UCLA
5-6
Long Beach State
9-1-1
Frosh Pitchers Deal in 2-0 Midweek Loss at Long Beach State
March 05, 2024 | Baseball
LONG BEACH, Calif. – UCLA freshman right-handers Landon Stump and Luke Rodriguez teamed up for seven standout innings in midweek tilt at Long Beach State on Tuesday night, but the Bruins ultimately couldn't get the bats going in a 2-0 loss at Blair Field.
Stump drew the start and struck out eight over four innings of one-run ball. Those eight strikeouts were the most in a single game by a Bruin this season to date. He punched out five consecutive batters after allowing a base hit to lead off the game, becoming the first Bruin to strike out five straight batters since Max Rajcic accomplished the feat in 2022.
Rodriguez followed with three scoreless relief frames, going 1-2-3 in his first two innings of work and ultimately facing the minimum over his outing.
UCLA (5-6) matched LBSU (9-1-1) in the hit column at six, with each knock coming from a different Bruin. Only junior second baseman Duce Gourson, who doubled down the left-field line in the first, was able to collect an extra-base hit.
The Bruins' best chance by far to get on the board came in the eighth inning, as UCLA got runners on the corners with nobody out after junior shortstop Cody Schrier reached on an error to lead off the frame before moving to third on a hit-and-run single through a vacated right side from freshman third baseman Roch Cholowsky.
However, the Dirtbags summoned lefty Nick Williams to try and get them out of the jam, and he responded by striking out three consecutive UCLA batters to leave the game-tying run on third base.
LBSU opened the scoring, and ultimately brought in the game-winning run, in third inning after Ty Borgogno doubled to right and later scored on a sac fly. The hosts added an insurance run in the ninth after Williams' escape job to close out the scoring.
Stump was a tough-luck loser in the contest, falling to 0-1 on the year. Josh Donegan received the decision for LBSU after turning in 5 1/3 scoreless relief innings.
UCLA returns to action this weekend, opening Pac-12 play at California starting on Friday night at 6 p.m. PT. The three-game series will be streamed live through Pac-12.com.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Donegan, Josh (2-0)
L: Stump, Landon (0-1)
S: Villani, Mike (3)
Batting:
2B: Gourson, Duce 1
Base Running:
SB: Cholowsky, Roch 1
HBP: Holman, Jack 1
Batting:
2B: Borgogno, Ty 1
RBI: Ashworth, Kyle 2
SF: Ashworth, Kyle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Champagne, Alex 1 ; Borgogno, Ty 1
SB: Marinconz, Nick 1 ; Champagne, Alex 1
HBP: Champagne, Alex 1
PO: Hammond, Jack 1
