UCLA
9-0
Oklahoma State
7-3
No. 8 UCLA Controls No. 17 Oklahoma St. in 8-1 Victory
February 28, 2020 | Baseball
FRISCO, Texas – The No. 8 UCLA baseball team scored early and often, then received another standout start from junior right-hander Zach Pettway to record an 8-1 victory over No. 17 Oklahoma State in the opening game of the Frisco College Classic at Dr Pepper Ballpark.
The Bruins (9-0) posted multi-run rallies in their first two offensive innings, building a 5-0 lead by the middle of the second. UCLA would eventually make it 8-0 before the Cowboys (7-3) were able to get on the scoreboard.
That early lead proved to more than enough for Pettway – the reigning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week – who turned in an eye-popping line for the second consecutive week.
The Long Beach, Calif. native allowed just two hits and no runs while completing seven full, the longest start by a Bruin pitcher so far this year. He only needed 87 pitches to complete his outing.
UCLA had four separate players record multiple hits, led by sophomore shortstop Matt McLain's 3-5 afternoon. Junior center fielder Garrett Mitchell doubled in his first two at-bats to help spark the early rallies, while the Bruins also got plenty of offense from the bottom portion of the lineup as junior right fielder Pat Caulfield was 2-4 with a two-run double, and Mikey Perez was 2-3 with an RBI two-bagger.
Mitchell – the very first batter of the game – got the Bruins off to a great start when his grounder up the middle kicked off the second base bag and kicked into right-center for a leadoff double. McLain and sophomore catcher Noah Cardenas followed with doubles of their own later in the inning to plate a pair.
The Bruins came back with a three-spot in the second, with Caulfield starting the rally by singling and then scoring on a Mikey Perez double into the left field corner. Mitchell followed with another odd double, as his grounder to the right side found a hole in the Cowboys' outfield shift, allowing him a hustle RBI double. JT Schwartz capped the frame with a sac fly that plated Mitchell.
"It was a good win, Oklahoma State is going to win a lot of games this year," said UCLA head coach John Savage. "Zach did his thing. He came out and was very competitive. I wouldn't say he was completely sharp, but if that's not your "A" game, then you're pretty good. I thought we had some really good at-bats early, Garrett kind of set the tone with that leadoff double."
Oklahoma State starter Parker Scott, who entered the game with a 0.75 ERA, settled down after his early struggles, limiting UCLA to just one hit over the final four frames of his six-inning outing. The Bruins were not kind to his successor, righty Ryan Bogusz, loading the bases on three straight singles and then cashing in all of those runners on a Cardenas sac fly and two-run Caulfield double in the seventh.
The Cowboys rarely threatened against Pettway, as UCLA's Friday starter recorded 1-2-3 frames in five of his seven innings. Oklahoma State's best chance came in the third as they loaded the bases on two singles and the first walk of the year from Pettway, but the Long Beach Wilson HS product stranded all three runners with an inning-ending pop up to shallow left.
Senior Felix Rubi was strong in a ninth-inning relief role, striking out a pair of batters as part of a scoreless frame.
UCLA is set to face No. 18 Texas A&M (10-0) on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. PT in the second game of the Frisco College Classic for both teams.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Pettway, Zach (2-0)
L: Scott (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Mitchell, Garrett 2 ; McLain, Matt 1 ; Cardenas, Noah 1 ; Caulfield, Pat 1 ; Perez, Mikey 1
RBI: Mitchell, Garrett 1 ; McLain, Matt 1 ; Schwartz, JT 1 ; Cardenas, Noah 2 ; Caulfield, Pat 2 ; Perez, Mikey 1
SH: Moberg, Jake 1
SF: Schwartz, JT 1 ; Cardenas, Noah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mitchell, Garrett 2 ; Moberg, Jake 1 ; McLain, Matt 2 ; Schwartz, JT 1 ; Caulfield, Pat 1 ; Perez, Mikey 1
HBP: Perez, Mikey 1
Batting:
HR: McCusker 1
RBI: McCusker 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McCusker 1
SB: Polcovich 1 ; Trenkle 1
HBP: Garcia 1
