For UCLA baseball, Tuesday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium was a night of firsts.
The No. 12 Bruins played their first midweek game of season, defeating the Cal State Northridge Matadors 7-1, with freshman pitcher Grant Dyer making his first collegiate start.
“I wasn’t nervous. … I wasn’t scared or anything, but I was excited definitely,” Dyer said. “I was looking forward to it, getting a win.”
Dyer was able to get out of jams with runners in scoring position in the second and third innings, ending each inning with a strikeout.
He ended up going five innings for his first collegiate victory while striking out three and only allowing two hits.
“I was happy with the way that he competed,” said coach John Savage. “We have a lot of confidence in our young pitching and I think tonight was another example of a freshman getting a nod and making the most of it.”
UCLA (3-1) manufactured its offense how it so often does, by capitalizing on the opponents’ mistakes.
The Bruins secured their first two runs due to shaky defense by the Matadors (2-2).
In the bottom of the second, freshman second baseman Luke Persico reached base on a dropped third strike and eventually scored after a single, a wild pitch and an infield single.
Persico then cashed in a run of his own in the bottom of the sixth as he tripled in junior third baseman Chris Keck. Keck had reached base on a single, but not before the Matadors’ first baseman dropped a catchable foul ball for an error.
“(The Matadors) didn’t make a couple of plays and it ended up costing them several runs,” Savage said. “Tonight was a pretty typical Bruin baseball game in the way that we want it to be played. I think they’re starting to get that identity that we want.”
UCLA’s bullpen, which has only allowed two earned runs so far this season, shut down the Matador offense. CSUN did not record a hit after Dyer left the game.
Redshirt sophomore relief pitcher Jake Ehret allowed an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth to make it a one-run game, so Savage went to junior closer David Berg with two outs and a runner on third. Berg only needed one pitch to get a flyball to end the top half of the inning.
UCLA sealed the game in the bottom frame as Keck doubled in sophomore left fielder Ty Moore, who led off the inning with a triple.
After an intentional walk, UCLA loaded the bases when CSUN’s third baseman and shortstop ran into each other on a high infield popup that fell to the field. Redshirt sophomore right fielder Christoph Bono followed the blunder by lining a bases-clearing triple down the left-field line. He then scored UCLA’s final run on a wild pitch.
“I definitely knew we needed to ice the cake,” Bono said. “It was good to put them away there in the end of the eighth inning, which is definitely going to be important for down the road.”
Berg stayed in the game to record another Bruin first, his first save of the season.
“It’s great to be out there and get the opportunities for this team,” Berg said. “It takes a little load off your back when the team goes out and puts up five for you, so insurance runs galore.”