One down, two men on and the opposing team calls to the bullpen.
The Bruins found themselves in that position twice Saturday and could not scratch a run across either time. The Golden Bears only needed one of such opportunities to come out on top.
No. 18 UCLA baseball (31-18, 14-12 Pac-12) lost 4-2 to California (28-23, 14-12) in game two of the set at Jackie Robinson Stadium, dropping its final home series of the season in the process following Friday’s blowout loss. Despite taking an early lead, situational hitting doomed the Bruins, as they were 2-for-16 with runners on base compared to the Bears’ 6-for-21 mark.
“That can fall into that bucket of guys trying to do too much,” said coach John Savage. “All of a sudden you pop up or you roll over a ground ball, you don’t get the job done. They have to use the field and have a better approach.”
UCLA survived Cal’s threats early on, mostly through limiting the running game and big hits. Junior catcher Noah Cardenas caught men stealing in the first and fourth innings, and even though Cal put nine runners on base through four, none of them reached via an extra-base hit.
Junior right-hander Sean Mullen made it through four innings unscathed, despite only picking up one strikeout. Savage said the righty didn’t have his best stuff Saturday, and Mullen said the pressure is still on him to succeed regardless.
“You make pitches when you need to – that’s all it comes down to, that’s all it ever is,” Mullen said. “When guys get on base, you have to be an even better pitcher than when they’re not on base, so you just compete with what you have.”
Both the Bruins’ shutout and the Bears’ inability to hit for extra bases ended the next inning when Savage decided to turn to his bullpen.
Mullen got the hook in the fifth after walking one batter and giving up a single to the next. Although Mullen escaped a bases-loaded jam the previous inning, UCLA did not achieve the same success in the fifth once junior left-hander Daniel Colwell walked the one man he faced to load the bases up yet again.
Savage called on redshirt senior right-hander Kyle Mora to take care of business, less than a week removed from his six-week injury hiatus. After Mora forced a fly out to center, Cal shortstop Keshawn Ogans laced a double to left center that cleared the bases of all three inherited runners, and Ogans scored on a single the next at-bat to make it 4-2 for the Bears.
“If you look back at the earlier part of the inning – the walk, the single, the four-pitch walk – that’s really the problem,” Savage said. “That’s where the core of the inning happened. … You can’t do that in that situation.”
The Bruins had a chance to inflict similar damage in the bottom half of both of the following frames but failed to cash in on either opportunity.
Cal starter Sean Sullivan allowed the first two men he faced to get aboard, starting with a double to left by sophomore right fielder Michael Curialle. But instead of allowing a four-run frame following a mound visit and eventual pitching change, the Bears shut down the Bruins with a pop out and ground out to preserve their lead.
The same fate awaited UCLA in the sixth after junior shortstop Mikey Perez and junior third baseman Jake Moberg opened the inning with a hit-by-pitch and a walk, respectively. A failed bunt attempt by freshman center fielder JonJon Vaughns and a double play one at-bat later meant another scoreless frame for the home team.
“We were just short,” Savage said. “We’ve got to come back out tomorrow as a team and try to survive the weekend.”
The same bottom third of the lineup that failed to plate a run in the sixth produced the Bruins’ only two runs of the day back in the fourth.
Perez fouled off six pitches in a 10-pitch at-bat that ended with a single that dropped into center field. Vaughns took advantage of the man on base and put UCLA up 2-0 with a missile deep to right off the roof of the batting cages for his fourth home run of the season.
As was the case after his homer last Sunday against UC Santa Barbara, Vaughns took his time leaving the batter’s box. The freshman said he was just enjoying himself while he could, both for personal achievement and putting his team ahead early.
“Just enjoying myself, living it up,” Vaughns said. “Just having fun.”
Vaughns finished the day 1-for-3 with a walk, but struck out swinging to lead off the ninth. The top of the Bruins’ lineup failed to string together a rally to save face, sealing the game and the series loss.
UCLA played without its two OPS leaders Saturday – junior shortstop Matt McLain has been out with a fractured thumb and redshirt sophomore first baseman JT Schwartz with a shoulder injury – and will be without the duo again Sunday when it will need a win to avoid getting swept for the first time since May 2018.
