STANFORD, Calif. - Junior Alberto Rios racked up four hits, but the No. 8 Stanford Cardinal (27-13, 14-6 Pac-12) fell to the UCLA Bruins (24-14-1, 10-8-1 Pac-12) 9-6 on Saturday. With the win, UCLA evened a three-game series in Pac-12 play.
The Cardinal walked 12 batters in the game, marking the third time Stanford has issued 12 walks this season.
Freshman Matt Scott was saddled with the loss and fell to 5-3 after allowing three runs on two hits and four walks over two innings.
As part of his four-hit day, Rios contributed a double and an RBI. Junior Drew Bowser went 1-for-5 with his eighth home run and two RBIs, while freshman Malcolm Moore also homered - his ninth of the year.
The Cardinal got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the bottom the first inning on a ground ball from Braden Montgomery.
The Bruins then tied the ballgame at one before the Cardinal came back to reclaim their advantage in the second inning on Moore's home run.
Taking advantage of free passes, UCLA scored twice in the third and two more in the fifth to claim a 5-2 lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way. Rios drove in Stanford's third run of the game in the bottom of the fifth, but UCLA once again responded with two in the sixth and one more in the eighth.
Trailing 8-3 headed to the home half of the eighth, Stanford put three on the board to cut the deficit to two at 8-6. Bowser's two-run home run highlighted the three-run frame for the Cardinal.
The Bruins refused to surrender the momentum completely, putting one more on the board in the ninth to add an insurance run and eventually earn the 9-6 victory.
UP NEXT
The two teams will decide the three-game series at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday.
GAME NOTES
» Cardinal pitchers combined to strike out 12 UCLA hitters.
» Stanford left 10 runners stranded on base in the loss.
» The Cardinal out-hit the Bruins at an 11-10 clip.
» Stanford pitchers faced 49 UCLA hitters in the game, allowing six ground balls and nine fly balls while striking out 12.
» UCLA was led offensively by sophomore Jack Holman, who went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and an RBI.
» Kelly Austin (4-2) earned the victory for UCLA, throwing seven innings of three-run ball while striking out six.
