UCLA Baseball Shuts Out Long Beach State in Ranked Showdown

Pitchers Thatcher Hurd and Ethan Flanagan combined for a season-high 19 strikeouts and helped defeat the Dirtbags 3-0.

(Photo Courtesy of Scott Chandler/UCLA Athletics)

Coach John Savage was able to save his arms for the weekend with Bruins’ pitchers two-hitting the Dirtbags and earning a crosstown victory in the process.

No. 23 UCLA baseball (6-3) extended its winning streak to four games on Tuesday, knocking off No. 22 Long Beach State (2-5) by a score of 3-0 in a sub-three-hour contest. Freshman starting pitcher Thatcher Hurd and freshman left-hander Ethan Flanagan combined for 19 strikeouts, a new season-high for the Bruins.

UCLA may not have struck out nearly as often as Long Beach State, but it had limited success at the plate as well. What they did get, though, was a big fly ball that provided them with the first and only addition to the scoreboard on Tuesday night.

Freshman shortstop Cody Schrier recognized a 1-0 fastball from Dirtbags starting pitcher Noah Carabajal and deposited the pitch between the palm trees in left field. His three-run home run scored graduate left fielder Kenny Oyama and junior designated hitter Josh Hahn, who reached on a walk and hit-by-pitch, respectively.

Three runs were enough for Hurd to work with, receiving the run support and running the table until his removal.

Collecting 12 strikeouts through 5.0 innings, the Bruins’ righty sent the Dirtbags’ batters up and down. The dozen strikeouts from Hurd were the most from a Bruins’ freshman pitcher since Gerrit Cole struck out 13 against Washington in 2009.

Hurd improved on his 11 strikeout performance against Omaha last Wednesday in the process. With 12 this time around in the same amount of work, he established a new career-high in his young collegiate career and is now sitting at 18.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

Mixing his fastball and breaking pitches with efficiency, Hurd struck out the side in the first and third, while punching out two batters per frame in the second, fourth and fifth. The freshman midweek starter finished his night allowing just two hits and a walk – all of which came in the fourth.

The Bruins’ starters have conceded just two runs in their past seven starts and have not allowed a run in their last four. Hurd contributed to two of the seven previous starts on the mound and figures to remain a mainstay of the rotation as the season progresses.

Relieving Hurd in the sixth, freshman left-hander Ethan Flanagan picked up where his teammate left off. The lefty racked up seven strikeouts over the next three frames, and he was one pitch off from an immaculate inning in the eighth, striking out the side on 10 pitches.

Flanagan pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning, earning a four-inning save – the first of his collegiate career. With the lefty finishing off the Dirtbags, it solidified that Hurd would earn his first collegiate win as well.

The Bruins’ bats did not produce much after the first inning, collecting a hit in the second and fifth for a total of three tallies in the hit column.

As a result of the victory, UCLA has gotten back on track in midweek play after losing its first two of such games a week ago versus Pepperdine and Omaha.

The Bruins will play in the 2022 Shriners Children's College Classic at the Houston Astros’ home stadium, Minute Maid Park, Friday through Sunday. UCLA will compete against Baylor, Oklahoma and consensus No. 1 Texas.

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