The No. 1 UCLA baseball beat their crosstown rival No. 12 USC Trojans 12-4 to open up the three-game series at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday.
The Bruins were set up for a ranked matchup against USC and their batters awoke in the eighth to give the Trojans no chance of an upset. UCLA’s batting crew tagged 14 hits, 10 RBI’s and 12 runs to blow past the Trojans on their quest to sweep all their Big Ten Conference series.
Rough start
UCLA started off the first inning with a run, but USC answered back with a two-run homer in the top of the second to put the Bruins behind the eight ball.
Turning the tide
The Bruins hit a homer of their own to tie the game up in the bottom of the third after the Trojans went scoreless in the top of the inning. The Trojans struggles persisted in the top of the fourth and UCLA took the momentum and ran with it as they put up two more runs in three hits. USC limited the damage and got their third out with the bases loaded to only be behind 4-2.
Unable to separate
The Bruins let the Trojans stay in the game with two scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth. USC used UCLA’s offensive struggles to tie the game up 4-4 with a score in the fifth and a homer to center field in the sixth.
Regaining the lead
In the top of the seventh, the Trojans went three-up, three-down and UCLA reclaimed the lead with another run off a double. UCLA entered the final two innings up 5-4.
Taking the win
UCLA took over the eighth with seven runs from five hits and three errors to put the game out of reach for USC as their hope of an upset came to an end with no hits in the ninth inning.
The Bruins will have another chance to pounce on the Trojans for their second game of the series on Saturday with an anticipated start time of 2 p.m. PT.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: No. 1 UCLA baseball pile on the runs against No. 12 USC Trojans
Reporting by Ryan Lorenz, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
