#18 UCLA Baseball Pounds Nevada, 11-3; Hosts UC Berkeley in Final Home Series

After this weekend series against the Golden Bears, the Bruins only have Arizona State left in the regular season, next weekend in the desert.

Junior Kevin Kendall led the Bruins over the Wolfpack on Tuesday, going 3-for-3 with 2 walks, 4 RBI, and 2 runs scored. (Photo Credit: Suzi Mellano/uclabruins.com)

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The UCLA baseball team (31-16, 14-10 Pac-12) outlasted postseason-bound Nevada (21-18, 18-9 Mountain West) on Tuesday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium by the score of 11-3. Despite the non-conference loss to the Bruins, the Wolfpack lead the Mountain West conference and the favorites to earn that conference’s automatic bid barring a collapse against conference cellar-dwellers San Jose State State this weekend. Still, Nevada was no match for the Bruins and have gone winless against Pac-12 competition this season.

The Bruins now turn to this weekend’s series versus UC Berkeley (26-23, 12-12 Pac-12), who could be in the mix for an at-large postseason bid, especially if they finish the season on a high note by winning series against UCLA and Oregon, a tall order to be sure. The Golden Bears should be highly motivated to try to steal a series on the road before returning home to face the Ducks.

Last Time Out

On Tuesday night, UCLA gave Nevada only its second loss in the Wolfpack’s last 13 games.

Both teams started the game with a breadstick in the first inning. The Wolfpack hit a solo home run with one out in the top half of the frame. In the bottom half, the Bruins led off with two singles by Kevin Kendall and Michael Curialle, and hit two ground outs to the right side of the infield to score Kendall. It was 1-1 after one.

UCLA would take the lead with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Jon Jon Vaughns was hit by a pitch with two outs and scored all the way from from first on a double by Mikey Perez. Kendall singled home Perez to make it 3-1, Bruins.

The Bruins would extend their lead in the fourth inning and Kendall was once again right in the thick of it. After the Wolfpack retired the first two Bruins, they issued two free passes to Vaughns and Perez. Kendall came to the plate and laced a triple down the right field line, scoring the two Bruins. Curialle singled home Kendall and UCLA led 6-1.

Nevada would cut the lead to 6-3 in the top of the sixth, but the Bruins put the game out of reach when they plated five runs in bottom of the seventh. The Bruins sent eleven men to the plate and it could have been worse, as UCLA left the bases loaded. The inning was fueled by doubles from JT Schwartz and Noah Cardenas, three Bruins hit by pitches, three walks, one intentional, and a wild pitch. After seven, the score would be 11-3 and it would stay that way.

Neither team would score in the eighth inning. UCLA’s closer, Max Rajcic, would finish the game in a non-save situation, allowing two singles to lead things off, but then retiring three straight batters, two of which were strikeouts.

UCLA’s Jake Brooks earned his second win of the season. That makes two midweek wins in a row for the big freshman.

The hero of the day at the plate was Kevin Kendall. Kendall went 3-3 with two walks, four RBI, and two runs scored.

UC Berkeley Golden Bears

The Golden Bears have been average at the plate and on the mound this season. So, it is no surprise that they are hovering around .500, three games above that mark overall, and right on that mark in conference play. UC Berkeley is hitting .249 as a team and sports a team ERA of 3.93. Neither of those marks are awful, but neither is the mark of a great team.

Offensively, the Bruins need to focus primarily on three players, senior second baseman Darren Baker, sophomore outfielder Dylan Beavers, and senior infielder Quentin Selma.

Baker gets on base, leading the team in average (.327), on-base percentage (.404), and is tied for runs scored with 36. He also likes to steal bases, swiping 26 bases, good for seventh in the nation, while only being caught five times.

Beavers and Selma drive in the runs, with Beavers notching 42 RBI and 14 home runs. Selma is right behind him with 39 runs batted in and 11 dingers.

Each of UC Berkeley’s starting pitchers this weekend has a respectable ERA, but sophomore righthander Josh White has emerged as the Friday starter the last three weeks, the only three games White has started this season. He’ll take the mound this evening against the Bruins.

UCLA will counter with senior Zach Pettway (1-4, 4.45 ERA). It has been a roller coaster season for Pettway after missing his first few starts. He has had stretches of brilliance, but often gives up runs in bunches and was tagged for seven runs in 3-2/3 innings last Friday versus UCSB. He needs a bounce back start in a big way tonight.

#18 UCLA Baseball (31-16, 14-10)

Opponent: UC Berkeley Golden Bears (26-23, 12-12)
Where: Jackie Robinson Stadium, Los Angeles, CA

Media:

Live TV/Audio: uclabruins.com with Tim Wilhelm
Live Stream: Pac-12.com and the Pac-12 Now app

Friday

Game Time: 6:00 pm PT, Friday, May 21, 2021
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast

Probable Pitchers:
UCLA - Zach Pettway, RHP, Sr. (1-4, 4.45 ERA)
UCB - Josh White, RHP, So. (4-2, 1.93 ERA)

Saturday

Game Time: 2:00 pm PT, Saturday, May 22, 2021
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast

Probable Pitchers:
UCLA - Sean Mullen, RHP, Jr. (9-1, 2.77 ERA)
UCB - Sean Sullivan, RHP, Jr. (3-5, 3.57 ERA)

Sunday

Game Time: 1:00 pm PT, Sunday, May 23, 2021
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast

Probable Pitchers:
UCLA - Jesse Bergin, RHP, Jr. (4-3, 4.76 ERA)
UCB - Grant Holman, RHP, Jr. (1-2, 3.00 ERA)

Weekend Notes:

UCLA
UC Berkeley

This is your UCLA baseball vs. UC Berkeley game one open thread.


Go Bruins!