Seven Oregon State pitchers threw everything in their arsenal past UCLA batters for 6-hours in front of nearly 3,000 Beaver faithful and a half dozen UCLA fans, before Bruin catcher Steve Rodriguez finally drove in two runs in the 16th inning (THE SIXTEENTH INNING!) to break a 1-1 tie and give UCLA the 3-1 victory.
Led by Trevor Bauer, Bruin pitching was outstanding today, and Bruin fielding was superb -- saving several runs to give Bruin batters every opportunity to win. Almost every opportunity was squandered (21 baserunners were left stranded), but the last two baserunners came home, and that was the difference.
If the game had gone on much longer, the refreshment stands would have had to serve breakfast. To tell the truth, I left in the 12th and heard the finish on the radio, as did most other fans.
The win improves UCLA's Pac-10 record to 3-2 (24-3 overall) and leaves Oregon State also at 3-2 (20-7 overall), dropping them out of 1st place in the conference.
Now that the Bruins have regained their batting mojo, they will attempt to take the series with a win tomorrow. I fear that whatever the outcome Sunday, UCLA will fall from its #3 national ranking Monday.