John Savage built his reputation on elite pitcher development — from Barry Zito and Mark Prior at USC to Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer at UCLA. But over the weekend, his 21st-season Bruins staff struggled mightily against crosstown rival USC.
After opening the rivalry series with a narrow 7–6 win on Friday, No. 18 UCLA (34–13, 17–7 Big Ten) dropped the next two games to No. 25 USC (32–15, 16–8), losing 7–5 on Saturday and 11–5 on Sunday at Great Park in Irvine. The Trojans’ 24-run outburst marked the most UCLA has conceded in a series since early March — and this time, the Bruins’ bats couldn’t bail them out.
“Pitching was poor,” Savage said bluntly. “We made mistakes, and we clearly paid for it.”
UCLA entered the weekend having won nine straight series to start the season. But after losing two of the last three, the team’s once-unshakable rhythm has started to waver.
Rotation Falters
Starting pitching was the Bruins’ Achilles’ heel. Redshirt junior Ian May allowed four runs in just 3.2 innings on Friday. Saturday, junior Michael Barnett gave up six runs across 4.1 innings. Sophomore Landon Stump surrendered three runs in 3.1 innings in Sunday’s rubber match.
USC, by contrast, shined on the mound. Right-hander Caden Aoki tossed seven scoreless innings Saturday, and bulk reliever Andrew Johnson allowed just two unearned runs across 6.1 frames on Sunday.
UCLA’s bullpen didn’t stem the tide either. On Sunday, Chris Grothues, Cal Randall, and August Souza combined to allow seven runs in 3.1 innings. Souza’s Friday appearance also snapped his 7.1-inning scoreless streak.
There were some bright spots. Freshman Wylan Moss returned from injury Friday to pitch 2.1 innings of one-run ball. Graduate lefty Ryan Rissas added 1.1 scoreless innings Saturday — his 13th scoreless appearance in 15 outings. And freshman Easton Hawk sealed Friday’s win with a bases-loaded save.
“Being able to close was a dream come true,” Hawk said. “For [Coach Savage] to have that trust in me is something big.”
Trojans’ Bats Deliver
USC left fielder Andrew Lamb went 5-for-14 with two doubles, a homer, and an RBI. Designated hitter Augie Lopez torched UCLA pitching Saturday and Sunday, going 5-for-8 with three doubles and a home run.
UCLA’s offense showed flashes of resilience. Roman Martin hit a grand slam Saturday to bring the Bruins within three late and added a three-run homer Sunday for a short-lived 3–0 lead.
First baseman Mulivai Levu led Friday’s attack, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs — his best game since April 1. Right fielder AJ Salgado stayed hot with a 2-for-4 night Friday and a 3-for-4 showing Sunday.
Shortstop Roch Cholowsky and catcher Cashel Dugger were the only Bruins to hit safely in all three games, combining to go 7-for-22.
Despite the series loss, UCLA remains second in the Big Ten standings after Iowa also dropped its weekend series. With six conference games remaining, the Bruins trail the Hawkeyes by 2.5 games and are running short on time to overtake them.
“Getting back to playing Bruin baseball is an important way of being able to bounce back from tough losses,” said Salgado. “And I think that we can do that again this week.”
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