UCLA
6-1
UCLA at Georgia Tech
3-3
UCLA Blanks Georgia Tech to Win Rubber Match
February 24, 2019 | Baseball
ATLANTA, Ga. โ Freshman right-hander Jesse Bergin turned in his second consecutive run-free start and the offense produced runs in four of the final five innings as No. 3 UCLA claimed the rubber match and three-game series with a 6-0 shutout win over No. 19 Georgia Tech on Sunday afternoon.
UCLA (6-1) had previously evened the series with a comfortable 8-2 win on Saturday. Georgia Tech (3-3) dealt the Bruins their first loss of the year on Sunday with an 11-inning, walk-off victory. UCLA now has three shutouts on the young season, holding the opposition to four hits or fewer in each of those contests.
Senior DH Jake Pries had three hits for the second straight day to lead UCLA's offense. Junior left fielder Jeremy Ydens, first baseman Michael Toglia, and senior third baseman Jake Hirabayashi all chipped in extra-base hits, while junior shortstop Ryan Kreidler added a solo home run to left, his first of the year, in the ninth.
A week after allowing just two hits over 5 2/3 scoreless innings in his collegiate debut, Bergin logged nearly identical numbers against the Yellow Jackets. The Studio City, Calif. native reached a new career-high with six innings pitched, allowing just two hits and no runs while walking a pair and striking out four.
Like rotation-mate Jack Ralston did on Saturday, Bergin shut down the Georgia Tech offense once it got runners into scoring position, holding the home team to an 0-7 line with runners on second or third base. He came out of the gate firing, retiring the first six batters he faced including an inning-ending strikeout in the second.
His most impressive escape act came in the third, as he danced out of two-on, one-out situation by inducing a flyout to center fielder Matt McLain and a routine ground ball to second baseman Chase Strumpf.
UCLA broke through in the fifth inning, thanks almost exclusively to the legs of Garrett Mitchell. The sophomore right fielder led off that frame by legging out an infield single up the middle, then advanced to third on a sac bunt and a passed ball. He came across moments later on a Jeremy Ydens RBI groundout.
The Bruins doubled their lead in each of the next two innings.
Despite loading the bases and facing four different GT pitchers, UCLA had to settle for one run in the sixth on a McLain sac fly.
Then in the seventh, a trio of hits and a critical Jackets error allowed the lead to balloon to 4-0. Ydens led off that inning by hitting a chopper over the third baseman's head for a double. The next batter, Kreidler, laid down a sac bunt but Georgia Tech pitcher Jonathan Hughes tried to get the lead runner at third and instead threw the ball into left field which allowed Ydens to come in. Toglia wrapped up the inning's scoring with a perfectly-placed bloop single into shallow center that brought in Kreidler.
The UCLA bullpen finished off the shutout with three innings of scoreless relief.
Junior righty Kyle Mora was especially effective, inducing swinging strikeouts from all three Tech batters he faced in the eighth. He now has 17 strikeouts in eight innings of work this year, over two per inning. Sophomore right-hander Holden Powell added a scoreless ninth, extending his scoreless streak to five innings to start the year.
UCLA is next in action on Tuesday afternoon, heading to Northridge for a 2:00 p.m. showdown at CSUN. The Bruins will host Sacramento State for a three-game series this weekend starting at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bergin, Jesse (2-0)
L: Hurter, B (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Ydens, Jeremy 1 ; Toglia, Michael 1 ; Hirabayashi, Jake 1
HR: Kreidler, Ryan 1
RBI: Ydens, Jeremy 1 ; Kreidler, Ryan 1 ; Toglia, Michael 1 ; McLain, Matt 1 ; Mitchell, Garrett 1
SH: Kreidler, Ryan 1 ; McLain, Matt 1 ; McInerny, Will 1
SF: McLain, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ydens, Jeremy 1 ; Kreidler, Ryan 2 ; Strumpf, Chase 1 ; Toglia, Michael 1 ; Mitchell, Garrett 1
HBP: Toglia, Michael 1 ; Mitchell, Garrett 2
PO: Strumpf, Chase 1
Batting:
2B: McCann, K 1
SH: Webb, J 1
Base Running:
SB: Webb, J 1
HBP: Webb, J 1
