UCLA Baseball Heads Up the Coast to Play Pepperdine
UCLA Baseball Heads Up the Coast to Play Pepperdine
The Bruins continued their offense explosion on Sunday when they beat Utah, 9-2.
This afternoon, the UCLA baseball team will look to extend its winning streak to six games when they head out to Malibu to face the Pepperdine Waves. UCLA won their fifth in a row on Sunday when they completed their sweep of Utah, 9-2. Today’s first pitch is set for 3 pm PT and the game will be livestreamed.
Last Time Out
The Bruins got another solid pitching performance on Sunday. UCLA starter Jesse Bergin threw six innings and allowed just two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out nine. From there, the bullpen took over and held the Utes to just one hit and one walk.
Meanwhile, the offensive explosion continued.
Kevin Kendall led off the game for UCLA with a double down the left field line and Kyle Cuellar singled to move Kendall to third. Kendall then scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt McLain. Cuellar later scored on an RBI single by Josh Hahn to give the Bruins a quick 2-0 lead.
In the second, Kyle Karros hit a one-out triple and he scored on a groundout by Kendall. That would end up being the winning run and the Bruins added a pair of insurance runs in the third which made it 5-0.
Utah got those two runs back in the fourth on a bases loaded walk and a sacrifice fly, but UCLA tacked on another breadstick in the fifth on a lead-off homer by Matt McLain.
The Bruins were able to add a couple more insurance runs in the sixth and Hahn led off the seventh with a homer to right center to give UCLA a 9-2 win.
Pepperdine Waves
UCLA last played Pepperdine on March 5 with the Bruins doubling up the Waves, 16-8. Though they were scheduled to play again on March 30, that game was cancelled due to COVID.
Since the team last met, the Waves have played well. They’ve gone 10-6. Comparitively, UCLA has gone 15-8 since the teams met last.
Both of today’s starters have struggled. Nick Nastrini (2-2, 5.40 ERA) will take the hill for the Bruins while freshman righthander Dylan Schwartz (1-0, 6.23 ERA) will get the start for Pepperdine. Both starters have struggled and allowed a lot of runs. So, I think this one could go either way.
But the Bruin bullpen was stellar on Sunday. So, I think it will come down to which bullpen can keep the opponent off the board. I’ve got UCLA, 8-3.
#25 UCLA Baseball (21-11, 9-6)
Opponent: Pepperdine Waves (12-13)
Game Time: 3:00 pm PT, Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Where: Eddy D. Field Stadium, Malibu, CA
Live TV: None
Live Audio: uclabruins.com with Tim Wilhelm
Live Stream: WCCSports.com
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Probable Pitchers:
UCLA - Nick Nastrini, RHP, Jr. (2-2, 5.40 ERA)
PEPP - Dylan Schwartz, RHP, Fr. (1-0, 6.23 ERA)
Game Notes:
This is your UCLA baseball at Pepperdine Waves midweek open thread.
Go Bruins!
Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.