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(April
11, 2008) - UC Riverside brought the tying-run to plate after
pushing two runs across in the ninth but could not complete
the comeback and dropped a 5-3 decision to UCLA in Westwood,
CA Friday night. Sophomore Joey Gonzales scored two runs and
hit his second homer of the season for the Highlanders who
fall to 9-19 on the season.
UCLA
(15-13) out-hit UCR 11 to 5 and stole five bases to pick up
the victory in the first of the three-game series to be played
this weekend. Junior Brandon Schnebly recorded two hits for
the Highlanders and junior Drew Garcia saw his career-high
10-game hitting streak come to an end.
After
taking a 1-0 lead on the solo shot from Gonzales in the second,
UCR junior starter Stephen Penney surrendered three runs in
the fifth and two more in sixth. Penney had allowed just one
hit through the first three innings and only three hits after
four innings before running into trouble in the fifth.
UCLA
picked up runs on a sacrifice fly, and two two-out hits to
take a 3-1 lead. In the sixth, the Bruins had their first
three batters reach and continued to put the ball in play
to bring two more runners home and open up a 5-1 lead after
six complete.
After struggling to get anything going against the UCLA ace,
Tim Murphy, the Highlanders finally put together some good
at-bats in the ninth. Gonzales reached to lead off the inning
and freshman Daniel Pellegrino followed with a walk. Gonzales
then came home a batter later on a Bruin error for the first
run of the inning. Freshman Trevor Hairgrove later doubled
home Pellegrino to cut the UCLA lead to 5-3. With the tying
runs on second and third, the Bruin bullpen ended the rally
by getting junior Carl Uhl to foul out and then induced Schnebly
to ground out for the final out.
Penney
drops to 0-4 after allowing the five earned runs in six innings
and Murphy improved to 3-3 after striking out eight in his
seven-inning effort.
The
Highlanders resume their weekend series with UCLA tomorrow
at 2:00 p.m.
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