Bruins Beat ORU, 12-2, For School-Record 15th Straight Win
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Mar 20, 2010 7:46 PM PDT
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It took UCLA a while to get going in today's game, but it sure hasn't taken them long to get going this season. The Bruins didn't break a 1-1 deadlock until the sixth inning, but nine runs in the inning carried the Bruins to a 12-2 victory over Oral Roberts at Jackie Robinson Stadium. With the win, the Bruins improved to 15-0 on the season and those 15 straight wins breaks the school-record for consecutive wins set in 1969 when that team won 14 in a row.
Trevor Bauer was nails on the mound for UCLA, tossing eight innings and allowing just one run on five hits while striking out nine to improve his record to 4-0 on the year. The sophomore's win continues his personal undefeated run as a starter as he improves to 11-0 in his collegiate career.
It was two freshmen who stepped in after long spells on the bench that led the Bruins at the plate. Trevor Brown got just his second start of the year in place of Steve Rodriguez and he took full advantage of it, going 2-5 with three runs and RBI in the contest. Jeff Gelalich got the first start of his career versus the Golden Eagles in place of Brett Krill and he too performed well, going 3-3 with a run and a RBI. Blair Dunlap and Dean Espy each chipped in with a pair of RBI and Cody Keefer scored twice. Dunlap also extended his hit streak to ten games with a pair of hits.
After their eighth scoreless first inning in 15 games, the Bruins got on the board in the second. With Brown on second and two out, Gelalich hit a slow chopper up the middle. The Oral Roberts shortstop collected it and threw to first, but not in time to get the speedy Gelalich. Brown took off from second base on contact and never slowed down, rounding third and coming around to score for the game's first run.
The Golden Eagle evened the game up just a half inning later when a walk got a man on base. A sacrifice bunt moved him to second and a wild pitch advanced him to third before scoring on a simple ground out. That left Bauer visibly upset as he walked off the mound at the end of the inning and as evidenced by his pitching the rest of the way, that anger was properly channeled.
Despite getting several runners on base, the Bruins struggled to knock any in and going into the bottom of the sixth, the game was still tied at one apiece.
In the sixth, Brown got things going with a lead off double down the left field line and Gelalich singled to put runners on the corners. A passed ball plated Brown and moved Gelalich to second, then Niko Gallego reached on a bunt singled. Dunlap followed with a single and Gelalich scored to make it a 3-1 ballgame before Beau Amaral was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Tyler Rahmatula singled to score one more run and then Justin Uribe struck out for the inning's first out.
Things got interesting after that. With the bases still loaded and UCLA leading 4-1, Keefer got ahead in the count, 3-1, but then hit a sharp grounder to short for what appeared to be a 6-4-3 double play. It was not so because just before the pitch, the third base umpire called a balk so instead of getting out of the inning down 4-1, Oral Roberts was down 5-1 and two men were still on with one out. Keefer proceeded to walk and Espy doubled to score two. The inning's scoring was capped when Brown came to the plate again and singled, scoring two more for a 10-1 scoreline.
Cody Regis, who came in for Espy after the sixth inning, added to the lead in the seventh with a RBI double before a passed ball scored another run to put UCLA ahead, 12-1.
The Golden Eagles added one more run in the ninth off of Brandon Lodge, but the game was well in hand and the Bruins were not only 12-2 winners, but 15 game winners.
The series comes to an end tomorrow at Jackie Robinson Stadium when the Bruins and Golden Eagles square off at 1 pm PST. Rob Rasmussen will bring a 1-0 record and 2.79 ERA into the contest as the Bruins' starter for the series finale.
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Wow
Our baseball team is playing great! Go Bruins!!!!
Biggest crowd of the year
Announced as 1,022, actual crowd around 800 if the multiple youth groups that brought in dozens for free count.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Mar 20, 2010 9:33 PM PDT reply actions
Sunday's Game
Would love to catch tomorrow’s game, but I think it requires crossing the L.A. Marathon path at exactly the wrong times, so we may end up being there only in spirit.
Forgot to mention the LA Marathon issue
The marathon will cause issues getting in and the Constitution entrance off of Sepulveda will be the only entrance open. It won’t be too hard to get in though.
From the south, take the 405 N and exit at Montana. Make a right off the freeway and a right on Constitution. You’ll be at the stadium then without issue.
From the north, take the 405 S and exit Sunset. Make a left onto Church, a left onto Montana and a right on Sepulveda. A right onto Constitution and you’re there.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Mar 21, 2010 12:38 AM PDT up reply actions
How does Jackie Robinson Stadium Compare?
Is it on par with $C’s Deadaux Field? Is there enough land around it to build a new multisports complex if they renovated?
Dedeaux Field is far superior to JRS
Their capacity is 2,500 to our 1,000 seated and 200-300 on the hills/standing.
They have plenty of concession room and a large restroom, our concessions can’t handle a 1,000 person crowd and our restrooms are tiny.
They have a field that drains well and plays well, ours was poorly installed and puddles.
They have a beautiful video board, we have a small scoreboard.
They have a good sized press box, ours is cramped and barely has room for press.
They have a hall of fame for their baseball program that you walk into from the concourse and we have one hidden away in the clubhouse building.
