Going into the weekend, the UCLA baseball team was already well aware of how potent the Arizona State offense could be. But the Sun Devils provided plenty of extra evidence, slugging 10 home runs over the course of the three-game series.
The Bruins (24-20, 7-8 Pac-10) fell to No. 4 Arizona State (37-8, 12-6 Pac-10) in an important conference series at newly named Steele Field at Jackie Robinson Stadium, winning only one game of the three.
The explosive Arizona State offense lived and died on the home-run ball, hitting four home runs on Friday night to beat UCLA 10-5, then launching another six in an 11-8 win on Sunday. On Saturday the Bruins held the Sun Devils homer-less and salvaged an 8-3 win.
“(The Sun Devils) have big power,” UCLA coach John Savage said. “They have as much power as anyone in the country. You have to keep the ball in ballpark. They came up with some big home runs, and, at the end of the day, that’s what beat us.”
The Bruins had a chance to win the two games they lost. After blowing a 5-0 lead on Friday night, UCLA went into the ninth tied 5-5. In its loss on Sunday, the UCLA offense battled back various times to go into the final inning tied 7-7. But the ball continued to go over the fence for the Sun Devils late in the game, paving the way for Arizona State to win its games in dramatic fashion.
“It was a hard-fought series,” Savage said. “We battled them from pitch to pitch. Our players deserve a lot of credit because we had an opportunity to win the series.”
Friday night’s game looked promising as UCLA jumped out to a 5-0 lead through three innings. But Arizona State stormed back with 10 unanswered runs. The Bruins’ offense, despite third baseman Jermaine Curtis’ 3-for-4 effort, sputtered after starting strong, managing only three base runners after the third inning.
Left-hander Tim Murphy pitched well through seven innings, allowing four runs on eight hits while striking out 10. But Murphy ran into some trouble in the eighth with UCLA leading 5-2. Arizona State outfielder Jason Kipnis hit a two-run home run off Murphy to cut the Bruin lead to 5-4 and chase Murphy from the game.
“They are one of the best offenses in the country,” Curtis said. “We expected that and for them to come out and score a lot of runs.”
After UCLA failed to score in the bottom of the eighth, Kipnis struck again with a two-run home run off junior left-hander Brendan Lafferty in the ninth to put Arizona State up 7-5.
“They’re definitely an unbelievable lineup,” Murphy said. “They have a lot of talent and are one of the best in the country. Bad things will happen if you fall behind them in fastball counts. They’ll definitely hit it and hit it hard.”
The Bruins evened the series in front of 912 fans on Saturday with an 8-3 win in a game that was nationally televised by Fox Sports Net.
After being hospitalized during the week due to sickness, sophomore right-hander Charles Brewer, an Arizona native, earned the victory against his hometown team. Brewer (6-4) secured his team-leading sixth victory by hurling 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and striking out two.
Sophomore left-hander Matt Drummond gave up two hits and three walks but was efficient in his 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up his third save of the season.
With runners on first and third in a 7-7 game in the eighth inning on Sunday, Savage sent Brandon Crawford to the mound. The shortstop-turned-closer struck out a hitter with the bases loaded, then got some help from his defense to get out of the inning with a tag-out at home.
In the bottom of the eighth UCLA loaded the bases but failed to bring any runs across. Arizona State scored four more runs the ninth to go ahead ““ the big blow came when Crawford allowed a crucial home run to catcher Petey Paramore.
“We won (on Saturday),” Curtis said. “On the positive, we gave it our all. We competed and left it all out on the field. If we continue playing like we did this weekend, we’ll be fine.”
NOTES: Former Arizona State baseball player and Major Leaguer Barry Bonds was in attendance to see his alma mater play on Friday night … In a ceremony Saturday evening, the newly installed playing surface was officially named Steele Field at Jackie Robinson Stadium in honor of the donations by the Steele Foundation.