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What do you do for an encore after beating your crosstown rivals 16-1 in the opening game of a three-game series? You beat them 19-2 in game 2, of course!
That’s what happened yesterday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium when the Bruins and Trojans met again. The big win gives UCLA another series win. Today, the Bruins will look for a weekend sweep when they meet for the final time in the regular season.
Kevin Kendall got the Bruins on the board in the bottom of the first with a solo home run. Chase Strumpf followed Kendall with a single to right. He would later score on a Daniel Amaral single that gave UCLA a 2-0 lead.
Southern Cal responded when Zach Pettway gave up a solo homer to Ben Ramirez in the top of the second.
The Bruins tacked on three more runs in the third. After Strumpf walked to lead off the inning, Amaral tripled to right center to score Strumpf. That would end up being the game-winning RBI for the Bruins, but they weren’t even close to being done offensively. Garrett Mitchell’s single scored Amaral and Will McInerny eventually drove Mitchell in to make it 5-1, Bruins.
The Trojans scored their second run of the game in the top of the fourth, but UCLA got that run back in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Michael Toglia that scored Kendall and it was 6-2, UCLA.
The biggest rally of the day for the Bruins came in the fifth when UCLA sent 10 batters to the plate and scored 6 runs. The rally was capped by a three-run homer to left by Toglia. That gave the Bruins a 12-2 lead.
UCLA had another big inning in the seventh when they scored four more times. The big hit of this inning was a double by Amaral that scored two runs. It also gave Amaral a single, a double and a triple for the game. Unfortunately, a cycle wasn’t in the cards for him as he just wasn’t able to add a homer to his day, but the Bruins finished the inning with the scoreboard reading 16-2.
Toglia wasn’t done either. He hit a three-run homer in the eighth to make it 19-2 and that was the way it ended.
When he was done, it was a banner day for Toglia. He finished up the day going three for four while scoring three runs and having seven RBIs.
It was another solid start for Zach Pettway, who gave up two earned runs and six hits in 61⁄3 innings for his sixth win of the season. He struck out four and walked just one.
After 35 runs in two games, can the Bruins win again today to complete the sweep? And, assuming they can, will it be another double-digit win? I’m setting today’s over-under for the Bruins at 15.
This is your UCLA Bruins vs. Southern Cal Trojans game three open thread.
Go Bruins!!! Sweep SC!!!