Bruins Fall to Utah in Game Two, 7-3

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah used a six-run bottom of the fifth to record a 7-3 win over the UCLA baseball team on Saturday afternoon at Smith's Ballpark.

The result clinched the series for the Utes (28-13, 13-7 Pac-12), who took Friday's series opener with a 13th-inning walk-off. UCLA moved to 13-27, 6-17.

All nine starters reached base at least once for the Bruins. Junior DH Jack Holman (2-4) and senior right fielder JonJon Vaughns (2-3) both had multi-hit performances, and freshman catcher Blake Balsz drew a pair of walks out of the nine-hole.

Utah was led by the top of its order, as leadoff man Kai Roberts went 2-5 with a game-high three RBIs while two-hitter Karson Bodily went 4-4 with a run driven in.

Right-hander Merit Jones (6 IP, 3 ER) turned in a quality start to earn the win for the Utes. Relievers Jackson Elder and Micah Ashman kept UCLA off the board over the final three innings of the game.

Sophomore righty Michael Barnett was a tough-luck loser for the Bruins, as he cruised through his first four innings before running into trouble in the fifth. Luke Rodriguez and Caedon Kottinger posted 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief to close it out.

UCLA opened the game's scoring in the top of the fourth, as Holman led off that inning with a triple into the right-center field gap before scoring on a sac fly from the next batter. The Bruins would score two more runs in the sixth, as a two-bagger from Roch Cholowsky down the left-field line started a string of four consecutive hits for UCLA. Runs came across on RBI knocks from AJ Salgado and Payton Brennan.

Barnett was strong early on in the game, not allowing a hit until a leadoff single in the fourth. He struggled slightly with control in the early going but did a good job to negate damage from free passes, stranding a pair in the first and getting a clutch double to face the minimum in the third.

Utah had five hits as part of its decisive fifth-inning six-spot. Roberts had the biggest single swing of the frame, driving in two with a double to left-center to give Utah the lead for good at 2-1. The final three runs of the frame were all unearned against Barnett.

UCLA and Utah conclude the series on Sunday afternoon at 12 p.m. PT.