No. 3 UCLA Evens Georgia Tech Series With 8-2 Win

Saturday, February 23

Atlanta, GA

11:00 AM

UCLA

5-1

UCLA at Georgia Tech

3-2

UCLA

Georgia Tech

Matt McLain picked up his first career home run Saturday as UCLA topped Georgia Tech (photo: Scott Chandler)

Photo by: Scott Chandler

No. 3 UCLA Evens Georgia Tech Series With 8-2 Win

February 23, 2019 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

ATLANTA, Ga. – Freshman center fielder Matt McLain and junior first baseman Michael Toglia each had a pair of extra-base hits to lead No. 3 UCLA to a series-evening 8-2 win over No. 19 Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.

The Yellow Jackets (3-2) opened the game's scoring with a single run in the bottom of the first, but the Bruins (5-1) responded with a two-spot in the second to take the lead and then created a big cushion with a four-run third.

From there, UCLA starter Jack Ralston and the bullpen combined to give up just one run the rest of the way. The bullpen in particular was effective, holding the Jackets without a hit over four combined innings of work.

McLain (2-3, home run, double) and Toglia (2-4, two doubles) were just a few of the many offensive standouts for the Bruins on Saturday.

Senior DH Jake Pries, batting cleanup for the first time this season, was 3-5 and scored a pair of runs. Ryan Kreidler, who was elevated to the No. 2 spot in the lineup while sliding over to short, had a trio of base hits. Junior second baseman Chase Strumpf added an insurance run with a solo roundtripper in the seventh inning, his team-leading second of the year. As a team, UCLA collected 13 hits.

McLain put the Bruins in business in the second, perfectly placing a liner into the left-center field gap for a two-bagger that gave UCLA two runners in scoring position with just one away. Senior third baseman Jake Hirabayashi, who drew into the starting lineup for the first time this season, later drove in the game-tying and go-ahead runs with a ground ball single up the middle.

UCLA kept up its offensive momentum in the third, putting the game away with a four-run outburst. Pries sparked a two-out rally for the Bruins, pulling a base hit into left field to put two aboard for Toglia. UCLA's Preseason All-American first baseman, batting from the right side, proceeded to yank a grounder inside the third base bag for a two-run double that stretched the Bruins' lead to three.

The next batter, McLain, capped off the rally by blasting a 2-1 offspeed pitch into the netting above the left field fence for his first collegiate home run.

Ralston, who struck out seven over six shutout innings last week against St. John's, bent but didn't break against the Yellow Jackets. The redshirt junior righty pitched around four walks, allowing just four hits over his five-inning outing.

He was at his best when the stakes were high, as he held the Jackets 0-7 in at-bats with runners in scoring position. His best inning was the fifth, as he rolled up a 6-4-3 double play to negate a leadoff walk, then froze Oscar Serratos to pick up his fourth and final strikeout of the afternoon.

Freshman righty Jack Filby started off an impressive string of results for the relief corps, retiring all six batters he faced over his two innings. His second inning was his most effective, as he struck out the leadoff batter and later made a nice defensive play after deflecting a comebacker, bouncing over to the first base side, collecting the ball, and then shoveling it over to first just in time to beat the runner.

Redshirt senior Nate Hadley followed with a perfect eighth, highlighted by a swinging strikeout and a weak comebacker that ended the inning. Finally, sophomore closer Holden Powell allowed just a walk – Georgia Tech's lone baserunner of the final four innings – in a scoreless ninth.

The Bruins and Jackets are scheduled to play a rubber match at 10:00 a.m. PT on Sunday morning. Freshman righty Jesse Bergin (1-0) is set to start for UCLA against Georgia Tech southpaw Brant Hurter.