LOS ANGELES – Jason Monda and three relievers combined for a five-hit shutout and Washington State defeated No. 14 UCLA 2-0 in Pac-12 Conference baseball, Friday night.
Monda (1-1) went 7 1/3 innings and struck out five for the Cougars (9-9, 3-1 Pac-12), who won their fifth-straight. Kellen Camus and Matt Bower each recorded an out before Ian Hamilton worked the ninth for his conference-leading seventh save.
“Jason (Monda) was awesome,” Cougar Head Coach Donnie Marbut said. “He was mixing his pitches very well. We could have done a few things better offensively, but we played perfect baseball defensively and on the mound.”
Washington State scored first in the second inning off UCLA (12-8, 3-1) starter James Kaprielian (3-3). Nick Tanielu led off with a walk and moved up on a sacrifice by Ben Roberts. With two outs, Ian Sagdal drove Tanielu home with a single. In the sixth, Tanielu singled with two outs, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Roberts.
Monda, who registered the longest outing of his career, left with runners at the corners and one out in the eighth. Camus issued a walk to load the bases before notching a strikeout for the second out of the inning. Bower then struck out the only man he faced to end the threat.
The Cougars and Bruins continue their series, Saturday at 2 p.m.
