OSU 9 UCLA 8
By Jeff Agase
Daily Bruin Staff
The Bruins found themselves in unfamiliar territory by the
bottom of the ninth Sunday.
UCLA (18-24, 4-5 Pac-10) won its first series in five weeks
after battling from behind in a spirit-lifting Sunday afternoon
rubber match with a 9-7 victory over Oregon State.
Long since accustomed to and largely fed up with late-inning
losses, the Bruins served one up themselves against the Beavers,
who fell to 24-14 overall and 4-5 in conference.
“We’ve been completely drained to the point where we
don’t have anything left to drain,” UCLA head coach
Gary Adams said. “That’s why I thought it’s not
gonna happen to us ““ were not gonna let it happen to
us.”
Behind 6-3 in the top of the eighth and without their best pure
hitter Ben Francisco, who broke his collarbone, the Bruins loaded
up the bases against usually reliable Jared Sanders, the
Pac-10’s saves leader. Sanders alternated between walking and
hitting Bruin batters, and the Beavers’ mishandling of senior
Ryan Rasmussen’s ground ball with the bases loaded and one
out prevented an inning-ending double play and gave the Bruins a
7-6 lead.
UCLA 6 OSU 1
UCLA added a pair of runs in the ninth off a Jake Postlewait
wild pitch that on any other team would be considered
“insurance” runs. But on the hard-luck Bruins,
especially as the two Beavers took base in the bottom of the ninth,
it appeared the extra runs might only delay the inevitable.
But oft-hit reliever Kevin Jerkens kept his cool in the bottom
of the ninth, sky-high ERA and all. Jerkens allowed a single run
off a sacrifice fly and got another fly ball to put away OSU and
win the Bruins’ first series since a two-games-to-one win
over Tulane in early March.
“I felt good about things in the ninth because we were up
by three, and three is definitely better than two or one as it
usually has been,” Rasmussen said.
UCLA 9 OSU 7
The Bruins got themselves in a position to win the series when
freshman do-everything player Wes Whisler pitched his first career
complete game on Saturday for a 6-1 UCLA victory.
Whisler allowed just four hits and a single run while going the
distance, and the guys behind him were just as perfect. UCLA did
not strike out or commit a single error, and redshirt junior Warren
Trott stepped in for the injured Casey Janssen to go 2-for-4 with a
pair of RBI’s.
“My pitch count was down at only 112 for nine
innings,” said Whisler, who has allowed just four earned runs
in 22.1 conference innings against strong competition.
“I’ve been maturing, for one,” explained Whisler.
“And two, in conference you have to step up.”
Rasmussen tallied his second straight two-hit game in the
win.
The Bruins dropped Friday afternoon’s game 9-8 after
scoring a run in the ninth to get within one, but for the first
time in what seemed like an eternity, a one-run loss didn’t
sum up a painful weekend.
“Today’s win broke a paradigm for us and let us know
that yes, we can in fact win on Friday. And yes, we can win a
series,” Rasmussen said.
Janssen suffered a knee strain and will undergo an MRI this
week. Francisco will be out four to six weeks while his collarbone
heals.
“I’d love to have them in there, but nonetheless,
the show goes on,” Adams said.
Indeed, it does go on, as UCLA hosts Cal State Fullerton Tuesday
at 6 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Titans (27-12) are ranked
15th in the nation and coming off a sweep of UCSB. Sophomore
outfielder Shane Costa is batting .401 with 27 RBI’s and has
started all 39 games for Fullerton.
The teams split their two meetings last season, with Fullerton
winning 11-10 in a six-hour, 14 inning affair and UCLA pulling a
9-3 upset three weeks later.