UCLA baseball won its first game of the season by grinding out at-bats.
“One of our big things throughout the fall was winning 3-2 counts,” said sophomore second baseman Chase Strumpf after Friday’s game. “I don’t know how many we won but I thought we won a lot tonight, and I think that had a lot to do with our victory.”
The Bruins won their next two games a little differently, combining for 31 hits compared to five in their season opener.
The No. 11 Bruins concluded the first weekend of the season sweeping Portland in Jackie Robinson Stadium, winning 15-3 on Sunday and 13-0 on Saturday.
“We didn’t feel like we swung the bats very well on Friday,” said coach John Savage. “But … I thought the last two days were pretty impressive.”
The UCLA hitters scored 5 runs off five hits in the third inning nearly going through the entire rotation.
In the fourth, sophomore first baseman Michael Toglia hit a homer that bounced off the top of the Bruins’ hitting facility in right field. After a Bruin walk, Strumpf brought home sophomore catcher Kyle Cuellar from first with an RBI double that hit the center field wall. The second baseman started off the year hitting .700 with 10 RBI’s, seven hits, and a home run.
By the bottom of the fifth inning, UCLA was up 13-1 with 15 hits and a team hitting average of .535.
Freshman right-hander Zach Pettway made his first start of his UCLA career Sunday, pitching five innings with two strikeouts. He allowed just three hits, although one of those was a home run that barely made it over the center field wall, bouncing off the top of the barrier with junior center fielder Daniel Amaral leaping and nearly snagging it.
“He’s a strike thrower,” Savage said. “Very efficient. He could have gone another inning.”
The Bruin bullpen saw thorough action Sunday, as five pitchers were rotated in, four of whom allowed no runs. Savage mentioned in the preseason that freshman right-hand pitcher Holden Powell and junior right-hand pitcher Brian Gadsby would be fighting it out for the closer spot, a job Gadsby has started the season with and lost in each of the last two years. Gadsby pitched the eighth allowing no hits or walks, while Powell gave up three hits and 2 runs as the closer in the ninth.
“One of our issues the past few years has been our bullpen – just not having the depth we needed,” said junior pitcher Jon Olsen. “I think this year’s going to be a lot different. We have a lot more guys that can step up and pitch for us.”
Garrett Mitchell made his first start in right field Sunday, ending the day 1-for-3 with two walks. The freshman right fielder, a highly touted prospect who was drafted in the 14th round but decided to attend UCLA, has been raved about by his coach and teammates for his athletic ability and hitting power. He finished 1-for-2 with 2 RBIs Saturday, with one sacrificial fly out to center field that was struck about 390 feet.
On Saturday, right-hander Olsen, who Savage said could eventually be the normal Friday starter, picked up his first win of the season with seven shutout innings. Olsen allowed only four hits and one walk while striking out seven batters. Savage mentioned he would be making a slow return, throwing around 50 or 60 pitches, but ended up throwing 80.
“If you go 80 pitches in seven innings in the big leagues a lot, you’ll be making, like, 25 million dollars,” said Savage. “It was about as efficient as you could be. There were no stress innings.”
UCLA’s bullpen of sophomores Ryan Garcia and Kyle Mora pitched the eighth and the ninth, respectively, and each retired their sides in order.
The entire UCLA lineup hit consistently throughout Saturday evening, with every hitter in the starting rotation ending up with at least one hit by the fifth inning.
“We think we’re going to be offensive,” said Savage. “We have a lot of depth offensively and I think you really saw that on stage this weekend.”
Strumpf went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, and hit a home run to left center in the first inning. Sophomores Ryan Kreidler and Will McInerny, who’d started at catcher in place of Rosica, also each hit a home run.
UCLA hit .411 as a team on Saturday.
The Bruins will be back in Jackie Robinson Stadium for a Tuesday matchup against Pepperdine. Sophomore right-hander Ryan Garcia is expected to start on the mound.