UCLA baseball's bats erupt to start game two against Maryland
· Yahoo Sports
The No. 1 UCLA Bruins baseball team took the second game of their series against Maryland 8-3 in nine innings at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday.
In their first matchup, the Bruins forced the Terrapins to a run-rule in seven innings with two monstrous innings, but UCLA was forced to play all nine innings this time around by Maryland. Senior right-handed pitcher Michael Barnett started on the mound and played 3.1 innings for the Bruins and allowed all three of Terrapins runs on eight hits.
Visit tr-sport.bond for more information.
Starting strong
Barnett gave up his first run of the game in the top of the first, but the Bruins were able to gain the lead in the bottom of the inning. UCLA scored four runs from four hits with a three-run homer from redshirt junior outfielder Payton Brennan giving UCLA the hot start they needed.
Can't catch a break
Unfortunately for Barnett, he'd allow a second inning home run for the Terrapins that cut the Bruins lead to two. Barnett would strike out the side in the innning, finishing the game with four strikeouts in the game.
Keep running up the score
In the top of the third, Barnett gave up two more hits, but prevented the Terrapins from scoring a run. UCLA's batters were able to add more to the scorecard with two runs off of three hits to put UCLA up 6-2 heading into the fourth. Each team would get a run home in the fourth to keep the Bruins up by four half way through the game.
No way home
UCLA and Maryland would each struggle at the plate over the next three innings with the Terrapins getting four hits. The scoring would stay stagnant with neither team being able to push a run across.
Closing out another win
The Bruins bullpen were able to prevent any scoring in the eighth even with the bases loaded with Terrapins and UCLA got their final score of the game in the bottom of the eighth. UCLA's Easton Hawk would close out the game in top of the ninth keeping Maryland scoreless since the fourth.
The final game of the series will be played at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Sunday with an anticipated start time at 1 p.m. PT.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA baseball starts hot, picks up 8-3 win over Maryland game