May 26, 2013
Box Score | Series Highlights
STANFORD, Calif. - No. 8 UCLA climbed out of a 3-1 hole to post five straight runs en route to a 6-4 Pac-12 Conference baseball victory over Stanford in front of 2,679 fans Sunday at Sunken Diamond. Alex Blandino had three hits for the Cardinal, including a ninth-inning home run to snap UCLA reliever David Berg's streak of 37.0 consecutive scoreless innings.
Stanford (32-22 overall, 16-14 Pac-12), which already clinched the series by winning games one and two, had the tying run at the plate in the ninth following Blandino's one-out bomb to left but Berg was able to secure his 18th save.
Stanford closed its regular season by winning six of its last 10, and three of those losses were at the hands of top-10 squads. The Cardinal awaits its postseason destiny with the NCAA Championships Selection Show set for 9 a.m. (PT) Monday on ESPNU.
Pat Gallagher had four of UCLA's 10 hits. Lonnie Kauppila and Austin Slater each had two for Stanford.
Four of the six UCLA runs were earned, as the Cardinal committed three errors.
Stanford punched out UCLA's leadoff batter for the third time in as many games. Dean McArdle (3-3) surrendered a pair of hits and issued a walk to load the bases, setting up a second Bruin (39-17, 21-9) strikeout after Shane Zeile singled home a run.
Brian Ragira grounded into a double play which bought enough time to score Justin Ringo, tying the game at 1-1. Ringo doubled to start the home half of the first.
Austin Wilson was plunked, Danny Diekroeger singled and Blandino dinked a two-out RBI single to right. The Blandino hit was Stanford's fourth in the frame, and Kauppila added a fifth with an RBI single off the glove of third baseman Kevin Kramer to give the Cardinal a 3-1 lead.
UCLA loaded the bases again and posted a three-spot to chase McArdle in the second. McArdle walked in a run and two more scored on a wild pitch.
Each of the first four UCLA runs came with two outs.
Sam Lindquist kept the Bruins leashed until issuing back-to-back walks to start the seventh. Those two runners turned into unearned scores as the Bruins mounted a 6-3 lead.
Lindquist and Garrett Hughes did not allow an earned run in the final 7.1 innings.
Grant Watson's 5.0 innings of seven-hit ball earned him a seventh win.
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