UCLA
2-0
UC Riverside
0-2
No. 8 Bruins Throw Three-Hitter, Defeat UCR 9-1
February 15, 2020 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ No. 8 UCLA scored three runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back in a 9-1 win over UC Riverside on Saturday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Paired with Friday night's win, the Bruins (2-0) secured a series victory in their opening set to the 2020 season. UCLA now has 18 consecutive regular season series wins on its home field dating back to 2017.
Starting pitcher Nick Nastrini and a trio of UCLA relievers combined to throw a three-hitter in the triumph. The Bruin pitching staff has allowed just three runs and 10 hits over the first two games of the year.
"Nastrini wasn't overly sharp today, but he was good enough," said UCLA head coach John Savage. "I think when you're not that sharp, and you go five innings and give up one run, that's always a good thing. I don't think he was completely satisfied. We pitched well overall, I was very happy with how the bullpen threw the ball. "
The Bruins scored all the offense they would need in the first inning on Saturday, plating three runs before UCR (0-2) was able to record an out.
Junior center fielder Garrett Mitchell started the rally by wearing an 0-2 fastball off his back, moving into scoring position moments later with his second stolen base of the year.
Freshman second baseman Michael Curialle โ who hit a game-tying two-run homer Friday in his collegiate debut โ followed by lining a 2-2 slider into the right-center field gap to plate Mitchell.
Sophomore shortstop Matt McLain then provided the knockout punch of the rally, drilling a 1-0 fastball over the left-center field fence for a two-run home run, his first of the year. The Tustin, Calif. native later had a two-run single as part of a five-spot in the eighth inning to match his career-high with four RBIs. He had a team-high three hits in the contest.
Nastrini and the UCLA bullpen made that early lead hold up with a dominant collective performance on the mound.
In the first regular season weekend start of his career, Nastrini surrendered just two hits and one earned run over five innings of work, punching out five Highlanders in the process.
He started the contest with a 1-2-3 first, sandwiching a pair of weak groundouts with a strikeout on a breaking ball in the dirt.
Nastrini faltered only in the third inning, as UCR got the first two runners of the inning on and then plated a run on a sac fly. The San Diego, Calif. native was able to limit the damage there with some help from sophomore third baseman Jake Moberg, who made a heads-up play on a pop up and was able to double off a napping runner at first base to end the frame.
From there, the Highlanders weren't able to get a runner into scoring position the rest of the day.
Sophomore righty Sean Mullen was the first man out of the pen, surrendering just a single over two scoreless innings of relief. He induced a 4-3 double play โ featuring a nice grab up the middle from Curialle โ from the next batter to end his outing having faced the minimum.
Junior righty Michael Townsend followed with a 1-2-3 eighth, his second three-up, three-down frame in as many games. ย Sophomore right-hander Jack Filby closed out the game with a scoreless ninth, allowing just one baserunner via a one-out walk.
UCLA added an insurance run in the fifth, with Noah Cardenas dropping in a bloop single past a drawn-in infield to bring in McLain from third base. Jordan Prendiz (sac fly), Curialle (bases-loaded HBP), and Noah Cardenas (bases-loaded HBP) also collected RBIs during the eighth-inning rally. ย
Each of the top three hitters in the UCLA lineup โ Mitchell, Curialle, and McLain โ had multiple hits in the contest. Junior left fielder Pat Caulfield, a Santa Barbara City College transfer, made his first Division I start.
UCR starter Zach Jacobs was tagged with the loss after allowing UCLA's first inning rally. The freshman recovered after those early struggles, surrendering just one earned over the rest of his five-inning outing. Highlanderย pitchers hit five batsmen over the course of the game.
UCLA goes for the series sweep over UCR on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ย ย ย
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nastrini, Nick (1-0)
L: Jacobs, Zach (0-1)
Batting:
RBI: Bohall, Travis 1
SF: Bohall, Travis 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sanchez, Damien 1
Batting:
2B: Mitchell, Garrett 1 ; Curialle, Michael 1
HR: McLain, Matt 1
RBI: Curialle, Michael 2 ; McLain, Matt 4 ; Cardenas, Noah 2 ; Prendiz, Jordan 1
SF: Prendiz, Jordan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mitchell, Garrett 2 ; Curialle, Michael 2 ; McLain, Matt 2 ; Cardenas, Noah 1 ; Caulfield, Pat 1 ; Moberg, Jake 1
SB: Mitchell, Garrett 1
HBP: Mitchell, Garrett 2 ; Curialle, Michael 1 ; Schwartz, JT 1 ; Cardenas, Noah 1
