UCLA
UC Irvine
Bruins Welcome UC Irvine on Tuesday
March 13, 2017 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES - The UCLA baseball team will welcomes UC Irvine on Tuesday for midweek action at Jackie Robinson Stadium with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. (PT).
Probable Starters
Tuesday, March 14 - 6:00 p.m. (PT)
UCLA โ Justin Hooper, LHP, So. (0-0, 4.30 ERA)
UCI โ Jordan Bocko, RHP, So. (0-1, 6.28 ERA)
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Weekend in Review
UCLA went 0-3 this past weekend at Texas as the Bruins made their first weekend road trip of the season.
- On Friday, UCLA lost 5-4 at Kyle Cuellar belted his first career home run to drive in three runs and Griffin Canning recorded his third quality start of the season.
- Canning now has 38 total punch outs in three starts, good for 11th in NCAA.
- On Saturday, the Bruins fell to the Longhorns 5-2 as Moises Ceja threw 5.0 shuout innings in relief, while Michael Toglia collected a hit and scored a run.
- On Sunday, UCLA dropped the season finale to Texas, 10-5, as Daniel Amaral went 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI.
Scouting UC Irvine
The Anteaters are coming off a series win at home over the weekend against No. 1 TCU. Cole Kreuter was named the Big West Player of the Week after driving in three runs in Friday's win and hitting a two-run home run in Saturday's victory over the top-ranked Horned Frogs. UCI's offense is led by Keston Hiura who is hitting .451 ub 51 at-bats with five home runs and 20 RBIs. Projected started Jordan Bocko has made six appearances out of the bullpen this season and has 16 strikeouts in 14.1 innings of work.
The Bruins vs. The Anteaters
UCLA has faced UC Irvine 85 previous times, posting a record of 54-30-1 against the Anteaters. The Bruins won two out of three over UCI last season during a weekend series with two games at Jackie Robinson Stadium and one on the road. In the last 10 games, UCLA is 8-2 against UC Irvine, while under John Savage, UCLA is 20-9 against UCI.
NCAA Rankings
UCLA as a team is ranked in the top-50 in a number of categories:
- 8th in hits allowed per nine innings - 6.45
- 30th in ERA - 2.91
- 33rd in fielding percentage - 0.979
- 37th in WHIP - 1.20
- 42nd in strikeouts per nine innings - 9.4
Freshman Stepping Up
A number of UCLA freshman have made a big impact through the first 10 games this season:
- Ryan Kreidler is second on the team in batting average and RBIs and drove in the game-winning run against San Jose State in the season opener.
- Kyle Cuellar is hitting .294 and hit his first career home run, a three-run shot, in the series opener at Texas. Over his last five games, he is hitting a team-best .385 with four RBIs and one double.
- Nick Scheidler is third on the team with seven appearances on the mound and earned his first career win against Gonzaga on Feb. 26. He made his first career start against Texas on March 11.
- Chase Strumpf is second on the team in home runs including hitting a solo home run against the Trojans at Dodger Stadium on March 5.
Savage to Lead USA Baseball
UCLA Head Coach John Savage was named the manager for the 2017 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. Savage previously served as an assistant coach on the 2000 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. The 2000 team finished the summer with a 27-3-1 record that won a gold medal at Haarlem Baseball Week in the Netherlands. The U.S. will host three international friendship series against Chinese Taipei, Cuba, and Japan in 2017.
Preseason Rankings
The Bruins were tabbed to finish fifth in the Preseason Pac-12 Coaches Poll. UCLA received 54 points overall. Prior to the season, D1Baseball.com ranked the top position players in the country and several Bruins made the positional lists:
- Griffin Canning - SP - No. 16
- Sean Bouchard - 1B - No. 24
- Nick Valaika - SS - No. 38
- Ryan Kreidler - 3B - No. 39
- Chase Strumpfย - 2B - No. 39
- Brian Gadsby - RP - No. 39
- Michael Toglia - OF -ย No. 50
- Jake Bird - SP - No. 85
- Daniel Amaral - OF - No. 149
- Jon Olsen - SP - No. 165
- Justin Hooper - SP - No. 200
Baby Bruins
The Bruins welcome 14 newcomers to Westwood for the 2017 season. The recruiting class was ranked No. 16 by Baseball America. Three newcomers had been previously selected in the MLB draft as Ryan Kreidler, Michael Toglia and Jeremy Ydens were each 2016 MLB Draft selections. Over the summer, Toglia was named the MVP of the West Coast League in 2016 after hitting .306 with a league-best seven home runs and 40 RBIs. Toglia (No. 8), Kreidler (No. 22) and Chase Strumpf (No. 85) were named to D1Baseball's Top Freshman Prospects list. Incoming catcher Will McInerny was named the 2016 CIF-SS Division 4 Player of the Year, while Gavin Johns transferred from Yavapai College and was named an All-NJCAA Region second team selection.
It's a Family Affair
UCLA has bred a strong athletic tradition and many current players are following in the footsteps of their notable family members.
- Daniel Amaral's father Rich and brother Beau played baseball at UCLA, while his sister Jessica played softball.
- Jordan Myrow's father John and godfather Dave Roberts played baseball at UCLA.
- Jake Pries' father Jeff played baseball at UCLA.
- Nick Valaika's brother Pat played baseball at UCLA and was a member of the 2013 National Championship.
Watch Live
UCLA is scheduled to be featured on television at least 16 times in 2017 with 15 of those contests being carried by the conference's Pac-12 Networks, including six out of the next eight games.
Listen Live
This season all 56 regular season games and any potential postseason games will be broadcast live online at uclabruins.com. UCLA radio veterans John Ramey and Tim Wilhelm return to call all of the action at home and on the road.
Follow UCLA Baseball
Follow UCLA Baseball all season long on their various social media platforms.
Twitter: @uclabaseball
Instagram: @uclabruinsbaseball
Facebook: UCLA Baseball
Snapchat: ucla.athletics
