The series almost slipped away.
Scott Burke didn’t let it.
Coach John Savage called on the senior closer to record a five-out save in the eighth inning Sunday as UCLA clung to a 5-4 lead against Cal Poly. With a man already on, Burke yielded a single and a walk to load the bases.
But he whiffed the final two batters in the inning with fastballs, escaping the jam unscathed, and then shut the door in the ninth to claim the win.
The victory clinched the series for the Bruins (21-19), who took two of three from the Mustangs (19-23) over the weekend following a 2-1 win Friday and 6-3 loss Saturday.
[Related: Pitcher Griffin Canning leads baseball to windy win over Cal Poly]
“Cal Poly’s a good team,” Savage said. “They are a typical West Coast team. … They have some good wins in the past 12 or 13 games. We had to fight for that series and we did.”
UCLA’s offense responded early on after entering the bottom of the first inning down 1-0.
Freshman designated hitter Kyle Cuellar roped an RBI single up the middle to tie the game. The Bruins then took the lead in the second after senior outfielder Brett Stephens knocked a two-RBI double, followed by an RBI single from freshman outfielder Jeremy Ydens to make it 4-1.
Freshman right fielder Michael Toglia added another run for UCLA in the third on a sacrifice fly.
“We knew (Cal Poly’s pitchers) were going to be good,” Cuellar said. “They have a good bullpen – a good staff. We just had to keep grinding out at-bats, that’s just kind of the way it goes.”
The Mustangs made their move in the middle innings to get back in the game.
After surrendering a run in the first inning, UCLA sophomore starting pitcher Jon Olsen shut down Cal Poly before allowing a pair of solo home runs – one in the fifth, one in the sixth – to cut the lead to 5-3.
Junior Jake Bird relieved Olsen in the sixth and faced immediate danger after hitting a batter on an 0-2 count and allowing a single. The Mustangs tallied a run on a fielder’s choice two hitters later to make it 5-4 before the inning ended.
Bird faced a similar situation in the seventh with runners on first and third, but induced an inning-ending double play to secure the lead once more.
Savage resorted to Burke after Bird allowed a single with one out in the eighth. Burke’s five-out save was the longest of his three saves this season.
“The mentality doesn’t really much change,” Burke said of the prolonged save. “What works for me is I remind myself that it’s just another game, that way I don’t get overcome by pressure or anything like that. It definitely helps you keep it slow.”
Ceja’s shaky outing
Senior Moises Ceja struggled on the mound Saturday and UCLA couldn’t overcome an early deficit, falling to Cal Poly 6-3.
The Mustangs touched Ceja for four runs on four extra-base hits – two of which were home runs – in the first two innings. The right-hander allowed a season-high nine hits in 3 2/3 innings, his shortest outing since his first start March 4.
Stephens sparked a comeback for the Bruins after notching an RBI groundout in the bottom of the third following a walk and a single. After UCLA allowed another run in the top of the fourth, Toglia corked a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning to make it 5-3.
The Bruins had a chance to tie or take the lead in the bottom of the sixth after loading the bases. But sophomore center fielder Daniel Amaral grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.
Cal Poly shut down UCLA’s hitters after the fourth inning, as the Bruins garnered just three singles in their final 20 at-bats.