It might not have been their prettiest game, but the Bruins found a way to win once again.
They overcame four lead changes, three errors and two game-changing wild pitches to take down the Trojans and remain perfect in Big Ten conference play.
No. 1 UCLA baseball (28-2, 14-0 Big Ten) narrowly defeated No. 12 USC (27-5, 10-4) 9-8, clinching this year’s series against its crosstown rival. The Bruins matched their program-best 22-game win streak from 2010.
“Good teams win in a lot of different ways,” said coach John Savage. “Wins come in a lot of different shapes. And today, clearly, we didn’t play great defense for the first time in a long time. I thought we were fortunate to win.”
After the Trojans struck first, the Bruins quickly retook the lead in the bottom of the second with a three-spot of their own against Trojan right-hander Grant Govel – who entered the game with a 1.29 ERA.
Freshman designated hitter Dominic Cadiz provided the lead-taking hit – a line-drive double down the left field line – after UCLA opened the inning with three consecutive singles.
The lead was short-lived, as senior right-hander Michael Barnett got into trouble in the third inning. Savage pulled the Bruins’ starter after just 2.1 innings of work – his shortest start in more than a year – during which he gave up seven hits and four earned runs.
Barnett – who has posted a 3.74 ERA this season – has been inconsistent. In five of his starts he has stifled the opposition, tossing at least five innings and allowing no more than one run.
He failed to escape the fourth inning in each of his other three starts – including Saturday – allowing 11 earned runs in just 8.1 innings across the outings.
UCLA’s two-run deficit was narrowed to one when redshirt junior right fielder Payton Brennan smoked a home run over the center field wall, his sixth of the season.
“I’ve been hitting the ball hard, just right at people,” Brennan said. “It can be tough, but just sticking with it and it’s starting to come along.”
Brennan spearheaded the Bruins’ offense Saturday, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs. He has gone a combined 6-for-9 at the plate in two games against the Trojans, raising his batting average from .213 to .248.
The Trojans extended their lead further in the fifth inning against sophomore right-hander Wylan Moss, taking advantage of a leadoff walk and an error to put up a two-spot.
“Clearly not my sharpest,” Moss said. “Three walks on 3-2 (counts), that’s my main takeaway. That’s been one of my weaknesses this year – got to do a better job winning those. Still glad I could put some zeros on the board, give us some length.”
Moss allowed two earned runs and three walks, both season-highs for the hurler. He had not allowed a run across 16 innings pitched entering Saturday.
His effort proved to be enough for the UCLA offense, which exploited the USC bullpen following Govel’s removal.
“I thought Govel made some big pitches when he got behind in the count,” Savage said. “I just thought we battled him. We ran his pitch count up, got into that bullpen. But Govel has been exceptional all season long.”
Brennan capitalized once again for the Bruins, knocking an RBI single into right field to give them an 8-7 lead in the sixth inning, their first lead since the second frame.
After Moss walked two to lead off the eighth, junior right-hander Cal Randall entered the game to try to preserve the Bruins’ narrow lead.
Randall has allowed very few hits this season but has also struggled to command his offerings. He has issued 12 free passes compared to just six hits in 9.2 innings out of the bullpen this season.
Randall’s control issues made an immediate impact, as he spun a slider behind the batter and beyond the reach of junior catcher Cashel Dugger, advancing the USC runners to second and third.
Randall then coaxed an RBI groundout before striking the final Trojan out, limiting the damage to just one run.
“We didn’t pitch very well,” Savage said. “We made some big pitches. Bullpen made some big pitches. Randall made a big 3-2 pitch.”
With the game even once again, junior first baseman Mulivai Levu smoked a one-out double in the bottom of the eighth to put himself into scoring position.
After Levu moved up to third on a groundout, a lengthy Brennan at-bat resulted in Trojan hurler Adam Troy spiking a 3-2 curveball, scoring Levu from third to gift the lead back to the Bruins.
But the Trojans had one more chance.
USC’s Augie Lopez launched the second pitch he saw deep into the left-center gap.
Brennan drifted back and leapt against the 370-foot marker below the scoreboard, snagging Lopez’s potential home run while sealing the game for the Bruins.
UCLA will take on USC tomorrow for the final game of the series at 4 p.m., where it will attempt to clinch its fourth consecutive sweep to begin Big Ten conference play.
“At the end of the day, it was a game we grinded through,” Savage said. “I was proud of our guys for winning a slugfest. And that’s ok. It’s good to get in those types of games sometimes – you have to know how to win those too.”
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