UCLA wins college baseball opener, 1-0, behind Gerrit Cole

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UCLA and San Francisco moved up their season baseball opener at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Friday to a noon start to beat the rain, and the two starting pitchers, Gerrit Cole and Matt Lujan, engaged in a memorable pitchers’ duel.

Each went the distance and each allowed four hits, but the All-American Cole came away with a 1-0 UCLA victory thanks to an RBI single in the first inning by Dean Espy that scored Trevor Brown.

Lujan, a senior left-hander for San Francisco, struck out nine in eight innings. Cole, a junior right-hander, was even better, striking out 11 in a complete-game performance. He walked one.

-- Eric Sondheimer