It was a rough weekend for our Huskers as we lost all three games to the UCLA Bruins. This was our first series of three in our weeklong trip to California. We struggled offensively and defensively, which ultimately led to us getting swept by the Bruins. Let’s look at what went wrong.
Game One
Game one was a slow start for our Huskers with UCLA getting the first two runs of the game. However, we were able to tie it up in the six with a two-run home run! Unfortunately, we were unable to add any more runs, and UCLA added three runs off of two hits. The Bruins won game one by a score of 5-2.
This was a difficult game for our Huskers all the way around. Our offense struggled to get big hits in critical moments, and our pitchers had some miscues on the mound. We had a few great opportunities on offense to add some more runs but could not do so. Although we had a two-run home run, we didn’t do much else on the offensive side. Our pitchers also had a rough outing with their inability to get outs at critical moments. These mistakes ultimately cost us the first game.
Game Two
Game two was not a good game for us offensively or defensively. We started off the scoring with one run in the first inning, but it would be a while before we scored again. UCLA capitalized off of a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth. They then added six runs in the bottom of the fifth. This included two home runs, one being a solo home run and the other a three-run home run. This brought the Bruins lead up to eight. In the eighth, we added one more run, but UCLA added two. We got one more run in the ninth, but that was it. We lost by a score of 11-3.
This game started out OK for us but got away quickly. With back-to-back three-run home runs in the fourth and fifth innings it made it very difficult for us to catch up. A crooked number in the fifth made this nearly impossible. We couldn’t get anything going on offense and had pitching struggles throughout the day. Our inability to get big hits when we needed them made it a difficult day for our Huskers. This was a disappointing loss for our team. Unfortunately, it did not get much better in game three.
Game Three
Similar to game one, game three was a very tight game. The Huskers started off the scoring with two runs in the second inning. Our only other run of the game came in the top of the third. UCLA’S first run, came off of a solo home run in the fourth. They tied it up in the fifth then added two more in the sixth. The Bruins won the game by a score of 5-3.
This was a close game through the first four innings, but unfortunately, we were unable to get this win. It was another game of missed opportunities on offense and pitching struggles. We had multiple opportunities to get runs, but our offense went stagnant similar to the first two games. As for our pitchers and defense, we couldn’t stop the Bruins offense when we needed to. This led to a disappointing series sweep by UCLA.
Overall Thoughts
Unfortunately, this series did not go the way we hoped it would. We just couldn’t find our rhythm on defense and couldn’t capitalize on offense when we needed to. We were able to keep game one and game three close, however, game two got away from us. UCLA has a very explosive and powerful offense that really hurt us this weekend. They are a very good team, and this was on display this weekend. I have to admit, I was very disappointed with this performance this weekend. However, I believe we can turn this thing around. Up Next, we travel to Malibu, California to take on Pepperdine on Tuesday at 5 PM.
GBR
