UCLA
13-4, 1-1
Oregon State at UCLA
14-2-1, 1-1
No. 2 UCLA Falls to No. 3 Oregon State, 7-3
March 16, 2019 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ Freshman center fielder Matt McLain had a pair of extra-base hits and redshirt junior Jack Ralston allowed just one run in a six-inning start, but No. 3 Oregon State recorded a series-evening 7-3 win over No. 2 UCLA on Saturday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Saturday's decision moved both team's Pac-12 records to 1-1 after UCLA (13-4 overall) posted an 8-0 shutout over the Beavers (14-2-1) on Friday night.
Despite the ultimate four-run margin, the game was tied heading into the ninth.
OSU, which had never led prior to the ninth, put up a four-spot in the ninth thanks to a pair of RBI singles after loading the bases. Alex McGarry drove in the game-winning run with a single back up the middle to bring in one and make it 4-3, then Adley Rutschman cleared the bases with a single (aided by an error) to provide the final scoreline.
McLain had one of his strongest offensive days yet as a Bruin to lead the UCLA lineup, going 2-4 and figuring into the scoring for all three runs.
He opened the game's scoring by legging out a potential double play ball in the second, allowing Jack Stronach to come across. McLain put the Bruins up by a run in the fifth after lofting a three-bagger into the right-center gap to plate Michael Toglia, who had doubled the at-bat prior.
Kevin Kendall cashed in McLain moments later with an RBI groundout to make it 3-1 in UCLA's favor.
Ralston received a no-decision on Saturday after allowing just three hits and one earned over six innings of work.
The Newhall, Calif. native did a good job of pitching out of the stretch, limiting the Beavers to one hit in six at-bats with runners in scoring position. Ralston ended his day with a 1-2-3 sixth inning, rolling up three consecutive ground balls.
Sophomore right fielder Garrett Mitchell was 1-4 with a stolen base on Saturday. He has now gone 7-16 (.438) in four games since moving to the leadoff spot in the lineup, and his stolen base gave him a team-leading five swipes on the year.
UCLA and Oregon State conclude their series on Sunday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. in a Pac-12 Networks-televised contest.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Eisert, Brandon (5-0)
L: Powell, Holden (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Ober, Ryan 1 ; Casey, Joe 1
HR: McGarry, Alex 1
RBI: Meckler, Wade 1 ; McGarry, Alex 2 ; Rutschman, Adley 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Meckler, Wade 2 ; McGarry, Alex 2 ; Casey, Joe 2 ; Fuchs, Greg 1
SB: Meckler, Wade 1
CS: Philip, Beau 1
Batting:
2B: Stronach, Jack 1 ; Toglia, Michael 1 ; McLain, Matt 1
3B: McLain, Matt 1
RBI: McLain, Matt 2 ; Kendall, Kevin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stronach, Jack 1 ; Toglia, Michael 1 ; McLain, Matt 1
SB: Mitchell, Garrett 1
HBP: Pries, Jake 1
