LOS ANGELES — There is something magical about a series at Jackie Robinson Stadium, home of the No. 10 UCLA Bruins. That is who Saint Mary's took on Friday night in the opening of a three-game series against the Bruins, who looked to keep their perfect 4-0 start to the season alive with some strong pitching. The Gaels have received some great outings of their own so far, but couldn't get on the scoreboard in Friday's 5-0 loss to the tenth-ranked UCLA squad, dropping the Gaels to 2-3 while the Bruins are now 5-0 on the season.
 
HE GONE
 
The story of Friday night's series opener was the strikeout, as both pitchers had the put-away pitches working to perfection. Zach Pettway of UCLA was wheeling and dealing in his second start of the season, striking out 13 in 6.2 clean innings on the mound. On the other side, it was Carlos Lomeli for the Gaels who had success putting away Bruins, as he punched out seven Bruins across six quality innings. When the final out had been recorded, a grand total of 26 batters struck out on Friday night, with 17 of them being Gaels, and 9 Bruins.
 
SCATTERED FIVE
 
Saint Mary's only managed to get five hits in the series opener, and they were scattered across their nine trips to the plate. Arguably their best chance to score early in the game came in the third inning, when Kyle Velazquez and Gio Diaz singled with two outs to put some pressure on Bettway. The right-handed was able to escape the jam and cruise through the remainder of his outing until Christopher Campos doubled with two outs in the seventh to chase Pettway. Additional hits were recorded by Austin Elder and Ryan Novis.
 
THREE'S A CROWD
 
This marks the third shutout of the season for Saint Mary's, a team that was only shutout twice in 2019. The most recent year the Gaels had some offensive struggles early was 2011, when the Gaels were blanked twice in the first five games of the season before eventually turning it around and winning 27 games. It also marks the first time since 2014 the Gaels have lost three of their first five games of a campaign.
 
UP NEXT
 
The series continues on Saturday between the Gaels and the Bruins with a matchup of a lefty and a righty, as redshirt-senior left-handed Ty Madrigal goes for the Gaels. Madrigal took a tough-luck loss in five sharp innings to begin his season in his lone start so far. He will be opposed by Nick Nastrini, who also went five innings in his season opener against UC Riverside. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 pm but could be pushed back due to pending weather.
 
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