The Bruins went headlong into conference action, unable to string together enough scoring chances to overcome the Trojans’ offensive performance.
UCLA baseball (9-5 0-1 Pac-12) started Friday’s rivalry game with USC baseball (10-2 1-0 Pac-12) and scored a run with Coach John Savage’s patented phrase “Bruin Baseball” – a mix of productive at-bats and runners pushed forward – but an explosive second inning by the Trojans created a comfortable advantage and helped the Bruins’ crosstown opponents win 7-2.
“Pac-12 is playing, every game is going to be a tough game,” said sophomore pitcher Jake Brooks. “There are no easy games and the coach [Savage] has already pointed this out. I just think we’ll have to come back to that tomorrow, it’s going to be another dogfight.”
Graduated outfielder Kenny Oyama helped the Bruins to a one-point lead early on.
Oyama went for the lead at the bottom of first and stole second base on the next batter. With two outs in the frame, Ethan Gourson, the freshman’s second baseman, had a chance to score Oyama from second place – and did – by lifting a smooth line drive just inside the field line and leaving the Bruins 1-0 brought into the lead.
Despite a small pad on the mound, Brooks struggled in the next half. The right-hander allowed a single and a hit per pitch to start the frame, and the hits kept coming in as the inning continued.
USC capitalized with runners. Trojans receiver Garret Guillemette fired a two-foot throw from Brooks up the mound into midfield and scored the second runner to level the game. Seconds later, USC first baseman Nick Lopez elevated an RBI sack fly to left field and the Trojans took a 2-1 lead.
Brooks managed to put up two outs and was about to bounce off the mound and back into the dugout on a manageable score, but let a fastball over the plate and Tyler Lozano, the Trojans-designated hitter, hit a home run with two runs, the ball just dodging the top of the right field wall.
After the tumultuous second inning, Brooks hit back – pitched five scoreless innings and conceded just one hit. Overall, the Friday Bruins starter threw 7.0 frames, four hits, four runs earned, one walk and four strikeouts.
Friday’s start was a stark contrast to last week’s game against Baylor, in which Brooks played a full game despite the loss.
“I thought he was pretty good,” Savage said. “Every time you pitch seven innings and give up six zeros, you’re doing a really good job … He fought, he fought, he pitched. He clearly wasn’t razor sharp, but he was good enough to keep us in the game.”
Suddenly, the Bruins were 4-1 down and seemed to have no answer to USC starting pitcher Jaden Agassi’s arsenal – he was unable to land a hit in 11 straight second-fourths.
At the helm of fifth, sophomore midfielder Carson Yates bucked that trend, hitting a batted base squarely in the middle. Yates was removed from the base paths and picked first, but started a rally that limited the Trojans’ lead.
Sophomore right fielder JonJon Vaughns walked and redshirt sophomore receiver Tommy Beres hit through the hole at 4-3, creating a first and third situation for Oyama.
The 5ft 4in LMU transfer ended in a brief but onside action that put Vaughns in third place and reduced the gap to two.
Junior left-hander Jake Saum, rookie right-hander Luke Jewett and rookie left-hander Ethan Flanagan dove into the opener at the top of eighth to work together in a bid to thwart the Trojans.
The trio couldn’t, however, with a two-from brace in two runs and restoring USC’s two-point lead. At the top of ninth place, the Trojans extended their lead to another run on an RBI singles – to 7:2.
UCLA scratched two runs at home on first baseman Jake Palmer’s two-RBI single in the bottom part of the ninth, but the Bruins couldn’t tack anymore and missed three runs.
Coming to the plate with two runners and two outs, Gourson ripped up a pitch near a tied home run, but the ball went faulty on the right field line.
However, on Friday against USC, the left-handed freshman hitter failed to repeat his magic like he did with a home run against CSUN in February. Gourson came out and the Trojans took the win.
“It’s always a situation you want to be in,” Gourson said. “I wouldn’t want anyone in it but me. It’s a situation you always consider [and] think about growing up. You want those hard hits, you want the pressure. I would have preferred a different result, but that’s what I want.”
Offensively, Vaughns went 0-0 on home plate and pulled off a rare four-walk performance. The two-sport athlete had three or more walks for the second time this season, including the first on Feb. 26 against UC Riverside when he hit first base three times.
UCLA returns for Game 2 of the series against the Trojans on Saturday, the game starts at 5 p.m.
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