Lars Nootbaar made a change by staying the same. It led to an extra-innings RBI double to push USC to a 4-3 win over UCLA in the Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic on Sunday evening.
Normally when a pitcher gets two strikes against Nootbaar, the USC cleanup hitter will spread out his stance, cut down the intensity of his swing and all but eliminate his leg kick. But after UCLA reliever Scott Burke pushed the count to 2-2 with two outs in the 10th inning, Nootbaar eschewed his normal contact-driven two-strike approach and stuck with his power stroke.