UCLA Offense Explodes In Rout of Oklahoma

Image credit: UCLA OF Carson Yates (Photo by Ross Turteltaub/UCLA Athletics)

HOUSTON — The baby Bruins of UCLA this season have dealt with the offensive ups and downs that you might expect from a team growing up before our eyes, but it was all ups Saturday in a 15-3 seven-inning win over Oklahoma. 

In a stark contrast to Friday’s 2-1 loss to Baylor, in which the Bruins didn’t score until getting a pinch-hit home run from Carson Yates in the ninth, the UCLA bats came out hot on Saturday, scoring six runs in the first inning. Two innings later, it scored six more and the rout was on, with three runs in the bottom of the sixth giving the Bruins the cushion it needed to end the game after seven innings. 

For a team that came into the Oklahoma game hitting .236 as a team, it was a bit of a cathartic experience. 

“We clearly need to get our bats going. It’s been a struggle, for sure,” said UCLA coach John Savage. “But we’ve had a few games where we’ve put some good at-bats together, and clearly today was one of those days.”

The youth of the lineup really can’t be overstated. Just this weekend, UCLA has had eight different starting position players who are listed as freshman or sophomores, and that doesn’t include sophomore Kyle Karros, the opening day third baseman who has been on the shelf since the second game of the season. 

One young player who hasn’t been in the mix as much as others early on but now seems to have elbowed his way into position for more playing time is Yates, a sophomore outfielder. He was 1-for-8 before launching the home run against Baylor. 

On Saturday, Yates was not only in the starting lineup for just the third time this season, but he also made the most of it by connecting for a grand slam in the first inning and driving in two more in the third on a double into the right field corner. 

When you’re a young team looking to find the right combination in the lineup—UCLA has started 16 different players in 11 games—you’re always looking for a player like that to grab the bull by the horns and take advantage of his chances. 

“He’s a football guy. He’s a quarterback,” said Savage. “It seems like it’s taken a while to kind of get that out of his system, so it’s taken some time. But that swing yesterday and those at-bats today, you’re seeing a big, strong athlete there that could be transforming into a real baseball player, and that’s exciting because he’s got great makeup. He’s got great character, and now he just needs to put his game together, and the last two days have been pretty impressive.”

Not to be outdone, freshman shortstop Cody Schrier has shined in Houston. Along with Yates, he was a rare bright spot in the game against Baylor, collecting two hits. Against Oklahoma, he had two more, an RBI double in the third and a mammoth home run to left-center in the sixth to restore the Bruins’ 10-run lead and set things up for the run rule finish. He’s UCLA’s leading hitter as it stands now and looks the part of a star in the making. 

Additionally, freshman second baseman Ethan Gourson had two hits, including a two-run single in the first, sophomore DH Daylen Reyes initially came on as a pinch-hitter in the third and immediately doubled, redshirt sophomore catcher Tommy Beres had an RBI single in the third and sophomore right fielder JonJon Vaughns doubled home a run in the sixth. 

Vaughns also had the defensive play of the game, a running catch up against the wall in right field to rob Jimmy Crooks of a run-scoring extra-base hit in the first. Given his background as a linebacker on the UCLA football team, it’s no shock that he bounced right back up after a pretty hard collision with the wall. 

“No fear. He had no fear of the wall,” Savage said. “I mean, that was really a run-saving catch. Crooks hit that on the screws. That could have been a double for sure and a run and (he) saved (starting pitcher) Max (Rajcic) a run there. He’s just got mentality. He’s just an exceptional athlete.”

One thing that still remains to be seen is the full identity of the UCLA offense. On paper, given the athleticism on the roster and the 27 stolen bases so far, it looks like a group that’s going to score most of its runs by making things happen on the bases. Grad transfer left fielder Kenny Oyama, who hits out of the leadoff spot, has been particularly effective by going 10-for-10 in steals. 

The trouble with that is, however, that it’s hard to play that kind of baseball when runners aren’t on base, as was the case against Baylor. So in that way, the physicality that UCLA showed on Saturday is a sight for sore eyes for the Bruins, as hitting the ball out of the ballpark is a quick way to remedy on-base woes. 

This team likely isn’t as physical as the 2019 team, which had a lineup anchored by Michael Toglia and his 17 home runs, but Saturday showed that there is more physicality to be found than previously expected from those outside the program. 

“It’s a great question,” Savage said of his team’s offensive identity. “I think we’re still trying to build that identity, but there is some physicality. People would probably not believe me right now, but if they saw the last couple of days, I think they would, and at the end of the day, we believe we can have a nice blend of speed and some power.”

It won’t surprise anyone that UCLA has pitched extremely well in general in its first 11 games. It’s the offense that has invited more questions, but maybe it provided some answers on Saturday.