In a game marred by wildness from both pitching staffs, UCLA baseball fell 8-7 to Washington on Saturday to even up the teams’ series at one win apiece.
The Bruins (15-17, 6-8 Pac-12) surrendered a 6-1 lead, falling behind for good when the Huskies (18-12, 8-6) scored three runs on five walks in the seventh inning.
UCLA jumped ahead in the third inning, erasing an early 1-0 deficit by pushing across six runs thanks to four walks and two hit-by-pitches, as well as a pair of run-scoring doubles from junior third baseman Luke Persico and senior shortstop Trent Chatterton.
Junior Bruin starter Grant Dyer (1-2, 7.09 ERA) quickly gave back three runs in the bottom of the inning on a home run from Huskie catcher Joey Morgan, and the teams added a run each in the fourth to put the score at 7-5 UCLA.
That mark would hold until the seventh, when redshirt junior righty Tucker Forbes (1-1, 7.59) entered for UCLA and issued free passes to four of the six batters he faced. Sophomore right-hander Jake Bird (1-3, 5.13) then took over and surrendered the third bases-loaded walk of the inning to give Washington the one-run lead.
The Bruins threatened to tie it in the eighth against the Huskies’ dominant closer, Troy Rallings (3-1, 0.67), when redshirt senior Christoph Bono reached on a hit-by-pitch and stole second with just one out. Rallings settled down, though, escaping the inning with a fly-out and a strikeout.
Rallings set UCLA down in order in the ninth to seal the victory for Washington and tie up the series heading into Sunday’s contest.
Persico went 3-for-5 in the loss with three runs batted in.
Freshman righty Kyle Molnar will take the mound for UCLA on Sunday. The Huskies, who have not yet announced a Sunday starter, will be seeking their first series victory over the Bruins since 2005.
