UCLA Edges Oregon to Win Series

Daniel Rosica Greeted by Teammates (Photo by Katie Meyers)

LOS ANGELES – The UCLA Bruins defeated the Oregon Ducks, 4-2, to clinch the series win on Friday evening at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The victory was Head Coach John Savage’s 500th as a division I head coach.

Grant Dyer (2-2) was strong, hurling seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits with four strikeouts to earn the win. Oregon starter Cole Irvin (3-4) received the loss after surrendering three runs on six hits over 5.2 innings and Bruin reliever Moises Ceja (2) earned his second save in as many nights with a scoreless ninth.

The Bruins totaled eight hits, four of which belonged to Luke Persico (4-for-5, RBI) who led the way
offensively. Daniel Rosica (1-for-2, 2 R, BB) was also productive, scoring a pair of runs.

UCLA (18-18, 8-9) got on the board first in tonight’s contest with an RBI-single from Persico in the bottom of the third. With a man on third and two outs, the Bruin third baseman bounced a single up the middle to give the Bruins a one-run advantage.

They then backed that up with another run in the fourth, working a two-out rally. With a man on first and two away, Brett Urabe singled, Rosica was hit with a pitch and Daniel Amaral walked to force in a run and give UCLA a, 2-0, lead.

Then, in the sixth inning, Rosica single-handedly extended the Bruin lead with some heads up base running. The UCLA catcher walked and stole second to put himself in scoring position. He then proceeded to force the issue by taking third on a wild pitch and subsequently came into score on an errant throw by the catcher to put the Bruins up by three.

Oregon (17-15, 7-7) would scratch for two in the top of the eighth on a two-RBI-double from AJ Balta to get within one. However, the Bruins responded with a run of their own in the bottom half when Trent Chatterton came home on a wild pitch. That would be enough as Ceja and the Bruins closed the door in the ninth on a, 4-2, series clinching victory.

The final game between the Bruins and Ducks will be today 1:05pm PT at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Tickets are available and can be purchased by visiting uclabruins.com/tickets or by calling 310-UCLA-WIN. Fans can also watch the game live on the Pac-12 Network or listen live at uclabruins.com.

Notes: Eric Filia has now reached base in 35 of 36 games this season…Luke Persico tied his single game career-high with four hits…Daniel Rosica tied his single game career-high with two runs…Moises Ceja has held opponents scoreless in 13 of 16 appearances this season…Head Coach John Savage recorded his 500th win as a head coach (UCLA & UC Irvine combined)…UCLA is now 2-1 in Pac-12 Conference home series…This is the Bruins’ first series win over Oregon since 2013 and first home series win over the Ducks since 2008.