UCLA Looks to Bounce Back Against UC Berkeley

The California Golden Bears beat the UCLA Bruins baseball team last night at Jackie Robinson Stadium, 2-0. The Bears (23-11; 10-6 PAC 12) scored both of their runs in the sixth inning, one on a solo home run by Lucas Erceg (the Bears average exactly one home run per game), and one on an RBI single by Nick Halamandaris.

The Bruins (26-8; 12-4 in PAC 12) had their chances on offense late, stranding two runners in the seventh inning, two runners in the eighth inning, and one runner in the ninth inning. UCLA had the same amount of hits as Cal—seven—but could not convert those hits into runs. Cal turned three rally-killing double plays to assist their cause. The bottom four batters of UCLA’s lineup struggled, collectively going 2 for 12 on the night.

Berkeley's Daulton Jefferies recorded the win, pitching 6 and 2/3 innings, surrendering seven hits, and no runs. UCLA’s James Kaprielian was the hard luck loser, pitching six innings, scattering six hits, surrendering two runs (one earned), and striking out eleven. This is the second loss in three outings in which Kap simply has not received run support from the UCLA offense, the other of which occurred at home two weeks ago against Oregon State.

Let’s hope that the Bruins bounce back, like they did against Oregon State, to take games two and three of the series. The Golden Bears, on the other hand, will seek the series win this afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium. UCLA will start senior, Grant Watson (5-3; 2.24 ERA), the Bruins’ all-time winningest left-handed pitcher. UC Berkeley will send junior right-hander, Ryan Mason (4-1, 2.93 ERA) to the hill.

First pitch is at 4 p.m. PT. It should be a beautiful day for baseball, with high temperatures reaching 80° and a slight wind out of the west. If you can, come out to JRS to support the Bruins. The game is also televised on the PAC 12 Network. James Ramey and Tim Wilhelm will be calling the game via online audio stream. You can also follow live statistics here.

If the Bruins want to continue their streak of series wins this season, they will need to beat the Golden Bears this afternoon to force a rubber match tomorrow. The game is also important for the Bruins to maintain their ½ game lead in the PAC 12 over the Arizona State Sun Devils, who were idle yesterday, but begin a three-game series against the Washington Huskies in Seattle tonight.

This is your UCLA vs. Cal Game Two open thread. Go Bruins!!