Beavers Take Down UCLA 7-3 to Tie Up Series

Game 2 in the UCLA Series went a tough 8 innings before Adley Rutschman and the Beaver bats broke the game open to take a 7-3 win, and even series up 1-1. The Beavers are now 14-2-1 headed into the rubber match, which is tomorrow at 12:00 PM PT.

Bryce Fehmel opened the game up strong for the Beavers, ending the first inning quick, but in the bottom of the second a lead off double from Jack Stronarch and a beaned Jake Pries allowed the Bruins to put runners in scoring position. They got one home with a Fielder’s Choice from Matt McLain and a throwing error from Beau Philip to take a 1-0 lead.

The Beavers fought back in the top of the third, with Wade Meckler walked and then stole second to get himself set up to score. Adley Rutschman stepped up to the plate, and brought him home.

Fehmel pitched a couple more solid innings, but got into trouble in the bottom of the fifth. Michael Toglia led off with a double, and then Matt McLain followed that with a triple him. Kevin Kendall then grounded out to score McLain, and the Bruins had a 3-1 lead.

Fehmel came out and Brandon Eisert came in to get the Beavers out of the fifth without any more damage. In the top of the 7th, Joe Casey doubled to get the Beavers going. A ground out got him over to third, and then another grounder from Wade Meckler got Casey home. The next batter, Alex McGarry, followed up that with a solo home run to tie the game up 3-3.

That was all the scoring for the next couple innings, a Eisert locked UCLA’s offense down. In the ninth, things broke down for the Bruins’ pitching. Michael Ober reached on a walk, then a Fielder’s Choice got Ober out while Joe Casey reached base. Two more walks followed that, to load the bases.

An Alex McGarry single scored one to give the Beavers their first lead of the game. Adley Rutschman then stepped up to the plate and launched a single to center field, which turned into much more with an error, to score three more runs and take a 7-3 lead. Eisert put down the UCLA side with three quick strikeouts, and the Beavers had the win.

Adley Rutschman had a huge day, with two hits scoring 3 RBI. He was also walked twice. Alex McGarry also had a great game, with 2 hits for 2 RBI, including the solo home run.

Bryce Fehmel pitched 4.1 innings, allowing 3 hits and 3 runs. He struck out 3 and walked one. Coming on in relief, Brandon Eisert performed amazingly, pitching 4.2 innings and allowing 3 hits and no runs. He struck out an astonishing 10 batters in less than 5 innings, and walked no one. He got the win to move to 5-0.

Game 3 against UCLA will be tomorrow at 12:00 PM PT. The Beavers will then return home for a series against the Cal Bears. Check back with Poking the Rodent for more baseball coverage.