Coming off a 5-3 victory in game one of the series Friday night, Oregon baseball defeated the UCLA Bruins by a score of 3-2 on Saturday.
Cullen Kafka started on the mound for the Ducks. The right-handed pitcher diced the Bruins from the get-go, remaining clean and retiring UCLA’s first three batters.
Kafka put UCLA’s JT Schwartz on with a walk to start the second. Schwartz stole second on the next at-bat, and was brought home on a double from designated hitter Josh Hahn. But the Bruins didn’t let up, as right fielder Michael Curialle hit a line drive single up the middle to score Hahn and make it 2-0.
After back-to-back fly outs in the bottom of the inning, Gabe Matthews drilled a line drive double through the gap, breathing life into an Oregon lineup that had yet to make solid contact on the day. But UCLA put an end to the Ducks’ momentum, striking out Sam Novitske to end the inning and hold a 2-0 lead.
Grant walked to start the bottom of the third and was followed with a base hit to left field from Tanner Smith. Grant advanced to third on the opposite field shot and Hall added a walk to load the bases for the Ducks.
Yovan hit a sacrifice fly to left while Grant slid home, getting the Ducks on the board. The Ducks trailed 2-1 with runners on first and second as cleanup hitter Aaron Zavala stepped into the batter’s box. Zavala hit a line drive double to right field, scoring Smith and knotting the score at two apiece.
A mishandled one-hopper led to an infield single to start the fourth for UCLA, but Oregon held strong. Scanlon picked off his second baserunner of the day, catching Curialle at second. Kafka added a strikeout and forced a groundout to escape the inning unscathed.
Matthews flew out to begin the bottom of the inning, followed by a walk from Novitske. Scanlon made Mullen work for it, but finally went down on a tipped third strike. Grant struck out swinging to round out the inning and the score remained tied at two.
After a walk to lead off the bottom of the fifth, UCLA’s Mullen left the mound and in came fellow right-hander Charles Harrison. Hall gave Harrison a scare right away, hitting a deep fly to the warning track, but UCLA’s Kevin Kendall was able to make the grab. Harrison retired Yovan to finish the Oregon at bat.
UCLA’s Matt McLain walked to start the sixth and Nico Tallache took over on the mound. Tellache struck out his first batter on a full count and third baseman Novitske came up with an across-the-body grab on an infield line drive to tally the second out of the inning. Scanlon popped out of his stance, catching his third runner of the day at second to end the inning in style.
Zavala found his way to first on an infield single and Kasevich followed suit with a hard-hit grounder to third. With two runners on, Matthews flew out and Zavala overslid third base in an effort to advance, but was tagged out at the bag. Novitske flew out to end the sixth, and the board read two apiece heading into the seventh.
Scanlon grounded out to first to start the bottom of the seventh, but Grant singled to left thereafter. Smith doubled to the deep left corner but advanced to third on the cutoff throw. Grant was caught sliding and tagged out at home.
The new UCLA pitcher Adrian Chaidez walked his first batter, giving the Ducks a second baserunner with the go-ahead run on third, but they were left stranded as Yovan popped out to end the inning.
UCLA’s Kyle Karros singled to get the Bruins going in the eighth and Kendall popped out to follow. The Bruins got their second base runner with a walk from Kyle Cuellar and Andrew Mosiello came in to relieve Tellache. But UCLA’s McLain flew out and Schwartz grounded out to first, leaving the runners stranded.
Mosiello hit the first batter of the ninth, who later advanced to third base on a double from Jack Filby. With runners on second and third, UCLA’s Cardenas hit a shallow grounder and advanced to second on a fielder’s choice while Kasevich made the scoop and threw to Scanlon to tag the runner out at home.
With the go-ahead run still on third and two outs on the board, Mosiello mowed down Karros to avoid any damage and remain tied at two.
“That feeling there was definitely awesome, getting out of the jam there in a big situation,” Mosiello said.
Warding off a Ducks walk-off victory, UCLA held strong, stymying the Oregon batters on two groundouts and a solo fly out.
In the tenth, Kasevich ran down a foul pop fly for the first out, crashing into the fence in the process to the elation of fans and the Oregon dugout alike. Closer Kolby Somers struck out the next batter, and a groundout to third marked the end of the inning
Yovan broke an 0-for-4 dry spell on a grounder through the second base gap. Taking an aggressive lead, UCLA’s Cardenas attempted to catch Yovan’s pinch runner, Boettcher off the bag, but the ball squeaked behind the first baseman and Boettcher advanced to second. The Bruins intentionally walked Zavala, putting two on for the Ducks.
Kasevich followed with a grounder to short, leading to an attempted double play. The Bruins covered the bag, tagging out Zavala, but Kasevich made it to first in time.
With runners on first and third, the Bruins elected yet again to walk Matthews rather than roll the dice.
With loaded bags, Novitske stepped into the batter’s box. On a 2-0 count, he ripped a single through the third base gap, scoring the game-winning run and clinching the series for the Ducks.
“It was just a heck of an inning though,” Novitske said. “Just all of the at bats in that inning to get me into that situation. It really speaks a lot of our team.”
The Ducks will look to finish out the series sweep over the Bruins at noon on Sunday in PK Park.
“This is cool for now, but I don’t think we’re done,” Mosiello said. “We’ve got to finish the job tomorrow and come out with the sweep.”
