No. 1 UCLA opened its weekend series against No. 13 Oregon with an 11-1 win in seven innings Friday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles.
The Bruins broke it open with a six-run third inning and never let Oregon settle in. Wylan Moss, making just his third start of the season, went the distance and struck out nine, while Oregon managed only three hits and its lone run came on Drew Smith's long sacrifice fly. Will Sanford had trouble finishing innings for Oregon, which was limited to one extra-base hit, a double by Burke-Lee Mabeus, and drew only two walks.
The loss came in the opener of a ranked Big Ten series that carried real weight for both teams. Oregon entered at 35-13 overall and 17-8 in conference play, while UCLA came in at 45-4 overall and a perfect 25-0 in the Big Ten. Mark Wasikowski shuffled Oregon's lineup but still did not have Jax Gimenez available.
Saturday night brought the next test, with Collin Clarke scheduled to start for Oregon and Michael Barnett set to go for UCLA. The second game was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. PST and to air on Big Ten Network, with Oregon needing a quick response after being overmatched from the start.
