No. 1 UCLA baseball was handed their fourth loss of the season with a 9-6 defeat by Sacramento State in their series finale at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday. It’s a surprising loss for the Bruins but the Hornets proved to be a worthy opponent over the three game series.
Every game of the series was close with the first two games of the series being decided in the late innings. The theme of the series was UCLA’s batters struggling against the Hornet pitching staff, and despite the Bruins garnering 12 hits, they weren’t able to mount a comeback.
Scoring in the second
UCLA got two hits in the first, but they weren’t able to get anyone across the plate. In the bottom of the second, UCLA retrieved their first run of the game with a single sending redshirt junior outfielder Payton Brennan home.
The Hornets nest
Sacramento State responded with a monstrous third, which featured the Hornets’ bats getting hot for the three hits leading to five runs. The highlight was a two-run homer to right center by redshirt junior infielder Jakob Poturnak.
Cutting the distance
UCLA attempted to shorten the Hornets lead with a run off of a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth and a home run by junior shortstop Roch Cholowsky in the fifth. However, the momentum turned back to Sacramento State as they picked up their sixth run in the top of the sixth to extend their lead to 6-3.
Three in the seventh
Sacramento looked to put the game on ice in the with three more runs in the top of the seventh, but Cholowsky and the Bruins weren’t done fighting. In the bottom of the seventh, Cholowsky hit a three-run homer to center field to bring UCLA back within three runs.
No comeback here
The Bruins chance at another comeback in the series was upon them, but this time, they did not answer. UCLA got two hits in the final two innings and with no runners crossing home plate, ending the game with a loss.
UCLA will have a chance to avenge another one of their losses in their next game against UC Santa Barbara at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium in Santa Barbara on Tuesday with an anticipated start time of 4:35 p.m. PT.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Sacramento State hands UCLA baseball their fourth loss of the season
Reporting by Ryan Lorenz, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
