UCLA
46-8, 23-5
Oregon
27-28, 10-18
UCLA Clinches Pac-12 Title With 4-2 Win Over Oregon
May 23, 2019 | Baseball
EUGENE, Ore. โ Junior first baseman Michael Toglia hit a tie-breaking two-run home run in the top of the eighth to help deliver a 4-2 win for UCLA over Oregon in Thursday night's series opener at PK Park. The victory, paired with losses by Stanford and Oregon State, clinched the 2019 Pac-12 Championship for the Bruins.
The conference title is the 12th all-time for UCLA (46-8, 23-5) and the first since 2015. It's the fourth league title under head coach John Savage. In addition, the Bruins set a new program record for conference wins at 23.
Toglia's two-run bomb was the difference-maker in Thursday's contest. The Gig Harbor, Wash. native, who was batting from the left side, sent the first pitch thrown by Oregon reliever Ryne Nelson over the left field fence to plate pinch-runner Jake Moberg and break a 2-2 tie. It was the 14th roundtripper of the year for Toglia, extending his team lead.
From there, UCLA's bullpen shut out the Ducks (27-27, 10-18) to preserve the win. Only one Oregon batter reached against the Bruins' late-inning duo of Kyle Mora and Holden Powell. The latter went 1-2-3 in the ninth inning to pick up his league-leading 15th save of the year.
When you find out you're the ?@pac12? Champion. #GoBruins #Bedlam #Pac12Champs pic.twitter.com/LWSj5jH7ll
— UCLA Baseball (@UCLABaseball) May 24, 2019
Junior right-hander Ryan Garcia allowed just three hits over seven innings of two-run ball to pick up the win for the Bruins, improving to 9-0 on the year.
He overcame a slow start and got into a groove in the middle innings, retiring 12 straight batters between the third and seventh innings. His best frame was the fourth, when he struck out a pair of batters as part of a three-up, three-down sequence.
Oregon scored both of its runs for the day off Garcia in the third inning, eliminating an early 2-0 UCLA lead. Garcia did a solid job at limiting the damage in that frame, getting the next three batters after an RBI double from Spencer Steer.
UCLA opened the scoring with single runs in the second and third innings. Jeremy Ydens plated the game's first run, drawing a nine-pitch walk with one out in the second and then coming around on back-to-back singles from Jack Stronach and Noah Cardenas.
The Bruins doubled their lead in the next inning, as Ryan Kreidler and Jake Pries both doubled to bring in a run.
Oregon starter Robert Ahlstrom struck out nine batters while pitching into the eighth inning. He was a tough luck loser for the Ducks after Toglia homered on the first pitch thrown by his successor.
Four separate Bruins finished with multiple hits on Thursday: Kreidler (2-4, run scored), Pries (2-4, RBI), Jack Stronach (2-4), and Noah Cardenas (2-3, RBI). UCLA out-hit Oregon 10-4 for the night.
UCLA and Oregon continue their series on Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Garcia, Ryan (9-0)
L: Ahlstrom, Robert (5-7)
S: Powell, Holden (15)
Batting:
2B: Kreidler, Ryan 1 ; Pries, Jake 1 ; Stronach, Jack 1
HR: Toglia, Michael 1
RBI: Pries, Jake 1 ; Toglia, Michael 2 ; Cardenas, Noah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kreidler, Ryan 1 ; Moberg, Jake 1 ; Toglia, Michael 1 ; Ydens, Jeremy 1
SB: Kreidler, Ryan 1
CS: Kreidler, Ryan 1
Batting:
2B: Steer, Spencer 1
RBI: Steer, Spencer 1 ; DeLuca, Jonny 1
SH: Smith, Tanner 1 ; Campbell, Cameron 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Smith, Tanner 1 ; Steer, Spencer 1
