Bruins Travel for Three-Game Set at Washington State

May 6, 2021

Michael Townsend (photo: Ross Turteltaub)

No. 25 UCLA (24-15, 12-9 Pac-12) at Washington State (22-17, 9-12)
Friday, May 7, 2021 - 6:05 p.m. PT
Saturday, May 8,, 2021 - 2:05 p.m. PT
Sunday, May 9, 2021 - 1:05 p.m. PT
Location: Pullman, Wash (Bailey-Brayton Field)
Stream: Pac-12 Now App / Pac-12.com
Live Stats

UCLA Heads North for Three-Game Series at Washington State
This weekend, No. 25 UCLA (25-14, 12-9) heads north for a three-game Pac-12 set at Washington State, starting on Friday night at 6:05 p.m. and followed by a Saturday contest starting at 2:05 p.m. and a Sunday finale at 1:05 p.m. All three games of the series will be streamed by WSU, and can be accessed on Pac-12.com/live or on the Pac-12 Now app. Fans can also follow along with live stats at UCLAlivestats.com and live updates from the team Twitter account, @UCLABaseball.

UCLA Outdoor Home Sporting Events Open to Team Guests
In compliance with state and county public health guidance, UCLA outdoor home sporting events will be open to a limited number of team guests. Seating at these events will be limited in order to comply with updated state public health guidance for higher education and college athletics that has been adopted by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, as well as city, county and campus COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Tickets will not be available to the general public, and non-ticketed guests should not come to the competition venues. UCLA's campus remains closed to the general public.

Projected Pitching Matchups
Friday, May 7 - 6:05 p.m. PT
UCLA - Zach Pettway, RHP, Sr. (1-3, 3.71 ERA)
WSU - Brandon White, RHP, Jr. (5-3, 5.26 ERA)
Saturday, May 8 - 2:05 p.m. PT
UCLA - Sean Mullen, RHP, Jr. (8-1, 2.45 ERA)
WSU - Zane Mills, RHP, Jr. (5-3, 3.51 ERA)
Sunday, May 9 - 1:05 p.m. PT
UCLA - Jesse Bergin, RHP, Jr. (4-3, 3.86 ERA)
WSU - TBA

The Week In Review
UCLA is coming off a series win over Oregon State, winning the first two of a three-game set at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

The Bruins opened the series with a dramatic 6-5 comeback win in Friday's series opener, scoring four runs in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extras before winning it in the bottom of the tenth on a bases-loaded balk. Down to its last strike, UCLA got a bases-clearing double from pinch-hitter Jack Filby to tie the game at 5-5 in the ninth. The Bruins went on to load the bases on a single and two walks in the 10th, and won it when OSU pitcher Jack Washburn flinched while coming set before his first pitch to Daylen Reyes for a game-ending balk.
UCLA has three walk-offs this year and all have been finished off without a swing (four-pitch walk, four-pitch walk, balk)
UCLA clinched the series with a 2-0 shutout win on Saturday. Sean Mullen led the way with 5 1/3 scoreless, and four Bruin relievers combined to hold OSU off the board for the final 3 2/3 innings. Mullen had only one clean inning, a 1-2-3 first, but made big pitches to strand runners on base the rest of the afternoon. The Bruin 'pen gave up just two singles over the remainder of the game. Matt McLain scored both runs for UCLA, doubling and stealing three bases. Max Rajcic got the final four outs of the game to earn his third save of the year.
The Bruins allowed three unearned runs in the first and never made up the deficit in a 5-3 Sunday loss to the Beavers. UCLA pitchers allowed just one earned on the afternoon. JT Schwartz and Kyle Karros both homered to keep the Bruins within striking distance, and UCLA ultimately got the tying run into scoring position in the bottom of the ninth but couldn't come up with a game-tying hit.
Last weekend marked UCLA's second straight series win over Oregon State, coming on the heels of three consecutive series wins for the Beavers.

Going the Extra Step
The Bruins played three consecutive extra-inning games from Apr. 24-30, a first for the program since Apr. 15-21, 2017. UCLA had no extra-inning games on the ledger for the season prior to that stretch. The Bruins are 2-1 in extra-innings games so far in 2021.

Keeping it Close
The Bruins have been playing plenty of close games of late, with their last seven in a row being decided by two runs or fewer. That streak is the program's longest since Mar. 11-25, 1995, and is tied for the second-longest in school history behind a nine-game streak of two-run games from Mar. 30-Apr. 13, 1962. UCLA also had streaks of seven consecutive two-run games during the 1970 and 1989 seasons.

The All-Time Series Against Washington State
UCLA is 59-24 all-time against Washington State, including a 32-13 mark under head coach John Savage. The Bruins have won seven consecutive games against the Cougars, have swept four of the last five weekend sets against WSU, and have dropped just one head-to-head series since 2010 (2017 at WSU). Under Savage, the Bruins have recorded a 15-9 overall mark in Pullman, winning five of their eight series at Bailey-Brayton Field.

Last Time Out Against the Cougars
The Bruins swept a three-game set in Pullman in the last matchup between the two schools (May 10-12, 2019), outscoring their opponents 29-12. The Bruins posted a solid 6-2 win in the opener, routed WSU 10-0 on Saturday to win the series, and outlasted the hosts 13-10 in Sunday's finale for the sweep. Among Bruins still on the roster, Matt McLain (4-11, three HRs, six RBIs) and Noah Cardenas (3-9) had big weekends the last time out against WSU, while Kyle Mora (2 IP), Daniel Colwell (1 IP), and Michael Townsend (1 IP) were all unscored upon out of the bullpen.

In This Week's Polls
UCLA appeared in four of five major national polls on Monday, ranking as high as No. 16 (Collegiate Baseball) and remaining in the NCBWA Poll (No. 23). The Bruins re-appeared in both the D1Baseball (No. 25) and USA TODAY Coaches Poll (No. 25) after a multi-week absence (two for Coaches, three for D1).