Baker's Slam Lifts UW To First Series Win Over UCLA Since 2005

Sunday, April 17

Seattle, WA

1:00 PM

University of Washington

19-12, 0

UCLA

15-18, 0

UCLA

Washington

Photo by: Washington Athletics

Baker's Slam Lifts UW To First Series Win Over UCLA Since 2005

April 18, 2016 | Baseball

Box Score

By: Washington Athletics

SEATTLE – Junior Chris Baker hit a grand slam home run that erased a 2-0 deficit and powered Washington to a 7-4 victory over UCLA on Sunday at Husky Ballpark in front of a season-high crowd of 1,388 fans.

The Huskies (19-12, 9-6 Pac-12) also claimed their first series win over the Bruins (15-18, 6-9) since 2005 and moved into a second-place tie with California, who dropped two of three games this weekend at Arizona State.

"It's a huge series win for us," said Baker, who hit his fifth home run of the season. "UCLA has always been a powerhouse. They're UCLA. Everyone expects them to win, and we haven't done that.

"So it's awesome that we finally got that series win. It's a huge stepping stone and hopefully it will keep us moving in the right direction."

Baker's homer gave Washington a lead they never relinquished, thanks to a strong pitching performance from their bullpen. Spencer Jones (3-2) allowed one run and one hit after entering the game in the second inning and pitched 4 1/3 innings to pick up his second win in as many days.

Troy Rallings entered the game in the seventh inning and allowed a run in three innings to pick up his ninth save of the season. He moved past Will Fenton and into second-place all-time in UW history with 24 career saves.

UCLA struck first, scoring twice in the second inning to jump ahead 2-0. No. 9 hitter Brett Urabe delivered a clutch two-out single that scored a pair of runs off UW starter Greg Minier.

The Huskies had been struggling against UCLA freshman starter Kyle Molnar until the fourth inning. Jack Meggs singled, Gage Matuszak was hit by a pitch and MJ Hubbs walked to set the table for Baker, who turned a 2-0 deficit into a two-run lead for the Huskies on one swing of the bat.

He crushed a 2-1 pitch from Molnar over the left-field wall for the Huskies' first grand slam since Michael Camporeale in 2012. It was also the first grand slam surrendered by a UCLA pitcher since 2008.

The Bruins cut the lead to 4-3 scoring again with two outs in the fifth inning. Right fielder Eric Filia singled up the middle to drive in Daniel Rosica from third.

Joey Morgan provided some insurance in the seventh inning, driving a deep double to right-center field that hit the yellow line at the top of the wall. His double scored KJ Brady from second base and gave Rallings a two-run lead to work with.

The extra run proved to loom large as UCLA scored in the eighth to cut the lead to 5-4. With a runner at first and two outs, first baseman Sean Bouchard lifted a fly ball to right-center that center fielder Jack Meggs lost in the sun. The ball bounced off the wall and Filia scored all the way from first base on the play.

Once again, though, the Huskies added on more runs to get more breathing room. Nyles Nygaard, who entered the game searching for his first hit of the season, singled home Kyle London to give UW a 6-4 lead, and Chris Baker later scored on a balk by pitcher Brian Gadsby.

Rallings set down the Bruins in order in the ninth to finish off the series win.

Both teams had six hits in the game. For Washington, all six hits came from six different players.

Washington has now won six of its last eight games.

The Huskies are back in action on Tuesday with a game against Seattle U at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

Washington 7 (19-12, 9-6), UCLA 4 (15-18, 6-9)

UCLA 020 010 000 –- 4 6 0
WASH 000 400 12x –- 7 6 0

LOB: UCLA 5, UW 8. Kyle Molnar, Moises Ceja (6), Hunter Virant (6), Jake Bird (7), Brian Gadsby (8), Nathan Hadley (8) and Daniel Rosica; Greg Minier, Spencer Jones (2), Troy Rallings (7) and Joey Morgan. W – Jones (3-2). L – Molnar (2-4). SV – Rallings (9). HR – UW, Chris Baker (5). 3B – UW, AJ Graffanino. 2B – UCLA, Sean Bouchard; UW, Joey Morgan. Time – 3:14. Attendance – 1,388.