UCLA
13-3, 1-0
Oregon State
13-2-1, 0-1
Bruins Shut Out No. 3 OSU 8-0, Savage Wins 500th at UCLA
March 15, 2019 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ Junior left fielder Jack Stronach had a home run and three RBIs while Zach Pettway pitched seven shutout innings as No. 2 UCLA took Friday's Pac-12 opener at Jackie Robinson Stadium against No. 3 Oregon State by a score of 8-0.
The win was the 500th at UCLA for head coach John Savage, who took the reins of the program prior to the 2005 season. He needs just 12 more wins to record 600 victories overall for his career. Savage is the third coach in program history to reach the 500-win mark.
With tonight's 8-0 shutout of Oregon State, John Savage has recorded his 500th win at UCLA.
— UCLA Baseball (@UCLABaseball) March 16, 2019
Congrats, Coach!#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/vhuAKq1Gpw
With six shutouts by the pitching staff this season, UCLA is now tied for the national lead with Tennessee.
Five separate UCLA batters had multiple hits on Friday, led by Stronach's 2-2 night.
Hitting in the cleanup spot for the first time this year, Stronach's first homer of 2019 โ a moonshot inside the right field foul pole โ put the Bruins (13-3, 1-0) up 3-0 in the third inning. He added a sac fly in the fifth to pick up his third RBI of the evening, matching a career-high.
His third-inning big fly was preceded by a double into the left-center field gap by sophomore right fielder Garrett Mitchell, who has now recorded multi-hit efforts in all three games since moving to the leadoff spot.
UCLA opened the game's scoring in the second inning. Junior first baseman Michael Toglia started the rally with a leadoff single, then stole second despite a swing-through on a hit-and-run. He came around moments later on an RBI base hit to right field from sophomore shortstop Kevin Kendall.
The Bruins put the game away with a four-run seventh inning as three different Bruins drove in runs. First, UCLA loaded the bases on two walks and a Strumpf single. With Jarron Silva at the plate, Oregon State's Adley Rutschman was called for catcher's interference, bringing in the first run of the frame. Toglia and Matt McLain followed with run-scoring singles, and Kendall capped the inning with a sac fly to left. UCLA has now outscored its opponents 31-1 in the seventh inning this season.ย
Pettway was brilliant on the mound for UCLA, allowing just three hits over seven shutout innings. The sophomore right-hander added eight strikeouts, the fourth time in five outings this year he has recorded eight punchouts or more.
Oregon State rarely threatened against Pettway, getting a runner into scoring position with less than two outs just once in the game. In that inning, the top of the fifth, the Beavers got a runner on second with one away after a leadoff single from George Mendazona and a sac bunt, but Pettway responded by getting back-to-back harmless flyouts to end the threat.
Pettway went three-up, three-down in both the third and sixth innings, and started the night with a three-strikeout frame in the first. The Long Beach, Calif. native received the win to even his record at 1-1.
The standout outing followed a rare off-start for Pettway, who gave up six earned last week against then-No. 16 Michigan.
"I was proud of Zach," said Savage. "He got beat up a little bit last week, but the good thing about Zach is the perseverance. He's a competitor and I knew he'd bounce back. He understands the task of being a Friday night guy."
Junior right-hander Kyle Mora completed the shutout with two runs of scoreless relief. He allowed just a two-out single in the eighth before finishing it off with a perfect ninth.
Oregon State (13-2-1, 0-1) had just four hits as a team, three of which came off the bat of Mendazona. Starter Grant Gambrell took the loss after allowingย six earned over 6 1/3 innings, moving to 0-1 on the year.
The Bruins go for the series win on Saturday night behind the right arm of redshirt junior Jack Ralston (3-0, 1.96 ERA) while Oregon State will counter with senior righty Bryce Fehmel (3-0, 3.12 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., and the game will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks. ย
Before Friday's game, UCLA honored former Bruin standout Chase Utley, who retired from Major League Baseball this fall after an illustrious 16-year career with the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers. Utley was on hand for a special pre-game ceremony featuring a message from fellow Bruin and current Dodgers manager Dave Robert and a first pitch to Chase Strumpf. He had 1,885 hits and 259 home runs in his career, was a six-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and a 2008 World Series Champion with the Phillies.
Thanks to Chase for making it out to the game tonight! #GoBruins | #UCLAvsOSU pic.twitter.com/WNVh8kvE8w
— UCLA Baseball (@UCLABaseball) March 16, 2019
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Pettway, Zach (1-1)
L: Gambrell, Grant (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Mendazona, George 1
SH: Armstrong, Andy 1
Batting:
2B: Mitchell, Garrett 1
HR: Stronach, Jack 1
RBI: Stronach, Jack 3 ; Silva, Jarron 1 ; Toglia, Michael 1 ; McLain, Matt 1 ; Kendall, Kevin 2
SH: Kreidler, Ryan 1
SF: Stronach, Jack 1 ; Kendall, Kevin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mitchell, Garrett 2 ; Kreidler, Ryan 1 ; Strumpf, Chase 1 ; Stronach, Jack 2 ; Silva, Jarron 1 ; Toglia, Michael 1
SB: Toglia, Michael 1 ; McLain, Matt 1 ; Kendall, Kevin 1
