UCLA
7-0
Saint Mary's
2-5
Bruins Shut Out SMC 2-0, Finish Off Sweep
February 23, 2020 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES – No. 8 UCLA shut out visiting St. Mary's 2-0 on Sunday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium to complete a weekend sweep of the Gaels.
The blanking was the second of the weekend and third of the season for the Bruins (7-0), who outscored SMC (2-5) by a margin of 14-1 in the series.
Sophomore right-hander Jesse Bergin pitched the first 5 1/3 innings of the combined shutout to pick up his second win of the season in as many starts.
The Bruins' late-inning bullpen combo of Michael Townsend, Kyle Mora, and Holden Powell did the rest, teaming up to throw 3 2/3 scoreless with just one hit against.
"In any winning program, you have to pitch and play defense," said UCLA head coach John Savage. "I thought we played exceptional defense all weekend long, our communication is getting better on the field – between infielders, between outfielders, the pitcher-catcher relationship – all those are major ingredients of any winning team. I'm seeing a really good defensive team forming. It's still early obviously, but they're showing characteristics of being the same team day-in and day-out."
UCLA produced all the offense it would need in a two-run third inning. The Bruins strung together five consecutive hits during that rally, including a double from junior center fielder Garrett Mitchell.
The runs came across on RBI singles from the middle infield tandem of second baseman Michael Curialle and shortstop Matt McLain. Curialle inside-outed a line drive to right field to plate Mitchell and open the scoring. He then stole second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch, allowing him to come across when McLain's chopper into the 5-6 hole was not handled in time by the SMC shortstop.
The Gaels didn't mount much of a threat the rest of the way, only getting a runner to second on two occasions and never having a runner reach third.
Townsend and Powell each rescued the Bruins from potential jams. Townsend inherited a two-on, one-out situation from Bergin in the sixth, but UCLA got out with a zero as catcher Will McInerny cut down Ryan Novis trying to steal third before an inning-ending groundout. Townsend would go on to record a three-up, three-down seventh.
Similarly, Powell got the Bruins out of a two-on, out-jam in the eighth with a swinging strikeout and a weak grounder. He allowed just one baserunner in the ninth – on a hit by pitch – en route to his second save of the year.
A week after earning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week consideration, Bergin was solid again for the Bruins on Sunday. He settled down after a two-runner first, allowing just one baserunner in the ensuing four innings. He retired eight consecutive batters at one point, and ended the day with a career-high matching nine strikeouts.
Redshirt freshman first baseman JT Schwartz (3-4) and sophomore third baseman Jake Moberg (2-3) each had multi-hit days for the Bruins. Schwartz has a trio of three-hit performances over his last four games.
UCLA is set to play five games this week, hosting Keio University in a Tuesday afternoon exhibition, facing Pepperdine in a Wednesday midweek, and then traveling for the Frisco College Classic featuring Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and Illinois.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bergin, Jesse (2-0)
L: PONCE, Dalton (0-1)
S: Powell, Holden (2)
Base Running:
CS: NOVIS, Ryan 1
HBP: CAMPOS, Christopher 1
Batting:
2B: Mitchell, Garrett 1 ; Schwartz, JT 1
RBI: Curialle, Michael 1 ; McLain, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mitchell, Garrett 1 ; Curialle, Michael 1
SB: Curialle, Michael 1
CS: Mitchell, Garrett 1 ; Moberg, Jake 1
