UCLA baseball wins series opener against Utah on Jackie Robinson Day

In their first game this season with fans in the stands, the Bruins put on a show.

UCLA baseball (19-11, 7-6 Pac-12) defeated Utah (8-19, 4-9) on Friday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium 20-0, its first time reaching the 20-run mark since March 26, 2017, and the first time blanking its opponent since Feb. 28.

Following UCLA Athletics’ announcement that players’ families and guests are allowed in limited capacity to home outdoor sporting events, the Bruins finally heard cheers after two quiet months of baseball.

“It was incredible,” said redshirt junior center fielder Kevin Kendall. “We’ve all been itching for our families to watch us play, and we know they’ve been probably itching even more to watch all of us play, so it was exciting and especially what we did as a team today, I’m sure it was a fulfilling night everyone needed.”

Freshman third baseman Kyle Karros kicked off the Bruins’ marathon of scoring with an RBI single in the bottom of the second, and Kendall brought Karros home on a long ball to dead center, giving the Bruins a 3-0 lead.

UCLA put up a four-spot in the third, highlighted by a bases-clearing, stand-up triple by Kendall.

Junior shortstop Matt McLain and redshirt sophomore first baseman JT Schwartz launched back-to-back solo shots to lead off the home half of the fourth. Sophomore right fielder Michael Curialle joined in on the home run derby with a three-run blast to left – his first of the year after launching a pair a season ago.

To finish off scoring in the frame, Kendall drove in his his second two-run home run. Kendall finished the night going 4-for-5 with seven RBIs, a career high by three runs.

Senior right-hander Zach Pettway turned in seven shutout innings, striking out a season-high 11 batters and not issuing a single walk.

“It’s really hard to win on Friday nights,” said coach John Savage. “This game was an unusual game. It doesn’t happen like this very often, particularly on Friday night. You just gotta give (Pettway) a lot of credit. He’s got tremendous perseverance. He’s got tremendous work ethic. We love Pett and what he stands for, and he’s a great Bruin so he’s had some tough luck, but hopefully tonight was a start to some good luck.”

Friday’s game was the Bruins’ annual Jackie Robinson Day game, featuring hats with the number 42 on them, as well as a mid-game honoring of the baseball icon and UCLA legend. Pettway said his performance felt like an opportunity to show appreciation for Robinson and his legacy.

“Having a guy like that with such a good legacy, you always want to have your best game just to pay a testament to a guy like that,” Pettway said. “I mean, Jackie Robinson, what he’s done for African Americans and everyone in the world, it’s unbelievable. Being able to throw good on Jackie Robinson weekend was a nice way of trying to show my appreciation for him.”

Deviating from the home runs of the fourth, the Bruins took advantage of mistakes to tack on four more runs in the fifth.

A wild pitch with the bases loaded advanced all three runners 90 feet, bringing Schwartz home. In the next at-bat, a second wild pitch brought another run home, and junior catcher Noah Cardenas scored following a throwing error by Utah shortstop Gabe Singer.

Redshirt freshman left fielder Emanuel Dean singled home the Bruins’ third unearned run of the frame in a pinch-hitting role, scoring Karros, who finished the night 3-for-5 with four runs scored and one batted in.

UCLA added its final two runs of the night – both unearned – in the bottom of the sixth inning, capping its night at an even 20.

Savage said the game was a step in the right direction for the Bruins.

“We’re just looking to play better baseball,” Savage said. “We talked about that Sunday up in Palo Alto and it was a main focus for us starting to play better, stay more consistent, and I think we did that, clearly, Sunday at Palo Alto. We did it again on Tuesday and then we did it again tonight. It looks like we’re making some strides in the right direction.”

The series against the Utes will continue Saturday at 2 p.m. and will feature junior right-hander Sean Mullen’s first career Saturday start.