No. 14 UCLA Holds On for 7-6 Victory Over Cal Poly in Series Opener

Friday, February 26

6 pm

4-1

UCLA

2-3

UCLA

Cal Poly

No. 14 UCLA Holds On for 7-6 Victory Over Cal Poly in Series Opener

2/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Right fielder John Schuknecht's three-run home run in the fifth inning helped Cal Poly erase a 5-0 deficit, but No. 14 UCLA scored twice in the seventh and held on to beat the Mustangs 7-6 in the opener of a three-game non-conference baseball series Friday night before 2,471 in Baggett Stadium.

Second baseman Kyle Marinconz and third baseman Michael Sanderson, hitting in the sixth and seventh spots in the batting order, each had three hits for Cal Poly (4-1), which suffered its first loss of the season after sweeping a four-game series against Pacific last weekend.

UCLA (2-3), which used eight pitchers in the game, scored three times in the second inning and two more in the third for its 5-0 advantage.

Cal Poly finally broke through in the fifth, scoring five times to tie the game. Center fielder Alex McKenna scored on a wild pitch, Schuknecht's first home run of the season on a full-count pitch sailed over the left-field wall to cut the deficit to 5-4 and shortstop Alec Smith singled to left field to knot the score.

After both teams were retired in order in the sixth, UCLA snapped the deadlock in the seventh. Right fielder Eric Filia doubled to the gap in right-center field, making it 6-5, and designated hitter Kort Peterson singled up the middle to give the Bruins a two-run cushion.

Cal Poly answered in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single by catcher Nick Meyer, but the Mustangs left the bases loaded and could only muster a one-out walk the rest of the way.

Jake Bird (1-1), the sixth UCLA pitcher of the game, earned the win, allowing one run and three hits in 2 1/3 innings. Brian Gadsby pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save.

UCLA starter Grant Dyer, a first-team All-Pac-12 selection last spring after making 42 appearances as the Bruins' setup man, left the game in the third inning due to a possible pulled muscle in his lower rib cage.

The loss went to Mustang southpaw Kyle Smith (1-1) as he allowed seven runs and 10 hits over 6 2/3 innings with one walk and six strikeouts. Two of the runs he allowed were unearned as Cal Poly committed a pair of errors in UCLA's two-run third-inning rally.

Sophomore Jarred Zill (pictured at right) tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief, allowing just one hit with two strikeouts.

Marinconz singled three times and also drew two walks in lifting his average to .389 while Sanderson contributed a trio of singles as well and is now hitting .353. Schuknecht's home run was Cal Poly's only extra-base hit of the game.

UCLA's 11 hits included three singles and a pair of RBI by Peterson and two hits each by Filia and second baseman Brett Urabe.

Second game of the series will be played Saturday night at 6 with junior right-hander Slater Lee (1-0) on the mound for Cal Poly. The Mustangs also will play No. 19 Michigan (5-0) at noon. The Wolverines defeated St. Joseph 5-1 in Santa Clara on Friday.