UCLA
33-7, 13-4
Utah at UCLA
12-24, 4-14
No. 1 UCLA Tops Utah 6-1, Clinches Series
April 27, 2019 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ Behind another strong start from junior righty Jack Ralston and key home runs from Michael Toglia and Jake Pries, UCLA recorded a series-clinching 6-1 win over Utah on Saturday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Ralston allowed a run on a two-out rally by the Utes (12-24, 4-14 Pac-12) in the first inning, but was absolutely dominant from there on out, giving up just one hit for the rest of his six innings while ending his outing by retiring 14 consecutive batters.
UCLA (33-7, 13-4) responded with a two-spot in the bottom of the first to take the lead for good, then added additional cushion with a two-run blast by Toglia in the third and a solo roundtripper by Pries in the fifth.
With the win, the Bruins won their 10th consecutive series to start the 2019 season and secured the best record through 40 games in program history.
Seven of nine starters for UCLA recorded a hit, led by Jack Stronach's 2-4 day.
Ralston allowed a one-out base hit to Dominic Foscalina in the second inning, which ultimately proved to be Utah's final baserunner against Ralston. Foscalina advanced into scoring position after stealing second with two outs, but Ralston responded by getting Matt Richardson โ the lone Ute to get a hit against Ryan Garcia on Friday night โ to fly out to center to end the threat.
Ralston proceeded to record 1-2-3 frames in the third through sixth innings, ending his day by retiring 14 consecutive Utah batters. That streak is the longest by a Bruin in 2019 and a new career-high for Ralston. In addition, Saturday was Ralston's second walk-free start of the year.
His defense did his job behind him, playing error-free baseball. UCLA made several highlight-reel plays, including a running over-the-shoulder grab by Matt McLain on the warning track in dead center to end the third and a nice backhand-and-throw from third baseman Jake Hirabayashi in the fifth.
Ralston's afternoon included a career-high eight strikeouts, five of which came over the first two innings. Despite the run against, Ralston struck out the side in the first and then picked up another pair of Ks in the second. He added a two-strikeout frame in the fourth before picking up his final strikeout to lead off the fifth. After receiving the win, Ralston improved to 7-0 on the year.ย
"It was a well-played game today," said UCLA head coach John Savage. "They put up that one in the first, but we answered back and then Ralston got into a rhythm and made some big pitches. He's mixing his pitches really well right now. He's done an exceptional job at giving us a chance every time he goes out there. You have to tip your cap because he's a battler and a grinder, and he did a great job of stopping them after that one-spot."
Junior shortstop Ryan Kreidler and junior second baseman Chase Strumpf opened up the Bruins' two-run rally in the bottom of the first with back-to-back one out doubles, tying the game at 1-1. After Pries was hit with a 1-2 pitch, Stronach bounced a base hit through the left side to plate Strumpf and put the Bruins ahead by a run.
Toglia gave UCLA a comfortable lead in the third, hitting a two-run moonshot from the right side of the plate for his team-leading seventh home run of the year. Two innings later, Pries kept pace in the race for the team lead in homers by lofting a fly ball over the left-center field fence for his sixth of the campaign. Pries has now homered against UCLA's last three opponents after recording big flies against Cal State Fullerton and Cal.
The Bruins capped the day's scoring with a single run in the eighth, as Stronach lined a base hit into right-center field to score Pries.
Over three combined innings, the UCLA bullpen didn't allow the Utes to threaten. Nate Hadley and Kyle Mora allowed just a single baserunner each in their respective innings, and then Holden Powell went 1-2-3 in the ninth to close it down. With the shutout frame, Powell has now gone 15 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.
Utah starter Josh Tedeschi took the loss, dropping to 5-4 after surrending six earned while pitching into the eighth. A day after getting two-hit by Ryan Garcia, Utah managed just four hits against Ralston and the UCLA bullpen.
UCLA and Utah conclude the series on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ralston, Jack (7-0)
L: Tedeschi, Josh (5-4)
Batting:
2B: Kramer, Shea 1
RBI: Kramer, Shea 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Migueles, Erick 1
SB: Foscalina, Dominic 1
Batting:
2B: Kreidler, Ryan 1 ; Strumpf, Chase 1 ; Stronach, Jack 1 ; McLain, Matt 1
HR: Pries, Jake 1 ; Toglia, Michael 1
RBI: Strumpf, Chase 1 ; Pries, Jake 1 ; Toglia, Michael 2 ; Stronach, Jack 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Kreidler, Ryan 1 ; Strumpf, Chase 2 ; Pries, Jake 2 ; Toglia, Michael 1
SB: Pries, Jake 1
CS: Mitchell, Garrett 1
HBP: Pries, Jake 1 ; Cardenas, Noah 1
PO: McLain, Matt 1
