Ryan Kreidler stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, in a chance to end UCLA baseball’s season-opening game with a bang Saturday night.
The bullpen coughed up a 2-1 lead in the previous inning, but the Bruins’ offense pieced together a productive string of at-bats.
With the bases loaded, one out and a two-strike count, Kreidler slapped a dribbler up the middle – a potential double-play ball. Dashing down the line, the freshman third baseman barely beat the throw at first, scoring junior first baseman Sean Bouchard and handing UCLA (2-0) the 3-2 walk-off victory over San Jose State (0-2).
“It just kind of shows you what kind of depth we have and how much trust we have with each other to be able to get that next guy up,” Kreidler said. “I was just happy to be a part of a win in the first game.”
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Much of the first half of the game was highlighted by a pitchers’ duel, as both junior Griffin Canning and the Spartans’ Josh Nashed had their off-speed pitches working early on.
Despite struggling with his command in the first inning, the Bruins’ ace still registered just two walks compared to seven strikeouts through six innings.
“I was feeling good,” Canning said. “I definitely would like to pitch better fastball command-wise, mix in my off-speed more. I mean bottom line is we got the win and I’m happy about that.”
The right-hander kept San Jose State off the scoreboard for two-thirds of the game, but coach John Savage said it still wasn’t his starter’s most polished performance.
“I think he was a little overhyped. I mean opening night, all those scouts in the stand – he’s used to that, he’s comfortable in that. He had a really good fastball, the numbers show that. He just wasn’t completely Canning command,” Savage said. “But he had two walks in six innings, so beggars can’t be choosers. You have to give him a lot of credit, it just wasn’t his A-game.”
UCLA accrued eight hits at the dish, but just one extra-base hit. Even without a plethora of power hits, the Bruins still scraped two runs across the plate against Nashed.
Redshirt sophomore Nick Valaika smacked a double into left-center field in the bottom of the second inning. Kreidler then followed with a chopper that snuck under the glove of San Jose State third baseman David Campbell and scored Valaika to give UCLA the 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Bruins’ small-ball tactics came into play.
Kriedler led off the inning with a single over Campbell’s head. After that, redshirt sophomore catcher Daniel Rosica nudged a sacrifice bunt down the third-base line before sophomore center fielder Daniel Amaral notched an infield single, putting runners on first and third for UCLA.
After striking out senior outfielder Brett Stephens, Nashed caught Amaral off guard at first and forced a rundown. But as Amaral scurried back and forth between first and second base, Kreidler bolted toward home plate and crossed just before Amaral was tagged out, extending the lead to 2-0.
“I think we can play small ball, but we can also play long ball,” Kreidler said. “We’ve got some smashers – (sophomore) Jake Pries, Bouchard, (redshirt sophomore) Zander Clarke – who can hit the ball out of the ballpark. … It’s just a combination of when the time’s right and … the coaching situations.”
Similar to much of last season, UCLA’s bullpen failed to maintain its lead in the later innings.
Redshirt sophomore reliever Matt Walker walked the first batter he faced in the seventh inning before giving up a single to Kellen Strahm. After inducing a fielder’s choice against Campbell, Walker gave up another single and allowed San Jose State’s first run of the game.
Command issues plagued senior reliever Scott Burke in the eighth, as he walked three batters and allowed the game-tying run before getting removed from the game after just a third of an inning.
Sophomore closer Brian Gadsby came in after Burke and limited the damage to one run after recording a strikeout and a groundout to end the eighth. The right-hander also shut down the Spartans in the ninth in just four pitches.
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“They aren’t going to get their job done every night,” Savage said. “But it was good to see us survive two pretty poor performances from our bullpen. It’s just something that I think we can learn from it. We did a lot of good things and we can build on it.”
Although the Bruins relinquished the lead late in the game, Savage said he was pleased with how the team closed the game out.
“It was a tight game, “Savage said. “I think it’s good to get comfortable in being uncomfortable in tight games and I think they did a nice job of finishing the game.”
Sunday’s blowout
Behind a strong start from junior starting pitcher Jake Bird and four extra-base hits from the offense, the Bruins notched their second straight victory with a 10-1 win against the Spartans on Sunday.
In the first inning, Amaral was hit by a pitch, then stole second base. With two outs in the inning, freshman right fielder Michael Toglia lined one up the middle to score Amaral and take a 1-0 lead.
After scoring another run in the third inning off a sacrifice fly by Bouchard, the Bruins extended their lead with a big fifth inning against the Spartans’ relief corps.
UCLA drew a pair of walks in two of the first three at-bats in the inning. With runners on first and second, Valaika scorched a double over the left fielder to make it 3-0. After a walk and a strikeout in the next two at-bats, Kreidler was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring Toglia.
The Bruins weren’t finished adding runs to the scoreboard, though.
Rosica smacked a line drive up the middle just out of the shortstop’s reach and brought in two runs. Then, after a pitching change from the visiting squad, Amaral stepped up to the plate with two men on and crushed a 1-1 fastball over the fence in left-center field. After the outburst concluded, UCLA had a 9-0 lead.
That was all Bird needed to claim his first victory of the season. The right-hander didn’t surrender a hit until the seventh inning and allowed just one hit and one run overall while notching six strikeouts through seven frames.
The Bruins’ No. 2 starter got ahead in the count in most at-bats, firing first-pitch strikes against 17 of the 25 batters faced. Bird also kept his pitch count low throughout the majority of the contest, as he entered the seventh inning throwing just 66 pitches – he finished the game with 85.
Monday’s rainout
Game 3 of the series with San Jose State was cancelled Monday afternoon due to weather, but UCLA is still scheduled to take on UC Riverside (1-1) Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Savage planned on starting sophomore Justin Hooper in Tuesday’s bout, but with Monday’s cancellation, sophomore Jon Olsen will get the nod. Olsen compiled a 7.36 ERA last season in 18 1/3 innings while Hooper owned a 18.00 ERA in 14 appearances.