UCLA Baseball Drops Series to Berkeley with 4-2 Loss; Seeks to Avoid Sweep Today
UCLA Baseball Drops Series to Berkeley with 4-2 Loss; Seeks to Avoid Sweep Today
The Bruins only scored two runs for the second game in a row.
The UCLA baseball team (31-18, 14-12) dropped the penultimate home game of the season yesterday afternoon, falling 4-2 to the UC Berkeley Golden Bears (28-23, 14-12). The loss dropped UCLA into a sixth place tie in the Pac-12 standings with those same Golden Bears. Both teams are 14-12 in conference play.
Predicted to win the conference at the beginning of the season, that is now an impossibility for the Bruins, who are playing to try to keep a #2 seed in a region somewhere other than Westwood for the NCAA Tournament.
The Golden Bears, who have postseason aspirations, will push for the series sweep today. In the last game of the season at Jackie Robinson Stadium, on Senior Day, UCLA will try to salvage a win. First pitch is at 1 pm PT.
Last Time Out
Yesterday, although both teams put runners on base in each of the first three frames, neither team could plate a run and it was scoreless after three innings. That changed in the fourth.
After UCLA starter Sean Mullen escaped a bases-loaded jam in the top half of the inning, Mikey Perez singled with one out in the bottom of the fourth. After Jake Moberg struck out swinging, freshman center fielder Jon Jon Vaughns hit a two-run homer to right to put UCLA up, 2-0.
UC Berkeley would hit back harder in the top of the fifth, scoring all four of the team’s runs. Mullen allowed a one out single, followed by a walk, leading Head Coach John Savage to pull him after 4-1/3 innings. Daniel Colwell came in and walked the one batter he faced, loading the bases. In came Kyle Mora, who recorded the second out. But Mora then surrendered a bases-clearing double, followed by an RBI single, and Berkeley led 4-2, in what would be the final score.
UCLA put runners on first and second with no outs in the bottom of the fifth, but could not cash in. Neither team would really threaten for the final four innings of the game. Colwell, who faced one batter and walked him, took the loss for the Bruins.
The Bruins need a win today. They’ll send junior righty Jessie Bergin (4-3, 4.76 ERA), who has been inconsistent, to the hill to help UCLA avoid the sweep. UC Berkeley, looking for a series sweep over a postseason-bound UCLA to boost its own postseason hopes, will counter with junior righthander Grant Holman (1-2, 3.00 ERA).
#18 UCLA Baseball (31-18, 14-12)
Opponent: UC Berkeley Golden Bears (28-23, 14-12)
Game Time: 1:00 pm PT, Saturday, May 23, 2021
Where: Jackie Robinson Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
Live TV/Audio: uclabruins.com with Tim Wilhelm
Live Stream: Pac-12.com and the Pac-12 Now app
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 three open thread.
Go Bruins!!
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