They have a very nice clubhouse and coaches office, ours are not at their level.
The one thing we’re comparable in is hitting facilities. They have video cameras and other high tech equipment in theirs, but ours is bigger and more versatile.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Mar 21, 2010 12:35 AM PDT up reply actions
The good news is JRS isn’t the worst stadium in the Pac-10. The bad news is it’s probably the 2nd worst.
Hmmmm, let's think
Cal’s is far and away the worst. I don’t think they even pretend to care about the baseball program up there.
After that, it depends how you want to measure it. Washington is probably second-worst right now, but they’re in the midst of some renovations that will jump them up past us. The other competitors towards the bottom is Washington St., who has a larger capacity and some things that are better. From a fan perspective, I think Wazzu has us beat, but from a player’s perspective, I think we’re ahead of them thanks to our hitting facility. So, once Washington’s renovations are done we’re battling Wazzu for second/third to last in the conference.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Mar 21, 2010 12:29 AM PDT up reply actions
Reasons why I prefer UCLA
1. JRS sits at the base of a small hill surrounded by trees. At Dedeaux you look out at tennis courts and parking structure eight.
2. At UCLA there is a grass hill where your child or children can spread out and not annoy the scout next to them. USC has no such hill.
3. At UCLA you can park on flat gound right next to the stadium. At USC you usually end up stuck in some parking structure.
The main advantage for USC is in terms of capacity. However, for a crowd of 1022 like yesterday JRS is just fine. I had no problems getting food or using the restroom yesterday. If you don’t want to wait in line to get food, bring some sandwiches into JRS. They don’t prohibit you from bringing in your own food. Presumably If the team continues to play like they did this season, more fans will attend, more people will donate to the program, and there will be more money to increase the capacity of the stadium.
I don’t really care about a video board. As long as I can see the score, the number of outs and the balls and strikes that is all that I need.
As a fan the size of the press box or the clubhouse does not really concern me. If I want to go to a baseball hall of fame I will go to Cooperstown.
I am sure for a regional the NCAA prefers Dedeaux field since more seats equals more money which is all they care about. As an individual fan (and I will admit I am biased on this issue) I would much rather go to JRS.
If you go to Tropicana field in Tampa it has more capacity than Wrigley Field, the dugouts and the clubhouse are bigger than Wrigley Field, and unlike Wrigley Field you don’t have to worry about drainage because Tropicana Field is in a dome. However, most baseball fans would agree that Wrigley Field is one of the best places in Major League Baseball to watch a game, and Tropicana is one of the worst. From my perspective the quality of a baseball stadium is not determined by the number of seats/
The setting and parking are better at UCLA, no doubt
The grass hills are going to be taken out soon anyways so that isn’t something that JRS will have over Dedeaux for long.
The capacity issue is a giant one. While USC would be handed a Regional if they are remotely deserving, we have to be very deserving to be able to host. That’s not fair to our team. Also, if we host a Regional this year, how are you going to feel when there are only 400 individual seats available for Bruins and the rest are stuck standing or sitting in small temporary bleachers? Capacity is a major deal and there’s a reason why its the #1 thing on Coach Savage’s list of things to do to the stadium.
You may not care about the videoboard, but it helps a lot of people get the names for everyone at the plate and their stats. Is the guy coming to the plate any good? Who the hell is the guy at the plate? How about the guy pitching. All things a videoboard helps with.
As a fan, I would think that you would be interested in reading about the Bruins. I know members of the media who have gone to Fullerton or Irvine or USC or San Diego St. for a game one night instead of JRS because the working conditions at JRS suck. As a result, that writer is going to write about the game he was at and not the Bruins. The clubhouse is a major selling point for recruits too and I would think that you want to watch the best UCLA team possible.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Mar 21, 2010 10:57 AM PDT up reply actions
Before I go to JRS today I will print out the stats for both teams which is much better than getting ithe stats off of a videoboard. One thing UCLA could do (which they used to) is put complete statss in their program. Having a hard copy is much better than any videoboard, unless you have one like the one the Cleveland Indians have, but I don’t think any college team is going to be able to afford that. I certainly don’t remember USC’s scoreboard as being so informative that it increased the enjoyment I had watching the game.
As far as reading about the Bruins the only place that I can read about the Bruins is the UCLA website and your blog (thank you for that). I assume that the UCLA website and Bruin Nation are not going to start covering other teams just because the press bos sucks. Since the Times and all the other local papers do not carry information about any local college baseball teams unless they reach the CWS I will assume that a better press box would not help on that front. Maybe I am naive, I would think professional reporters would go to where the best stories are anyway not where the best press box is.
I agree that as far as hosting regionals the capacity of the stadium is an issue that will need to be addressed, especially if Savage and Vanderhook can continue to put together teams like the one they have this year.
However, if you are talking about just going to a regular season game I think that you sell JRS short when you say its the second worst in the conference. It is a beautiful setting to watch a baseball game, You can always add seats. You can’t add natural beauty.
By the way if you think JRS lacks amenities you should have seen the old Sawtelle field. As I recall it had a tiny wooden press box, and some portable bleachers for stands like you would find at a bad high school field. I don’t even remember them having a concession stand.
Anyway. speaking of JRS I have to get going to get over there early
because of the Marathon. ..
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