This post was updated Feb. 27 at 11:58 p.m.

Allowing just two runs in a game typically makes for a celebration in the clubhouse.

And entering their latest contest, the Bruins had won 57 of 68 games when their pitching staff allowed two runs.

But you can’t win if you can’t score.

And UCLA baseball (7-2) was held scoreless by Arizona State (7-2) in a 2-0 loss at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins averaged more than 10 runs a game before Wednesday, but four pitchers combined for the Sun Devils’ first shutout of a Power Four school in more than two decades.

“I just think they really pounded the zone with multiple pitches and power stuff,” said coach John Savage. “I thought that was as good as pitching we’ve seen all year.”

Arizona State entered the contest with a 5.70 ERA and 1.42 WHIP but limited UCLA hitters to just four hits and two walks while striking out 12. Right-hander Derek Schaefer – a 2024 College World Series champion at Tennessee – gave the Bruins no quarter in his first start as a Sun Devil, surrendering just two hits and striking out five over four innings.

For the middle innings, ASU turned to left-hander Cole Carlon, who punched out five through three frames and recorded the win. The rest of the Sun Devils’ bullpen combined for the remaining two innings, doling out just a single walk and hit.

“He (Carlon) had a good tempo on the mound,” said sophomore first baseman Mulivai Levu, who was one of just three Bruins to record a hit Wednesday. “He was pounding the zone and catching some of us off guard.”

In the top of the seventh, graduate student left-hander Ryan Rissas walked designated hitter Landon Hairston with two outs. After Hairston stole second, center fielder Isaiah Jackson ripped Rissas’ 2-2 pitch over the head of junior Jarrod Hocking in right field – with ASU taking a 1-0 lead off the RBI double.

Rissas plunked his next hitter on the 0-2 offering, and sophomore third baseman Roman Martin couldn’t cleanly field a ground ball off the bat of catcher Manny Garza, prolonging the inning. Redshirt junior Josh Alger relieved Rissas but surrendered an infield RBI single to put the Sun Devils up 2-0.

In the bottom of the ninth, a four-pitch leadoff walk to sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky and a one-out single by Martin through the right side gave the Bruins their first opportunity to score with two runners on all day. But sophomore pinch hitter Cameron Kim fouled out to first, and Hocking struck out swinging to end the ballgame.

Luke Rodriguez made the spot start for the Bruins after tossing 50 pitches across two relief outings over the weekend. The sophomore right-hander limited the Sun Devils’ offense – which had hit 15 home runs over eight games this season – to just three baserunners across five innings while striking out four.

“I was really trying to pound the strike zone, have good conviction on my pitches, trust coach Savage,” said Rodriguez, who needed just 59 pitches to get through five frames Wednesday. “He studies all these guys, so it’s really just trusting him. His pitch calling was really what helped me out this outing.”

While the Bruins were held scoreless for the first time all year, Savage said there’s little to complain about after what the bats did the previous six games.

“We clearly pitched well enough to win,” Savage said. “We just didn’t. But hey, that’s baseball.”