Bruins Finish Off ASU Sweep With 16-5 Sunday Win
LOS ANGELES – No. 13 UCLA plated nine runs in the first inning and never looked back in a 16-5 victory over Arizona State on Sunday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
The result finished off a weekend sweep for the Bruins (30-13, 14-7 Pac-12), who outscored the Sun Devils (20-25, 9-12) by a margin of 42-12 over three games.
The decision also got the Bruins to the 30-win plateau for the fifth season in a row and 13th time overall under head coach John Savage.
UCLA produced all the offense it would need in the bottom of the first, scoring nine runs before recording an out.
Freshman shortstop and leadoff man Cody Schrier set the tone for the rally, winning a 3-2 battle by lining a single into the right-center field gap. After an errant pickoff throw put him at third base, he opened the game's scoring after coming in on a Jake Palmer ground ball.
A walk to Ethan Gourson and a solid base hit from Kyle Karros loaded the bases, and the hit parade continued unabated from there. Michael Curialle brought in a run with a long single off the outfield wall, Darius Perry brought in another with a sharp base hit to left, and Daylen Reyes drove in a pair with a double into the left-center gap.
ASU starter Boyd Vander Kooi would depart the game after walking the next batter to load the bases, but sophomore center fielder Carson Yates greeted his successor by hammering the first pitch he saw over the wall in left field for a grand slam.
B1 | GRAND SLAM CARSON YATES!
The Bruins now lead this one 9-0, and there are still no outs here in the first.
📲 | https://t.co/Ofp0GAOEct#GoBruins | @Carsonyates16 pic.twitter.com/adNPcMVnrB
— UCLA Baseball (@UCLABaseball) May 1, 2022
The slam – Yates's second this season, with both coming in the first inning – made it 9-0 and meant that UCLA got through its entire lineup without making an out.
The Bruins ultimately produced 16 hits on the game, with every starter finishing with at least one. Schrier (3-6, three RBIs) and Curialle (3-5, three RBIs) co-led the squad with three hits, while Yates (2-3), Reyes (2-4), and Karros (2-5) all had multi-hit performances.
Schrier figured into each of UCLA's three run-scoring innings, bouncing an RBI single up the middle as part of a three-run fifth and ripping a two-run double to left in the eighth. The latter knock capped the game's scoring.
UCLA's bullpen combined to throw five scoreless innings.
Freshman righty James Hepp made his NCAA debut in the contest, pitching the fifth inning and allowing just a single. He ended up receiving the win, the first of his career.
Junior lefty Josh Hahn followed with a 1-2-3 sixth in his debut pitching appearance of the season.
Freshman right-hander Luke Jewett then pitched the final three innings of the game, giving up just two hits while earning his first career save.
ASU was led by third baseman Nate Baez (3-4), who hit a three-run home run in the third inning.
UCLA plays its next five games on the road, starting on Tuesday night at Long Beach State.