UCLA
3-0
Gonzaga
0-3
UCLA Blanks Gonzaga, 6-0, to Finish Weekend Sweep
February 18, 2024 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES – Sophomore right-hander Michael Barnett delivered five scoreless innings in his debut start of 2024 to lead No. 22 UCLA to a 6-0 win over Gonzaga on Sunday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
The blanking finished off a weekend sweep for the Bruins (3-0), who outscored the Bulldogs (0-3) by a margin of 24-10 over the series.
Eight of nine starters reached base at least once for UCLA, with the Bruins drawing 13 walks as a team. Junior second baseman Duce Gourson (2-4) delivered the biggest offensive blow of the day for UCLA, scorching a two-run homer to right in the bottom of the first inning that proved to be decisive.
That home run was part of first-inning three-spot for UCLA, as freshman third baseman Roch Cholowsky later plated junior shortstop Cody Schrier with a line-single to left field. It was the second consecutive day that Gourson and leadoff hitter Dean West teamed up to make it 2-0 after the first two batters of the game, as the duo went double-home run on Saturday and walk-home run on Sunday.
UCLA would go on to score in each of its first three offensive innings to make it 5-0 early. Freshman center fielder Payton Brennan led the second off with a triple and later scored on an errant pickoff throw, and West legged out a chopper to second to bring in AJ Salgado from third base to account for the Bruins' run in the third.
Barnett was dominant for UCLA over his five innings of work, retiring the first six batters he faced and ultimately posting a trio of 1-2-3 frames. The Bulldogs only tested him in the third, but Barnett came up with two of his career-high six strikeouts to strand a pair of runners in scoring position and keep the shutout intact.
After that escape act, he went three-up three-down in the fourth and allowed just a two-out infield single in the fifth.
The relief trio of freshman Landon Stump, junior Nate Leibold, and graduate Rashad Ruff combined to hold Gonzaga off the board the rest of the way.
Stump was the first man out of the 'pen, striking out three in just 1 2/3 innings. Leibold entered the game with the bases loaded in the seventh and induced an inning-ending grounder on his first pitch, then had a scoreless eighth. Ruff finished it off with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
UCLA concludes its season-opening on Tuesday night, hosting LMU at 5 p.m. PT.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Barnett, Michael (1-0)
L: Nate DeSchryver (0-1)
Base Running:
SB: Josh Hankins 1
HBP: Max Coupe 1 ; Jordan Hamberg 1
Batting:
2B: Gourson, Duce 1 ; Schrier, Cody 1
3B: Brennan, Payton 1
HR: Gourson, Duce 1
RBI: West, Dean 1 ; Gourson, Duce 2 ; Cholowsky, Roch 1
Base Running:
RUNS: West, Dean 1 ; Gourson, Duce 1 ; Schrier, Cody 1 ; Reyes, Daylen 1 ; Salgado, AJ 1 ; Brennan, Payton 1
SB: West, Dean 1 ; Gourson, Duce 1 ; Schrier, Cody 1 ; Reyes, Daylen 1 ; Cholowsky, Roch 2 ; Salgado, AJ 1
HBP: Schrier, Cody 1 ; Vaughns, JonJon 1
