Plutko Tosses Complete Game Two-Hitter as UCLA Blanks Oregon, 4-0
May 8, 2011
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EUGENE, Ore. - Freshman right-hander Adam Plutko threw a two-hit complete game shutout, leading the UCLA baseball team past Oregon, 4-0, before 1,554 at PK Park to sweep a three-game Pac-10 series on Sunday afternoon.
Plutko (4-3) earned the victory in his first career complete game, striking out seven batters and walking one.
UCLA (27-16, 14-7) posted its ninth shutout of the season. Plutko faced one batter over the minimum through the final five innings, helping the Bruins extend their winning streak to a season-high five games.
The Bruins snapped a scoreless tie against Oregon (23-23, 5-13) with one run in the eighth before adding three runs in the top of the ninth.
Cody Regis went 4-for-4 with one RBI and one walk, and Dean Espy went 2-for-5 with two runs. Cody Keefer went 2-for-3 with two runs and the game-winning RBI in the top of the eighth.
After having stranded eight runners on base through the first seven innings, UCLA went 8-for-13 in the eighth and ninth. Espy opened the top of the eighth with a single to center and moved to third base on Regis' base-hit up the middle. Keefer followed with a single to center, sending home Espy with nobody out.
In the top of the ninth, Kevin Williams led off with a single up the middle and moved to second base on Jeff Gelalich's sacrifice bunt. Amaral followed with a line drive double to left field, scoring Williams. Espy delivered a single to left, pushing Amaral to third. Regis continued the offensive attack with a flare single to right field on the first pitch of his at-bat, scoring Amaral. An ensuing single to center by Keefer scored Espy, pushing UCLA's cushion to 4-0.
Oregon right-hander Kellen Moen (1-4) absorbed the loss, allowing one run and three hits in one-third of an inning. Right-hander Scott McGough surrendered three runs and three hits in the top of the ninth. Ducks' starting pitcher Alex Keudell limited the Bruins to five hits in 6.2 scoreless innings.
UCLA returns to action at Long Beach State on Tuesday, May 10. Game time Blair Field is 6:30 p.m. UCLA will host UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday, May 11, at 6 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Each of those games will feature a live audio broadcast online, free of charge, at uclabruins.com.
Game Notes: UCLA collected its first road sweep of the season, its fourth road sweep in Pac-10 play since the start of the 2007 season (at USC in 2007, at Washington in 2010, at California in 2010, at Oregon in 2011) ... the Bruins improved to 18-6 in their last 24 Pac-10 road ballgames (dating back to the start of the 2010 season) ... Adam Plutko has gone 2-0 with a 1.05 ERA in his last six starts (all in Pac-10 series finales), recording 35 strikeouts and eight walks while limiting the opposition to nine runs (five earned) and 24 hits in 42.2 innings ... UCLA's pitching staff has allowed six runs through its last six games, producing a 1.00 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 54.0 innings.