#3 UCLA Tops UC Irvine, 15-8, Behind a Season-High Tying 19 Hits

LOS ANGELES – The No. 3 UCLA Bruins totaled 15 runs on a season-high tying 19 hits to topple the UC Irvine Anteaters, 15-8, on Tuesday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The win moves the Bruins' record to 7-0 in midweek contests.

Six UCLA players finished with multi-hit evenings, led by Christoph Bono (4-for-5, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI) and Kort Peterson (4-for-5, 2B, 4 R, 3 RBI) who each recorded a career-high four hits. Peterson also topped the group in RBI, with three, joined by Bono, Justin Hazard (3-for-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI), Kevin Kramer (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI) and Luke Persico (0-for-3, 2 RBI) who each chipped in two. Furthermore, Bono and Brett Stephens (3-for-6, 2B, 3B, 2 R, RBI) both finished a home run shy of the cycle.

Freshman Jake Bird (1-0) earned his first career win, allowing no runs on zero hits in 2.1 innings of relief. UC Irvine's Matt Fielding (0-1) garnered the loss after allowing two runs on four hits in one inning out of the bullpen.

UCLA (29-8, 14-4 Pac-12) jumped on Anteater starter Shaun Vetrovec right away, putting four runs on the board in the opening frame. The four-run inning marked the 17th time the Bruins have scored in the first inning this season, going 16-1 in those contests. Walks to Kramer and Ty Moore, paired with a double by Stephens, loaded the bases with one out for UCLA. Chris Keck then drove in the initial run on a fielder's choice and was followed by a 2-RBI single by Peterson. Bono then finished off the four-run outburst with a deep triple off of the right field fence.

It was another triple that brought in the fifth run for the Bruins in the top of the second. Following a second walk to Kramer, Stephens tripled to left-center to bring the Bruin shortstop around from first. Persico then cashed in Stephens on a sacrifice-fly to center field, giving UCLA a 6-0 lead after two innings.

With the Bruins seemingly in control, UC Irvine (23-14, 10-2 Big West) stunned UCLA with a seven-run third inning to capture the lead. The Anteaters plated the first run courtesy of an error by Persico at first base. Kris Paulino and Keston Hiura then backed that up with consecutive doubles, bringing in three, to cut the UCLA lead to two. Three batters later, Cameron Bishop launched a three-run home run to give UC Irvine the lead and spell the end of the line for Bruin starter Cody Poteet.

A second Persico sacrifice-fly tied the game in the fourth inning before a two-run fifth allowed UCLA to regain the edge for good. With two outs and one on, the Bruins strung together three-straight hits, highlighted by RBI-singles from Nick Valaika and Kramer, to lead 9-7 after five.

UCLA, scoring for the third consecutive inning, then matched their first inning output with a four-run showing in the sixth. All coming after the first two batters recorded outs, the Bruins posted five-straight hits to extend the lead to 13-7. Following a Keck single, Peterson doubled to bring in one run and Bono followed with a single to bring in a second. Valaika then doubled and was brought home, along with Bono, on a 2-RBI single from Hazard.

Trailing by six, the Anteaters got one back in the seventh frame on a solo home run from Paulino, but would be stifled from then on.

UCLA proceeded to tack on two more 'insurance' runs in the eighth inning to bring the final tally to 15-8. An RBI-groundout from Trent Chatterton and an RBI-double from Kramer produced what would be the last two runs of the night.

The Bruins will now travel on the road to face the Stanford Cardinal in a Pac-12 Conference battle this weekend. The three-game series will begin on Friday, April 24 at 7:00 pm PT. Friday and Sunday will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks, while Saturday will be broadcast live on ESPNU. All three games can be heard live at uclabruins.com.

Notes: Tonight's game marked the highest combined score between UCLA and an opponent this season. The Bruins reached the double-digit hit mark for the 18th time this season. David Berg has not allowed a run in 15 consecutive innings (11 appearances). Along with a career-high four hits, Kort Peterson also recorded a career-high three RBI. Brett Stephens (.368), Ty Moore (.346), Justin Hazard (.333), Kevin Kramer (.321) and Chris Keck (.308) are all hitting over .300 in midweek games.