(Photo Courtesy of Eric Hurd/UCLA Athletics)
UCLA Baseball Strands Runners Late, Suffers Upset Loss to UC Irvine
Making slick plays at shortstop, smacking base hits and affecting the game on the basepaths, Cody Schrier did it all Tuesday night, but it wasn’t enough to lift the Bruins to a victory.
The freshman showcased his tools for No. 13 UCLA baseball (27-13, 11-7 Pac-12) and helped keep the score close against UC Irvine (23-15, 9-6 Big West), but his solo efforts were insufficient as the Bruins still fell 4-2.
In the third inning with a runner on third, the 6-foot-1 infielder made a backhanded stop and threw a bullet to first to stop the Anteaters from scoring. Tied 1-1 in the fifth, Schrier laced a double down the left field line, helping UCLA take a 2-1 lead.
Schrier finished the night 2-for-5, although his 10th multi-hit performance in his last 12 appearances didn’t help the Bruins hold onto the lead longer than half an inning.
UC Irvine left fielder Justin Torres smacked a two-run single straight up the middle to score runners from second and third, pushing Irvine back ahead 3-2 in the sixth. After falling behind, the Bruins could not recover to come out victorious in the Southern California midweek clash.
Redshirt sophomore right-hander Kelly Austin — who has pitched in several roles for the Bruins in 2022 — toed the bump against the Anteaters on Tuesday. The former JuCo product tossed three innings of one-run ball, with coach John Savage limiting his workload to keep him available for the upcoming weekend series against Arizona State.
In Austin’s first frame on the mound, the Westwood lights failed to phase the visitors as two base hits helped scratch across a run on an RBI groundout by Irvine infielder Dub Gleed.
UCLA loaded the bases in the second, but could not knot the score at one as sophomore center fielder JonJon Vaughns struck out swinging to end the frame. However, in the bottom of the third, the Bruins were able to tie the game.
A swiftly executed hit-and-run from freshman second baseman Ethan Gourson placed the lefty slugger on first and allowed graduate first baseman Jake Palmer to advance to third.
Their infield partner — sophomore third baseman Kyle Karros — followed up Gourson's knock with what seemed to be a three-run home run to dead center, but a leaping catch by Anteaters’ center fielder Caden Kendle brought the ball back from over the wall.
However, the acrobatic play allowed Palmer to cross home and tie the score, even if it kept the Bruins from taking a two-run advantage.
UC Irvine’s offensive outburst in the top of the sixth pushed the Anteaters ahead for good. Despite graduate left fielder Kenny Oyama, Palmer and junior catcher Darius Perry reaching third in the seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively, UCLA could not scratch a runner across to score.
A ninth inning solo home run from Kendle gave UC Irvine a late insurance run and practically finalized the upset victory for the Big West squad.
Perry, Schrier and Palmer loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth after the first baseman was hit by a pitch, but Anteaters’ closer Troy Taylor was able to seal the deal by inducing Gourson into a game-ending groundout.
After Austin was removed from the game in the fourth, sophomore righty Charles Harrison, junior lefty Daniel Colwell and freshman right-hander Luke Jewett threw at least an inning each, with the first two hurling 2.0 and 2.2 innings, respectively.
Both teams matched one another with seven hits, while UCLA was errorless compared to UC Irvine’s one miscue.
The Bruins will return to action on Friday to host a three-game weekend series against Arizona State. First pitch at Jackie Robinson Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday.
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