that has brought UCLA pitchers success during Savage’s tenure.
“We’re going after people with the fastball – that’s our style, really,” Savage said. “We want to get him into our brand, our style, our mold – and I think he’s starting to do that.”
Molnar hasn’t struck out as many batters lately – he has just eight punch-outs over his last 14 innings – but he’s induced weaker contact and given his team’s improving defense a chance to make plays behind him.
The Bruins made only one error in the series victory over the Longhorns, marking the second weekend in a row they’ve committed just a single miscue.
They’ve now won three straight weekend series heading into conference play, which begins Friday with a three-game home series against Washington State.