UCLA Clinches WSU Series With 10-1 Win
LOS ANGELES – No. 22 UCLA used an early burst of offense to record a series-clinching 10-1 win over Washington State on Saturday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
The Bruins (32-18, 16-10 Pac-12) went through the lineup twice over the first two innings of the game, and built a 10-0 lead by the end of the third. WSU, which had won six in a row entering the weekend, dropped to 23-25, 9-17.
Four separate batters collected multiple hits for UCLA. Standout efforts in particular came from sophomore third baseman Kyle Karros (1-2, two walks, four RBIs) and graduate left fielder Kenny Oyama (3-4, three RBIs).
Fresh off a four-run first inning in Friday's series opener, the Bruins followed a similar script on Saturday by posting a five-spot in the opening frame. All five runs came with two outs.
Karros had the biggest swing of the rally, crushing a 1-0 offering and keeping it inside the left-field foul pole for a three-run home run. UCLA continued to rally after that, taking advantage of a WSU error to bring in additional runs on RBI singles from junior catcher Darius Perry and Oyama.
B1 | Kiss this one goodbye! It is LONG gone 🚀
UCLA 3, Washington State 0
📺 | Pac-12 Los Angeles
📲 | https://t.co/GRVDBDmV7w#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/7P9eQ1x6Zu— UCLA Baseball (@UCLABaseball) May 14, 2022
The Bruins kept up the offensive pressure their next time up, rallying for a four-spot. The first three batters of that frame reached, which allowed Karros to knock in another run with a sac fly to right. Junior DH Josh Hahn followed that up with an RBI single back up the middle, and Oyama later brought in a pair with a bases-loaded single through the right side of the infield.
Freshman second baseman Ethan Gourson (3-4, RBI) got the Bruins into double figures in the run column with an RBI double in the third.
On the other side of the ball, UCLA's pitching combined to limit the Cougars to one run on seven hits.
Freshman lefty Ethan Flanagan drew the start and tossed four scoreless, matching a career-high for innings. He pitched around three hits and a pair of walks to hold WSU off the board.
The bullpen trio of Charles Harrison, Luke Jewett, and Jack Filby combined to throw five innings of one-run ball the rest of the way.
Filby, making just his fourth pitching appearance of the year and first since Apr. 5, closed it out by inducing soft contact from three consecutive batters for a 1-2-3 ninth.
Kodie Kolden (2-5) and Jack Smith (3-4) had a bit of success for WSU in the top-two spots in the order, but the rest of the lineup combined to go just 2-24.
UCLA wraps up the series, and its home schedule, on Sunday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. on Pac-12 Los Angeles. The Bruins will honor their five senior/graduate players in a pre-game ceremony.