Something changed in the seventh inning for Gerrit Cole.
A frozen rope to right field that nearly missed the gap was the precursor of a four-run inning to help the Georgia Bulldogs defeat the Bruins at Jackie Robinson Stadium 6-2 Friday.
The fact that the ball was even hit into fair territory was a shock for most fans and scouts in attendance, the scouts nearly outnumbering the fans. The UCLA junior pitcher was, in a word, perfect for six and a third innings, just as he was for six and two thirds innings a week ago at Nebraska.
Two hits, one error and one three-run home run later, Cole was out of the seventh inning and Georgia (6-8) had a four-run lead over the No. 13 Bruins (7-5) that it would never relinquish.
“You can’t really draw it up any better than six perfect innings but it’s kind of bittersweet when you lose,” Cole said. “They put some good passes on the ball. They made some adjustments and got the ball in some gaps. What are you going to do?”
Equally impressive was the performance of Georgia sophomore pitcher Alex Wood. The only run Wood surrendered was a solo home run from UCLA senior right fielder Chris Giovinazzo.
UCLA hitting coach Rick Vanderhook thought his team made strides at the plate, considering that the Bruins had one more hit than the Bulldogs.
“I actually think we made some progress tonight,” Vanderhook said. “Last week, we chased all kinds of breaking balls down and we laid off those tonight.”
Trailing 6-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, it looked as though the Bruins were going to stage a rally. Hits from junior second baseman Tyler Rahmatulla and junior infielder Dean Espy followed by two walks forced a Georgia pitching change with no outs and the bases loaded.
But after a Giovinazzo strikeout, sophomore catcher Tyler Heineman hit into a double play to end the game.
“Unfortunately, when we needed it the most, I didn’t come through,” said Giovinazzo, who went two-for-four at the plate. “That’s the toughest part. I kind of look past the earlier at bats. That last one’s still in my mind. It’s frustrating but I saw the ball well today.”
UCLA will have to beat St. Mary’s and USC in consecutive games Saturday and Sunday to avoid its third straight weekend series loss.
“We’re looking forward to tomorrow,” Giovinazzo said. “We’ve got a good feeling rolling in to tomorrow especially after that last inning. We feel like we had momentum.”