UCLA
43-8, 20-5
Washington at UCLA
28-20, 12-13
No. 1 UCLA Tops Washington 8-3 in Series Opener
May 17, 2019 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ Sophomore outfielder Garrett Mitchell had UCLA's first two-triple day in over three years and junior right-hander Ryan Garcia struck out 13 batters as the top-ranked Bruins defeated Washington 8-3 on Friday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 43-8 overall on the year with a 20-5 mark in league play. UCLA kept pace with Stanford, which defeated Oregon State on Friday night, to remain tied for first place in the Pac-12 standings. Washington dropped to 28-20, 12-13.
UCLA built up an early 4-1 lead after posting a three-spot in the bottom of the second, but UW briefly made it a close game again afterย plating two unearned runs in the top of the fifth. That was as close as it would get however, as the Bruins scored four unanswered runs to close out the contest.
As has been the case multiple times in recent weeks, Mitchell was UCLA's top offensive performer. The Orange, Calif. native had three hits in five at-bats, matched a career-high with four RBIs, and became the first Bruin since Kort Peterson on May 1, 2016 to collect two triples in the same game. He took over the team lead in triples with seven. ย
Senior DH Jake Pries (2-3, RBI double) and Noah Cardenas (3-4, two runs) also had standout performances with the bat.
Mitchell figured into the scoring for each of UCLA's first four runs.
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team invitee opened the game's scoring in the bottom of the first, rolling the first pitch he saw through the right side for a single. He was able to take second when the UW right fielder bobbled the ball trying to get it back to the infield, then he scored moments later on another first-pitch single, this time from Ryan Kreidler.
Batting with the bases loaded and two outs in the second, Mitchell drove in what turned out to be the game-winning run after pulling a grounder inside the first base bag and down the right field line for a three-run triple. ย
After the Huskies posted a two-spot in the top of the fifth to make it a one-run game, UCLA responded by scoring in each of the next three innings to put the game on ice.ย
Michael Toglia and Jake Pries ripped back-to-back two-out doubles to plate a single run In the fifth, then Mitchell tripled in another run in the sixth before scoring himself on a Kreidler sac fly. Cardenas made UW pay for a pair of HBPsย in the seventh by driving in Jack Stronach with a solid single to right to make it 8-3.
Garcia led a collective pitching effort that allowed just one earned run over the course of the game, earning the win to move to 8-0 on the year.
The Golden Spikes Semifinalist missed a lot of bats during his outing, especially early on as the first 10 outs he recorded came via the strikeout. After striking out the side in his first three innings of work, he fanned a pair in both of his final two innings to give him 13 on the day. The total was just one off his career high of 14, a complete gameย outing against Utah on Apr. 26.
The Huskies got to him in two separate innings, but only one of three runs he allowed was earned. UW got on the board in the second after Ramon Bramasco led off with a single and then came all the way around on a pair of balls in the dirt. The Huskies posted two runs in the fifth on a UCLA error.
The Bruin bullpen held Washington off the board the rest of the way, tossing four scoreless innings.
Michael Townsend got the sixth, working around a one-out single and striking out Nick Roberts to end the frame. Nate Hadley posted a 1-2-3 seventh, and struck out the first two batters he faced. Kyle Mora surrendered just a two-out walk in the eighth, and Felix Rubi finished it off with a scoreless ninth, rolling up a 6-4-3 double play to finish off the game.
UCLA and Washington resume the series tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. The Pac-12 Network is set to televise the contest.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Garcia, Ryan (8-0)
L: Rhodes, David (5-5)
Base Running:
RUNS: Ward, Braiden 1 ; Bramasco, Ramon 1 ; Petrie, Michael 1
Batting:
2B: Toglia, Michael 1 ; Pries, Jake 1
3B: Mitchell, Garrett 2
RBI: Mitchell, Garrett 4 ; Kreidler, Ryan 2 ; Pries, Jake 1 ; Cardenas, Noah 1
SH: McLain, Matt 1
SF: Kreidler, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mitchell, Garrett 2 ; Stronach, Jack 1 ; Toglia, Michael 1 ; Pries, Jake 1 ; Cardenas, Noah 2 ; McLain, Matt 1
SB: Mitchell, Garrett 1 ; Ydens, Jeremy 1
HBP: Stronach, Jack 1 ; Pries, Jake 1
