UCLA opens its College World Series slate with victory over Murray State

OMAHA, Neb. — The warm wind was blowing into Charles Schwab Field and UCLA freshman Wylan Moss threw a changeup. Dean West knew he could make a play on that pitch.

Sure enough, Murray State’s Dominic Decker sent a liner to shallow left. West got a jump on it and anticipated. With the wind knocking the ball down, the sophomore outfielder dove and extended his glove. He slid across the manicured outfield grass and held up his glove to show Omaha he stranded two runners and ended the rally.

At that point Murray State scored its first run of the game but still trailed UCLA by five runs. The Cinderella fourth seed kept scrapping runs together, forcing the Bruins to use six pitchers. Their lead narrowed up until closer Easton Hawk came in the ninth and shut the door. UCLA held on to a 6-4 win on Saturday afternoon in its first College World Series appearance in 12 years.

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The Bruins will play the winner of Saturday night’s game between Louisiana State and Arkansas.

“It wasn’t an easy victory,” UCLA coach John Savage said. “We pitched out of some problems today.”

Bruins starter Michael Barnett threw 28 pitches in the first inning. Three of the first four batters he faced worked full counts. But he worked through 4? innings without yielding a run until Moss came on in relief. Barnett finished with three hits, four walks and four strikeouts.

UCLA celebrates its 6-4 win against Murray State at the College World Series on Saturday.

(Cory Eads / Associated Press)

Moss gave up two hits and one run with West’s diving catch as his only out recorded. Ian May stepped in with a runner on to start the sixth and conceded one hit. Jack O’Connor stepped in to pitch two-hit ball in 2/3 of an inning. Freshman righty August Souza got the call and gave up two runs on a hit and a walk in the eighth.

“O’Connor got in trouble. Moss got in trouble. Souza got in trouble. Really the only one who didn’t get in trouble is Hawk,” Savage recited after the game. “It’s baseball. It’s Omaha. You expect trouble.”

Murray State’s four runs came on nine hits — same as UCLA — with nine left on base. The Racers didn’t score until the fifth inning. Then one in the sixth and two in the eighth. A slow bleed of runs that could have mounted if not for defensive plays such as West’s diving snag or multiple stops by UCLA second baseman Phoenix Call.

“I thought we put a lot of pressure on. Just a couple of breaks didn’t go our way,” Murray State senior center fielder Jonathan Hogart said. “They made some phenomenal plays. Again, those plays were phenomenal and killed momentum.”

UCLA’s Mulivai Levu runs to first base against Murray State on Saturday.

(Cory Eads / Associated Press)

UCLA sophomore third baseman Roman Martin said: “We knew it was going to be tough and defense is really a separator, especially in these big games.”

Martin also supplied some of UCLA’s offensive firepower. He was one of two Bruins with multiple RBIs, including the bases loaded walk with no outs in the bottom of the first. But that one run is all the Bruins could manage in the opening inning.

West, one of two Bruins with multiple hits on Saturday, sent a line drive over the first baseman’s glove in the second inning to score one. But instead of settling at first, he rounded the bag too much and got thrown out trying to get back.

The left fielder scored his second hit in the fourth inning to put runners on the corners with superstar Roch Cholowsky stepping to the plate.

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Savage made it clear afterward that he didn’t tell Cholowsky to bunt. A Murray State assistant told coach Dan Skirka the shortstop wouldn’t lay one down. The Bruins’ leader in hits, runs, doubles, home runs and slugging percentage squared on the first pitch of the at bat. The ball sluggishly rolled to the pitcher on the third-base side, forcing Nic Schutte to throw across his body to get the out at first and not at home plate.

“It led to four runs, kind of the difference in the game,” Savage said.

Martin followed Cholowsky with an RBI single and AJ Salgado emptied the bases with a two-run double before the fourth inning ended. UCLA led 6-0 and those six runs were all the Bruins needed.