UCLA baseball keeps finding way, edging Sacramento State

The college baseball gods must have decreed there would be drama in this series.

How else does one explain what’s unfolded at Jackie Robinson Stadium over the last two days?

In one dugout resided UCLA, the nation’s top-ranked team that’s gone unbeaten in the Big Ten Conference.

In the other could be found Sacramento State, a sub-.500 team from the Western Athletic Conference.

Apparently the Hornets don’t care about credentials.

One day after nearly upsetting the Bruins, they put another mighty scare into them on their home field.

“It’s college baseball,” UCLA coach John Savage said, alluding to the game’s parity and unpredictability.

The Bruins needed closer Easton Hawk shutting down a big threat, some clutch hitting and another Sacramento State blunder to pull out a 5-3 victory on a cold and rainy Saturday afternoon.

UCLA’s Cashel Dugger scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning after leading off with a single and advancing to third base on Payton Brennan’s double off the center field wall. After Jarrod Hocking popped up to shallow right field, Dugger came home on a wild pitch.

Dean West added a run-scoring single to left-center to make it 5-3 and complete the comeback from an early 2-0 deficit. 

“These types of games, we just know we have to outlast them when things aren’t going our way,” said first baseman Mulivai Levu, who joined Roch Cholowsky and Will Gasparino in hitting solo home runs to account for the balance of UCLA’s offense.

The Bruins (39-3) held on again, one day after they needed a wild ninth-inning rally to beat the Hornets (19-25) in the series opener. That comeback culminated with Roman Martin’s RBI single under the first baseman’s glove before Cholowsky kept running on the play and scored the winning run on an errant throw to home plate.

What it means

Savage said his team continually finding a way to win shouldn’t obscure all the things it needs to do better, including converting offensive opportunities.

The Bruins stranded 11 baserunners Saturday and went 2-for-11 (.182) with runners in scoring position.

“That kind of gets the paint brush out and covers it up from a player perspective but certainly not from a coach perspective,” Savage said of his team’s success in tight games. “From a coach perspective, you’re evaluating and you’re analyzing things and going, ‘We’ve got to play at a higher level.’ ”

Turning point

Sacramento State had tied the score at 3 in the seventh inning after manufacturing a run on a leadoff single, wild pitch, passed ball and sacrifice fly.

It appeared that the Hornets might compound the Bruins’ misery in the eighth. After the first two batters reached on an infield single and a walk, Savage brought in Hawk with one out.

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Smart move.

Facing Jakob Poturnak, who had smashed a two-run homer in the first inning, Hawk struck out the slugger on three pitches. After allowing both runners to move up on a wild pitch, Hawk also struck out Jace Jeremiah to end the threat.

“I threw like four sliders in a row to get that last guy,” Hawk said when asked how he escaped the jam, “and just trusting Sav and what the scouting report is and what he’s calling.”

Did you hear that?

The Bruins’ junior public-address announcer not only nailed the pronunciation of Malivai Levu (Moo-lee-vie luh-VOO) in the bottom of the fifth inning but also brought him good luck.

Levu hit a two-out solo homer, pulling the Bruins into a tie.

“Home run!” the announcer yelled in celebration.

MVP

Hawk’s 1 ⅔ innings of scoreless relief — including a 1-2-3 ninth inning — earned him his 10th save after he threw 16 of his 20 pitches for strikes.

He’s now made 14 consecutive scoreless appearances, largely as a result of his ability to mix a 97 mph fastball with a superb slider and changeup.

“He can pitch a lot of different ways to get you out,” Savage said.

Up next

The Bruins conclude their series against Sacramento State at 1 p.m. Sunday at Jackie Robinson Stadium.