With the bases loaded and one out in the top of the 14th, Christoph Bono chopped a ball over the mound and under the glove of the USC shortstop to plate a pair of runs and lift the Bruins to the extra-innings victory.
The UCLA bullpen starred in the triumph, going nine scoreless innings, allowing just four hits to keep the Bruins in it. Nathan Hadley, Moises Ceja, Tucker Forbes and Brian Gadsby all pitched in front of reliever Scott Burke (1-1) who ended up with the win, pitching three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits. On the other side, USC reliever Marc Huberman (1-1) garnered the loss after surrendering the two winning runs in the 14th.
At the plate, the Bruins racked up 14 hits, led by Brett Stephens (4-for-7, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI) who delivered a team-high four hits, finishing a home run short of the cycle. Kort Peterson (3-for-5, SB), Eric Filia (2-for-6, R, RBI) and Luke Persico (2-for-6) also finished with multiple hits in the win.
USC (6-5) took the early lead in the contest with a two-out, two-RBI triple from AJ Ramirez. With runners on first and second, the Trojan right fielder hit what looked like a routine fly ball to right field. However, Filia lost the ball in the sun and watched it sail over his head to the wall, giving USC the 2-0 first inning advantage.
The Trojans backed that up with another run in the second on a squeeze bunt from Lars Nootbaar. The center fielder laid a bunt down the first base line to plate the runner from third and give USC a three-run lead.
UCLA (6-5) got that run back in the top of the third to cut the deficit back to two. Stephens laced a one-out double into the left-center gap and moved over to third on a passed ball. Then, Filia beat out an infield single to shortstop to bring Stephens home and make the score, 3-1.
Stephens stayed hot in the fourth inning and drove in a pair of runs to knot the score at three. With two outs, Trent Chatterton worked a walk and Brett Urabe singled through the right side to put runners on the corners in front of Stephens. The UCLA left fielder then ripped a ball into the right field corner for a triple, scoring Chatterton and Urabe, evening the score, 3-3.
The pitching staffs then took over the game for each side, posting nine-straight scoreless frames to force the game into the 14th inning.
The Bruins did, however, have chances to score the go-ahead run in the 11th and 12th innings, but stranded runners at third each time. UCLA eventually found the runs it needed in the 14th frame to claim the series finale win over cross-town rival USC.
UCLA now hits the road on Tuesday, March 8 to take on the CSUN Matadors at 2:00pm PT. Fans can listen to all of the action live on uclabruins.com.
Notes: Sunday’s game was the longest game (in terms of innings) in UCLA vs. USC baseball history…Tonight marked Head Coach John Savage’s 400th career win…Savage has beat USC more than any other team in his UCLA career, posting a record of 27-14 against the Trojans…Brett Stephens tied a career-high with four hits…Brian Gadsby pitched a career-high four innings…Eric Filia (.417) and Brett Stephens (.357) each hit over .350 on the weekend…The Bruin pitching staff had a combined 1.69 ERA with 30 strikeouts over 32 innings this weekend…Jake Bird, Scott Burke, Moises Ceja and Tucker Forbes combined for 10.1 scoreless innings of work.
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