How Oregon baseball's run at a series win vs. No. 1 UCLA turned out
Oregon build a 6-1 lead in the rubber game against No. 1 UCLA but came up short.
Oregon baseball had an opportunity to give its chances of hosting an NCAA regional a significant boost. But top-ranked UCLA mounted a big comeback May 10 to prevent that from happening. The Bruins (46-5, 26-1 Big Ten Conference) erased a five-run deficit with eight straight runs to claim the rubber game and the three-game series 9-6 against the No.
14 Ducks (36-14, 18-9) at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles. Oregon took a 6-1 lead thanks to a five-run fourth inning. In the fourth, the Ducks took advantage of a one-out fielding error followed by a walk with Jack Brooks’ run-scoring single to take a 2-1 lead.
Ryan Cooney then hit a sacrifice fly to score another and Brayden Jaksa smashed a three-run homer run to center field to make it 6-1. UCLA came back with two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh to close within 6-4. Oregon struggled again in the eighth to get defensive outs, and the Bruins capitalized with five runs, including Dean West’s grand slam to cap the scoring.
A back-and-forth series The Bruins took Friday’s series opener 11-1 in seven innings. The Ducks couldn’t do much against UCLA starting pitcher Wylan Moss, who allowed just three hits, a run and two walks with nine strikeouts in seven innings. Jaksa had one hit and scored a run.