Griffin Canning threw his third complete-game shutout of the year Thursday night, leading UCLA baseball (29-24, 18-10 Pac-12) to a 6-0 defeat of Oregon (29-24, 11-17) in its series opener.
The junior right-hander picked up his seventh win of the season, recording 10 strikeouts in the process. He allowed four hits and two walks.
Canning did not allow more than one base runner per inning until the bottom of the ninth, when he gave up a single and a walk with one out. Neither runner would cross the plate.
Although the Bruins’ ace silenced the Ducks throughout the game, Oregon’s rotation leader could not do the same. UCLA amassed seven hits and four runs off David Peterson, the current Pac-12 strikeout leader.
The Bruins took a three-run lead in the top of the third. Redshirt sophomore Daniel Rosica led off with a bunt single. A hit batsman and a pair of walks brought him home. Redshirt sophomore designated hitter Zander Clarke then drove in two more runs with a single through the left side.
The Bruins added another run the following inning, when freshman third baseman Ryan Kreidler, who led off with a single to left, scored on a ground out.
Kreidler struck again in the eighth inning, lacing an RBI single through the left side. Rosica immediately followed with a double to left, scoring UCLA’s final run of the evening.
Game two of the Bruins’ final Pac-12 series of the year begins Friday at 6 p.m. in Eugene, Oregon, as they continue to make a case for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. With No. 8 Stanford’s win over Washington State on Thursday, UCLA remains a game back of second place in the conference.