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Baseball reflects on strong start and quick end to season, future team prospects

Sophomore shortstop Matt McLain led UCLA baseball with a .397 batting average and three home runs through the team’s first 15 games before the season was canceled. (David Rimer/Daily Bruin)

By Taiyo Keilin

April 13, 2020 6:12 p.m.

The Bruins were set to begin their Pac-12 campaign on March 13, with a chance to defend the conference title they won a season ago.

But like all other sports at UCLA and across the nation, their season was cut short.

Sophomore shortstop Matt McLain said No. 5 UCLA baseball (13-2) was preparing for the opening series against Oregon when the players first heard of potential cancellations and he was shocked at how quickly the outlook of the season changed.

“I remember we were (putting) the tarps (on the infield), getting ready for Oregon,” McLain said. “We (heard) that some other teams (were) canceling the weekend series and we thought it might be one weekend canceled and then we’ll get back to it. We (met) the next day, and everything, all over the country – outside of baseball – was shutting down. It all happened so fast. It was just pretty crazy.”

UCLA had been off to a historically hot start before that moment. The last time the team’s winning percentage entering the first weekend of Pac-12 play was higher than the 2020 squad’s .867 mark came in 2010, when the Bruins made their first College World Series championship appearance.

A year later, UCLA became the only college program in the past 40 years to produce two of the first three picks in the MLB Draft – then-junior right-handers Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer, who were drafted No. 1 and No. 3 overall, respectively.

UCLA won its first 11 games this season and only dropped one contest at Jackie Robinson Stadium when it fell to then-No. 22 TCU in the last home contest of the shortened season.

“(It’s) just really devastation for the players, for the families of our players (and) everybody involved with the program,” said coach John Savage. “(Considering) what we had going on through the first 15 games, the momentum we were building, it was fun to watch – really special to be apart of. When the initial indefinite suspension came out, there was hope of possibly coming back, but at the end of the day, it was a lot bigger than anyone really anticipated.”

The Bruins built that momentum despite losing five pitchers to the 2019 MLB Draft, as the 2020 Bruins’ pitching staff allowed the fewest runs in the nation. As a team, UCLA had a 1.88 ERA, good for the third best mark among Division I programs.

Junior right-hander Zach Pettway led the way for the Bruins’ pitching staff, making four Friday night starts and pitching to the tune of 3-0 record with a 1.05 ERA. After the season was canceled, Pettway picked up D1Baseball’s Pac-12 Most Impressive Pitcher Award and was ranked the top junior pitcher in the country.

Pettway said he was excited with the team’s start to the season and thought they were only going to improve week after week.

“We had a lot of untapped potential that we were just getting (to),” Pettway said. “We were getting better each week we were playing, and we were getting closer and closer (to where we wanted to be).”

After Pettway and the other starters – sophomore right-handers Nick Nastrini and Jesse Bergin and freshman righty Jared Karros – came out of the game, Savage handed the ball over to his bullpen, which worked over 57 innings, and allowed only eight earned runs.

Junior Michael Townsend led the bullpen with 12 innings in 11 appearances. The righty did not give up an earned-run and allowed just one hit through nonconference play.

Senior right-hander Kyle Mora also made 11 appearances out of the bullpen and allowed one earned run in 9 1/3 innings of work. He struck out 15 batters to bring his four-year total to 127 in 124 1/3 innings.

The Bruins’ closer, junior right-hander Holden Powell, fanned 20 batters in 9 1/3 frames across eight scoreless outings.

[Related: Graphic: Shutting the door]

The trio combined to throw 30 2/3 innings of one-run ball and struck out 47 hitters. Savage said being able to rely on his top three relievers gave him a vote of confidence about managing his pitching staff.

“It built depth on the roster,” Savage said. “We were getting good starting pitching – getting five innings, six, I think we had a seven (inning-start) in there. So I could just (have) a lot of trust in the bullpen.”

Offensively, the Bruins averaged over seven runs per game and, as a team, got on base at a near-.400 clip.

In his second season in Westwood, McLain slashed .397/.422/.621 and led the team with three home runs, despite missing two of the last four games because of illness.

While McLain was doing damage from the No. 3 spot in the lineup, Savage penciled in the same name at the top of it each game – Garrett Mitchell. The junior center fielder reached base 30 times in 15 games and led the Bruins in runs scored for the second consecutive season, with 18.

“I think everybody knew how talented (Mitchell) was coming out of Orange Lutheran High School,” Savage said. “But to see the player that he evolved into, and not being able to fully see his junior year, that’s (what) really hurts. You can only really dream of what it could have been.”

In three years with the Bruins, Mitchell had an .871 on-base plus slugging percentage and has earned the No. 6 spot on MLB’s 2020 prospect rankings. The junior from Orange, California, is projected to be drafted in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft and not return to Westwood in the fall.

(David Rimer/Daily Bruin)
Before its season was cut short, No. 5 UCLA baseball won 13 of its first 15 games through nonconference action and was preparing to defend its Pac-12 title – beginning with a home opener against Oregon. (David Rimer/Daily Bruin)

On March 26, the MLB and MLB Players Association met and discussed shortening the draft from 40 rounds to one that may only have five to 10 rounds. With the shortened draft, a fewer number of players will have the opportunity to sign pro contracts, and more Bruins may come back for an extra year of collegiate eligibility.

The NCAA has granted spring-sport student-athletes the opportunity to take an extra year of eligibility if they choose to do so, meaning Mora, senior left fielder Kyle Cuellar, senior catcher Will McInerny and senior right-hander Felix Rubi could potentially compete in the blue and gold one more time in 2021.

But just as the MLB is unsure of its final plans for draft and its upcoming season, Savage said his 2021 roster is also a major question mark.

“There are still a lot of unanswered questions,” Savage said. “You have the draft – is it five rounds, is it 10 rounds – that affects our rosters. I don’t think anybody absolutely knows their roster right now. There’s still a lot of things to happen, namely the draft. So we’re just going to see who gets drafted and who wants to continue their education and their eligibility in our program.”

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Taiyo Keilin | Sports senior staff
Keilin is currently a Sports senior staff writer. He was previously an assistant Sports editor on the baseball, women's soccer, cross country, women's golf and men's golf beats. Keilin was also a contributor on the baseball, women's golf and men's golf beats.
Keilin is currently a Sports senior staff writer. He was previously an assistant Sports editor on the baseball, women's soccer, cross country, women's golf and men's golf beats. Keilin was also a contributor on the baseball, women's golf and men's golf beats.
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