UCLA gets off to fast start, holds off upstart Murray State 6-4 in College World Series opener
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Roman Martin and AJ Salgado drove in two runs apiece to lead UCLA to a 6-4 victory over a Murray State team making its College World Series debut Saturday.
The Bruins, in the CWS for the first time since they won the championship in 2013, built a 6-0 lead before the Racers began chipping away at it in the middle innings. UCLA closer Easton Hawk pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to secure the Bruins' fourth straight win in an Omaha opener.
UCLA (48-16) will play Monday night against the winner of Saturday night's game between No. 3 national seed Arkansas and No. 6 LSU.
The Missouri Valley Conference's Racers (44-16), only the fourth No. 4 regional seed since 1999 to advance to the CWS, will try to keep their first appearance going when they play Arkansas or LSU in an elimination game on Monday.
Ian May (8-3), the second of five relievers who followed starter Michael Barnett, pitched an inning to earn the win.
The Bruins were in full control early and improved to 27-1 when scoring first. They loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning against Nic Schutte (8-5). He gave up a hit and issued three walks before he settled down and got back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout to keep it 1-0.
Dean West singled in another run in the second, and the Bruins added four more in the fourth on a safety squeeze bunt, base hit and Salgado's two-run double.
Murray State ended the UCLA pitching staff's streak of 20 2/3 scoreless innings when a sliding Jonathan Hogart beat Salgado's throw to the plate on Carson Garner's drive into right field in the fifth. Before that, the Bruins hadn't allowed a run since the second inning of their super regional opener against UTSA.
The Racers added a run in the sixth and two more in the eighth after putting runners on second and third with no outs. Consecutive RBI groundouts pulled them within 6-4.
Hawk went to the mound in the ninth with a two-run lead and facing the heart of the Racers' order. He struck out Dustin Mercer, got Garner to ground out and fanned Dominic Decker to earn his eighth save.
___
AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
7 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
LSU sweeps Coastal Carolina in the College World Series finals for its 2nd national title in 3 years
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — LSU sweeps Coastal Carolina in the College World Series finals for its 2nd national title in 3 years.
Winnipeg Free Press
7 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
LSU sweeps Coastal Carolina in CWS finals for its 2nd national title in 3 years and 8th overall
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — LSU knocked previously unbeaten Coastal Carolina ace Jacob Morrison out of the game with a four-run fourth inning and the Tigers won their second national championship in three years Sunday with a 5-3 victory in the College World Series finals. The Tigers (53-15) completed a two-game sweep of the Chanticleers (56-13), who entered the finals on a 26-game win streak and on Sunday saw coach Kevin Schnall and first base coach Matt Schilling ejected in the bottom of the first inning. LSU gave the Southeastern Conference its sixth straight national title in baseball and 11th in 16 years. It was LSU's eighth, all since 1991 and second most all-time behind Southern California's 12. Tigers coach Jay Johnson became the first Division I coach to win two titles in his first four years at a school. No other coach had accomplished that feat in fewer than eight seasons. Coastal Carolina won the national title in 2016 and was trying to become the first team since 1962 (Michigan) and the fifth all-time to win the championship in its first two CWS appearances. With five-time champion coach Skip Bertman watching from the stands, LSU tied it at 1 in the third on Ethan Frey's RBI double and went up 5-1 in the fourth on two-run singles by Chris Stanfield and Derek Curiel. Coastal Carolina pulled within 5-3 in the seventh against LSU starter Anthony Eyanson when No. 9 batter Wells Sykes hit his fourth homer of the season. That brought on Chase Shores for his fourth appearance of the CWS. The 6-foot-8 right-hander touched 100 mph with his fastball while retiring the first five batters he faced before Dean Mihos, who homered in the second, singled through the right side leading off the ninth. With Tigers fans on their feet and chanting 'L-S-U, L-S-U,' Shores struck out Ty Dooley and got Wells Sykes to ground into a game-ending double play. The Tigers' dugout emptied and the celebratory dogpile behind the mound ensued. ___ AP college sports:
Winnipeg Free Press
7 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Pham and Horwitz lead Pirates past Rangers to prevent sweep
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tommy Pham went 3 for 3 and drove in three runs, Spencer Horwitz and Bryan Reynolds also had three hits, and the Pittsburgh Pirates used a five-run fifth inning to beat the Texas Rangers 8-3 on Sunday and avoid a three-game sweep. Pham tied it 2-all with a sacrifice fly in the fourth and capped the fifth-inning rally with an RBI double for a 7-2 advantage. He drove in Pittsburgh's final run with a double in the seventh. Horwitz went 3 for 4 with two doubles. He scored three runs and drove in two. Reynolds had a double and scored as the Pirates finished with 15 hits. Texas starter Jack Leiter was lifted in favor of Caleb Boushley after walking Oneil Cruz to begin the fifth with the score tied at 2. Cruz advanced to third on a groundout and Reynolds' single. Nick Gonzales singled to give Pittsburgh the lead, and Horwitz hit a shot to right field that Adolis García misplayed into a two-run double that made it 5-2. Ke'Bryan Hayes added an RBI single before scoring on Pham's double. Bailey Falter walked two to begin the second and both scored on back-to-back RBI singles by Josh Smith and Josh Jung to put the Rangers up 2-0. Hayes doubled in the Pirates' first run after one-out singles by Joey Bart and Horwitz in the fourth. Falter (6-3) pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and five walks. Three relievers finished for Pittsburgh. Leiter (4-5) permitted three runs and five hits in four-plus innings. Boushley gave up five runs in four innings. Key moment Hayes saved two runs when he dove to his left at third base with runners on second and third to take away a hit from García for the final out in the third with the Pirates trailing 2-0. Key stat Cruz, in a 4-for-37 slump, used his speed to spark the Pirates. He was off and running for his 27th stolen base on a grounder by Andrew McCutchen. Cruz didn't get the steal but he prevented a double play and later scored the go-ahead run. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Up next The Pirates hadn't announced a starter for Monday's series opener in Milwaukee against Brewers rookie RHP Chad Patrick (3-7, 3.50 ERA). Texas will start LHP Patrick Corbin (4-6, 3.91 ERA) on Monday in Baltimore opposite LHP Trevor Rogers (0-0, 3.12). ___ AP MLB:
