Jack Ralston’s one-run outing helped the Bruins get back in the win column.
No. 1 UCLA baseball (30-7, 11-4 Pac-12) wrapped up its series with California (20-14, 8-7) on Saturday winning 6-1 and taking two out of three matches. Redshirt junior right-hander Ralston earned his sixth win, pitching 6 1/3 innings and allowing one earned run while striking out six Golden Bears.
“Ralston stepped up in a big moment,” said coach John Savage. “Just a veteran outing, and you have to give him a lot of credit for making pitches.”
In the previous two games, the Bruin pitchers had given up five home runs and surrendered 11 runs. However, on Saturday, Ralston was also able to keep the ball on the ground during his start and got California to ground out 11 times while flying out just twice.
“(Ralston) is a big body and big frame so it’s the way the ball comes out of his hand and a lot of guys will hit ground balls off of him,” said junior second baseman Chase Strumpf. “Going into the game, we know that, so the defense is expecting ground balls hit and he’s done that consistently all year for us.”
UCLA had also come into Saturday’s game having given up nine extra base hits to Cal in the first two games. Ralston’s start saw him allow just one extra base hit, and only one Cal baserunner made it to third base in the right-hander’s first six innings of work.
“I think Cal’s a great hitting team and the biggest thing about pitching is mixing speeds and being deceptive,” Ralston said.
Ralston would exit the game in the seventh inning, leaving runners on second and third. The lone run that Ralston allowed hinged on a single allowed by freshman right-hander Jack Filby.
Despite being a redshirt junior, Ralston did not pitch in his first year of eligibility and is now in his second season as a starter for the Bruins. The series finale was his 10th start on the year, surpassing the nine he made in 2018. Savage said he sees Ralston as a role model for the players who might not get as much playing time on the team.
“It’s a lesson for a lot of guys out there who don’t play and they want to leave or complain,” Savage said. “There’s not many guys out there that would stay in a program that have him pitch as little as he has. I’m really proud of where he’s at and it’s just the beginning.”
Coming in as Ralston’s run support, the Bruins struck first with three runs in the third inning. UCLA kicked it off with back-to-back singles by freshman center fielder Matt McLain and freshman catcher Noah Cardenas, who went 3-for-3 with an RBI.
Cal’s right-hander Grant Holman’s balk moved the runners over to second and third, leading to consecutive RBI hits by sophomore right fielder Garrett Mitchell and junior third baseman Ryan Kreidler. A sacrifice fly by Strumpf scored Mitchell and pushed the lead to three.
“We knew if we got out to an early lead, our offense would have a good shot,” Strumpf said. “We wanted to keep adding on and (not) settle because we know (Cal) can comeback in the game whenever they want.”
The offense would extend the UCLA lead to five by tacking on a run in the sixth inning and two more in the eighth. Five different Bruin batters had an RBI and it was also UCLA’s first game since last weekend’s shutout win over East Carolina in which the team led the entire game.
UCLA will play Cal State Fullerton away from home Tuesday at 6 p.m.