Bruins Crush Utes, 13-3; Get Brooms Ready for a Sweep
UCLA exploded for 13 runs yesterday against Utah. Today, they will look to sweep the series.
Yesterday, I wrote that John Savage needs to recruit a placekicker. Sure enough, the Bruins missed another extra point yesterday when they crushed the Utes, 13-3. Today, UCLA goes for the sweep when they play Utah at 1:00 pm PT. Today’s game will be livestreamed again.
Last Time Out
UCLA starter Sean Mullen threw 5-1/3 innings and allowed one run on three hits and a walk. He struck out seven.
For the third game in a row, the big story was the Bruin offense.
With one out in the bottom of the second, Mikey Perez doubled to left. Noah Cardenas was next and he did the same thing, scoring Perez. After Kyle Cuellar ground out to move Cardenas to third, Cardenas scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-0.
Kevin Kendall led off the third inning with an infield hit. He scored on a two-out single by JT Schwarz and the Bruins led 3-0 after three.
Kendall continued his tear on the Utah pitching staff when he hit his third homer in two days in the fifth inning. The solo shot gave UCLA a 4-0 lead. While that would prove to be the game-winner in this one, the Bruins weren’t close to being done yet.
After the Utes scored in the top of the sixth, the Bruins loaded the bases on a pair of singles by Perez and Cardenas along with a walk by Cuellar. That set the table for Michael Curialle who hit a three-run triple to right-center. Kyle Karros’ RBI single brought Curialle in and Kendall’s single gave UCLA runners on first and second with still no outs.
That’s when John Savage went for the jugular. He sent Josh Hahn to pinch-hit for Pat Caulfield and it was clearly the right move because Hahn put the ball over the right field fence for a three-run homer, giving UCLA an 11-1 lead.
Utah did manage to score a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, but it wasn’t close to being enough considering that UCLA got those runs back in the bottom of the eighth.
Max Rajcic went three-up, three-down in the ninth to end this one with a 13-3 Bruin victory.
Today, Jesse Bergin (3-2, 4.50 ERA) takes the hill looking to complete the sweep of the Utes. He will be up against sophomore David Watson (2-4, 4.73 ERA) who gets the start for Utah. Given the ERAs of both starters, it could be another offensive explosion today, which could mean that both bullpens may get a workout. Should that happen, it should be another Bruin win because I trust UCLA’s bullpen to keep Utah from scoring much. Hopefully, the Bruin bats stay as hot as they’ve been since Tuesday.
#25 UCLA Baseball (20-11, 8-6)
Opponent:Â Utah Utes (8-20, 4-10)
Game Time:Â 1:00 pm PT, Sunday, April 18, 2021
Where:Â Jackie Robinson Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
Live TV:Â None
Live Audio:Â uclabruins.com with Tim Wilhelm
Live Stream: Pac-12.com and the Pac-12 Now app
Live Stats:Â UCLA StatBroadcast
Probable Pitchers:
UCLA -Â Jesse Bergin, RHP, Jr. (3-2, 4.50 ERA)
UTAH - David Watson, RHP, RSo. (2-4, 4.73 ERA)
Weekend Notes:
This is your UCLA baseball vs. Utah Utes game two open thread.
Go Bruins!
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