In a game marred by wildness from both pitching staffs, UCLA baseball fell 8-7 to Washington on Saturday to even up the teams’ series at one win apiece.

The Bruins (15-17, 6-8 Pac-12) surrendered a 6-1 lead, falling behind for good when the Huskies (18-12, 8-6) scored three runs on five walks in the seventh inning.

UCLA jumped ahead in the third inning, erasing an early 1-0 deficit by pushing across six runs thanks to four walks and two hit-by-pitches, as well as a pair of run-scoring doubles from junior third baseman Luke Persico and senior shortstop Trent Chatterton.

Junior Bruin starter Grant Dyer (1-2, 7.09 ERA) quickly gave back three runs in the bottom of the inning on a home run from Huskie catcher Joey Morgan, and the teams added a run each in the fourth to put the score at 7-5 UCLA.

That mark would hold until the seventh, when redshirt junior righty Tucker Forbes (1-1, 7.59) entered for UCLA and issued free passes to four of the six batters he faced. Sophomore right-hander Jake Bird (1-3, 5.13) then took over and surrendered the third bases-loaded walk of the inning to give Washington the one-run lead.

The Bruins threatened to tie it in the eighth against the Huskies’ dominant closer, Troy Rallings (3-1, 0.67), when redshirt senior Christoph Bono reached on a hit-by-pitch and stole second with just one out. Rallings settled down, though, escaping the inning with a fly-out and a strikeout.

Rallings set UCLA down in order in the ninth to seal the victory for Washington and tie up the series heading into Sunday’s contest.

Persico went 3-for-5 in the loss with three runs batted in.

Freshman righty Kyle Molnar will take the mound for UCLA on Sunday. The Huskies, who have not yet announced a Sunday starter, will be seeking their first series victory over the Bruins since 2005.

Published by Matt Cummings

Matt Cummings is a senior staff writer covering UCLA football and men's basketball. In the past, he has covered baseball, cross country, women's volleyball and men's tennis. He served as an assistant sports editor in 2015-2016. Follow him on Twitter @MattCummingsDB.

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