June 19, 2010

Game 2 Notes

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Bauer, Balance Buoy Bruins

By Phil Stanton

CollegeBaseballInsider.com Co-Founder

OMAHA, Neb. – It was the classic baseball formula: good pitching and timely hitting.

Trevor Bauer (left) fanned 11 in seven innings and the Bruins scored in all but one inning as sixth-seeded UCLA defeated third-seeded Florida 11-3 Saturday evening in the second game of the 2010 College World Series in front of 23,271 fans at Rosenblatt Stadium.

The Bruins (49-14) will meet TCU on Monday evening at 8 p.m. CT. The Gators (47-16) will face Florida State at 3:30 p.m. on Monday in an elimination contest. It will be the fifth meeting this season between UF and FSU.

Every starter had at least one hit or RBI for UCLA. It was the first CWS victory in the history of the Bruin baseball program. UCLA was 0-2 in both of its two previous trips to Omaha (1969 and 1997).

Bauer (11-3) allowed six hits, three runs and two walks. He did not allow multiple base runners in an inning after the second. Bauer set a single-season record with 152 strikeouts for the Bruins. He also became the fifth pitcher to balk twice in a CWS game.

“Early, I didn’t have a feel for anything but my curveball the first couple of innings,” Bauer said, “so it was a little bit tough. I came in after the second and talked to Coach and made a little mechanical adjustment. After that, I could command my fastball good. So I kind of settled in after that, pitching off the fastball.”

Erik Goeddel pitched the final two scoreless innings for the Bruins with no hits, two walks and two strikeouts.

UCLA was retired in order in the second, but tallied runs in each of the other eight frames.

Dean Espy had a RBI single in the first as the Bruins took the early lead.

Florida got a two-run single by Brian Johnson with two outs in the bottom of the first for a 2-1 advantage.

Niko Gallego, Rich Amaral and Blair Dunlap each reached and scored in the third as UCLA took the lead for good at 4-2. Steve Rodriguez walked and scored on a passed ball in the fourth to push the advantage to 5-2.

Josh Adams homered with one out in the bottom of the frame, his ninth, as the Gators pulled to within two at 5-3.

Rodriguez added a two-run single in the fifth, Espy singled and scored on a wild pitch in the sixth, Rodriguez doubled and scored in the seventh and Justin Uribe had a two-base hit and scored in the eighth as the Bruins built a 10-3 cushion. The final run came in the ninth on an Espy run-scoring single.

“The first three innings, I think we were a little overexcited,” said UCLA head coach John Savage. “And then we settled down. I thought Trevor would do that.”

Gallego finished with four hits and two runs. Amaral and Espy both had three hits, while Rodriguez had two hits, two runs and two RBI.

“I think tonight the big thing was just staying relaxed as a team,” said Amaral. “It’s tough to do. A lot of excitement was going on. But after the first couple of innings, I think we were able to settle down and look for what we wanted and be able to capitalize on it.”

Nolan Fontana had one hit and three walks for the Gators.

“All the credit needs to go to UCLA,” said Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan. “They were outstanding on the mound, outstanding at the plate. They battled all day long.”

Florida centerfielder Matt den Dekker had an outstanding catch to start the fourth. Brett Krill crushed a ball to dead center. Den Dekker made an over-the-shoulder sliding catch on the warning track. It was the top play on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

“Matt’s real humble about the catch,” O’Sullivan said, “but that was one of the best catches I’ve ever seen.”

(photo courtesy of UCLA Media Relations Office)