For the first five innings of Tuesday night’s game, UCLA baseball’s offense looked like the lifeless iteration of yesteryear.
Long Beach State junior pitcher Ryan Cruz had a no-hitter for the first 5.1 innings of the game. The Bruins hadn’t got a runner past first base, had grounded into two double plays and had five strikeouts.
But then, redshirt junior shortstop Kevin Kramer stepped up to the plate.
On the second pitch of the at-bat, Kramer ripped a 1-0 fastball over the right field wall and the batting cages beyond the fence for his second home run of the year and a 1-0 lead. It was the Bruins’ ninth homer of the year, surpassing last year’s total.
There went the no-hitter and it would be the only hit that UCLA (7-1) needed to defeat Long Beach State (5-3) for its first shutout of the year.
“I knew it was gone off the bat,” Kramer said. “Obviously we struggled a little bit tonight offensively, it’s not exactly the performance that we would have loved. But it was good to grind it out and luckily I got that swing off.”
UCLA only managed two hits in the game, leaving seven runners on base, including the bases loaded in the eighth.
Freshman pitcher Griffin Canning earned his first career win, as he threw a career-high six scoreless innings, while striking out a career-high six batters.
“He’s really a weekend guy pitching on Tuesday,” said coach John Savage. “I think you can see the makings of a pretty good pitcher.”
After the game, his teammates treated him to a shaving cream pie to the face to celebrate.
“It was nice,” Canning said of the prank. “It means you did something well, so I’ll take it.”
UCLA’s bullpen shut down the Dirtbags with six strikeouts of their own, as redshirt sophomore Tucker Forbes, sophomore Grant Dyer, and senior David Berg each pitched one inning to close out the victory. Berg earned his first save of the season.
The Dirtbags only recorded four hits, and did not have a runner reach second base.
“Those guys did a good job in a tight game,” Savage said. “You don’t have much room to make a mistake (in a one-run game).”
The Bruins will face Korean professional team NC Dinos tomorrow at 4 p.m. in an exhibition at Jackie Robinson Stadium, before resuming regular season play on Friday versus Michigan State.
Injury Report
Bruin sophomore outfielder Brett Stephens fractured his left middle finger in Friday’s game against the University of North Carolina. A high throw caused Tar Heel sophomore shortstop Wood Myers to jump in the air and as he landed, Myers stepped on Stephens’ finger as Stephens slid back into second base. He also received stitches for the cut that occurred as a result of being spiked by Myers’ metal cleats.
Stephens is expected to be out for two to three weeks. Savage hopes to have him back for the start of Pac-12 play against Washington on March 13.