“I was hoping he could get through three, four, or five innings,” Rodriguez said.

UCLA designated hitter Jake Pries hit a two-run home against Thomas in the first inning. Thomas got through three innings with a tie score, but couldn’t retire a batter in the fourth inning.

Even if Baylor could generate offense against UCLA starting pitcher Jesse Bergin, who entered the game with a 5-0 record, the Bears had to go up against a UCLA bullpen that was one of the best in NCAA Division I baseball. But Baylor rebounded quickly, scoring three runs in the top of the second.

Designated hitter Andy Thomas led off the inning with a double to right. Davis Wendzel followed with an RBI double, and Cole Haring homered to deep center, lifting the Bears to a 3-2 advantage. UCLA squared things in the last of the third when Garrett Mitchell tripled down the right-field line and scored on shortstop Ryan Kreidler’s sacrifice fly.

Baylor scored a run in the fourth, fifth, and sixth inning, but UCLA banged out eight runs over that period and took an 11-6 advantage.

“At the end of the day, I just we could have done more,” said Haring, who also hit a solo home run in the fourth inning. “We had in mind that we would host a Super Regional, and we didn’t think we would lose.”