UCLA

IRVINE, Calif.  – In a heart-pounding rivalry showdown, No. 14 UCLA edged USC, 7-6, in Friday night’s series opener at Great Park.
 
With the bases loaded and two outs in a nail-biting ninth inning, freshman right-hander Easton Hawk rose to the occasion by fanning the final USC batter to preserve the victory for UCLA (34-11, 17-5 Big Ten) and secure his second save of the season.
 
Mulivai Levu delivered a masterful performance at the plate, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs to power the Bruins’ offense. His pivotal bases-clearing double in the fourth inning gave UCLA a lead they did not relinquish.

AJ Salgado homered for the fourth time in the last five games, bringing his season total to 11. The Glendora, Calif. native went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored.

 

Payton Brennan also enjoyed a multi-hit game for UCLA.

 

Dean West led off the contest by slapping a single through the left side of a shifted infield to give the Bruins an early base runner. He later scored on Levu’s RBI single, giving UCLA an early 1-0 lead.

 

AJ Salgado doubled the Bruins’ advantage in their next trip to the plate when he launched a 408-foot home run over the centerfield wall.

 

USC answered in the bottom of the third by scoring twice to tie the game.

 

The Bruins quickly stormed back into the lead by rallying for four runs in the top of the fourth. Brennan led off the frame by legging out an infield single and scampered to second base on a wild pitch. Jarrod Hocking promptly bunted him over to third before Cashel Dugger smashed an RBI base hit off the third baseman to plate the first run of the inning.

 

After Phoenix Call worked a walk, USC elected to intentionally walk Roch Cholowsky, loading the bases for Levu. UCLA’s first baseman made the Trojans pay, ripping a bases-clearing double to left field to give his team a four-run lead.

 

The Trojans plated two more runs in the bottom half to cut the deficit in half. This chased starting pitcher Ian May out of the game, bringing freshman Wylan Moss on for his first appearance since April 18.

 

Moss was solid in his 2.1 innings of work, allowing just two hits and a run during his relief outing. He went on to earn his second win of the campaign.

 

Levu got himself into scoring position by hitting his second double of the game to lead off the seventh for UCLA. After advancing to third on Roman Martin’s fly out, Salgado delivered a two-out, two-strike RBI single to extend the Bruins’ lead to three.

 

USC tacked on a run in the seventh to make it a two-run game. Chris Grothues limited further damage in the inning by stranding a pair of runners in scoring position with a strikeout to end the threat.

 

August Souza was the next Bruin pitcher to come up clutch in a crucial moment, fanning back-to-back hitters to leave two runners on base in the eighth.

 

In the ninth, Head Coach John Savage turned to Hawk to get the last three outs. USC’s Adrian Lopez led things off with a double down the left field line, immediately creating some drama. Hawk got a strikeout for the first out of the inning, then induced a ground ball to bring the Trojans down to their final out. 

 

A base hit scored Lopez to bring USC within one while placing the tying run on base. After back-to-back walks, Hawk had no-room for error with the bases loaded and the tying run just 90 feet away. 

 

The freshman delivered in the biggest moment of his young career, punching out the final batter of the game to allow UCLA to escape with the 7-6 win in the series opener.

 

The Bruins will take on USC for the second game of the series tomorrow at 2 p.m. Michael Barnett is scheduled to get the start on the mound for UCLA. The game will be available to watch on B1G+.