UCLA
Portland
No. 13 Bruins Open Season Hosting Portland
February 14, 2018 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES - The 13th-ranked UCLA Bruins will open its 2018 campaign this weekend with a three-game series against Portland starting on Friday, Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. PT. The game can be heard live on UCLABruins.com with Tim Wilhelm on the call.
Probably Starters
Friday, Feb. 16 - 6 p.m. PT
UCLA - Jake Bird, RHP, Sr. (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Portland - Jordan Horak, LHP, Sr. (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Saturday, Feb. 17 - 2 p.m. PT
UCLA - Jon Olsen, RHP, Jr. (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Portland - Corbin Powers, LHP, Sr. (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Sunday, Feb. 18 - 1 p.m. PT
UCLA - Zach Pettway, RHP, Fr. (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Portland - Eli Morse, RHP, Fr. (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Live Audio | Live Stats | Follow @UCLABaseball
Opening Day Notes
UCLA will open the season at home for the eighth season in a row and 15th time in the last 16 seasons. Under head coach John Savage the Bruins have gone 8-5 on opening day, including winning five straight from 2007-11. Since 1981, the year Jackie Robinson Stadium opened, UCLA has gone 18-7 at home on opening day.
Olsen Named Preseason All-American
Junior right-handed pitcher Jon Olsen was named to the Preseason All-American third team by both Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Olsen was an All-Pac-12 selection last season after posting a 7-1 record with a 2.86 ERA. He totaled 80 strikeouts in 85.0 innings of work and held opponents to a .201 batting average. During conference play, the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. native finished with a perfect 6-0 record and a team-best 2.08 ERA.
Representing the Red, White and Blue
Over the summer in 2017, head coach John Savage was the manager of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and right-handed pitcher Jon Olsen became the first Bruin to play for Team USA since James Kaprielian in 2014. Savage led the U.S. to a 15-5 record over the summer, including holding an 11-4 mark during international play. The United States won all three international series it competed in, including going 4-0 against Chinese Taipei and 3-2 versus both Cuba and Japan. Olsen finished the summer with a 1-0 record and a 2.67 ERA in six appearances for the red, white and blue. He also registered 15 strikeouts compared to just two walks.
Preseason Rankings
The Bruins were tabbed to finish third in the Preseason Pac-12 coaches poll. UCLA received 84 votes, behind favorite Oregon State and second place Stanford. Arizona came in fourth with 68 points, followed by California with 56 and Oregon with 51. Nationally, UCLA has been ranked anywhere from No. 11 to No. 16 in the country with Baseball America having the Bruins at No. 13 to begin the year. UCLA is set to face five teams this season that are ranked in Baseball America's Preseason Top 25 poll.
Baby Bruins
The Bruins welcome eight new players to Westwood for the 2018 season. The recruiting class was ranked No. 16 by Baseball America, marking the fourth consecutive year that UCLA has been tabbed in the top 25. The class was also tabbed No. 18 by Collegiate Baseball. It marks the 11th time in 13 years the Bruins have earned a top-20 ranking from Collegiate Baseball.
- Garrett Mitchell, Sam Glick and Chase Farrell were selected in the 2017 MLB draft in June.
- Holden Powell was named to the All-West Coast League second team selection, while Zach Pettway was named an honorable mention over the summer.
- Mitchell was named the Preseason Freshman of the Year in the Pac-12 by Baseball America.
The Bruins vs. The Pilots
UCLA has faced Portland three previous times, hosting a three-game series to open the 2014 season, with the Bruins winning two out of three to take the series.
Scouting the Pilots
Portland finished 2017 with a 10-41-1 record including going 5-22 in the West Coast Conference. Geoff Loomis begins his third season at the helm of the Pilots and has a record of 27-78-1. Matt Kelly returns for his junior season after leading the team hitting .292 with 11 doubles, two home runs and a team-best 13 stolen bases. Ryan Hoogerwerf also returns posting team highs in home runs (7), doubles (12) and slugging percentage (.414) last season.
Last Time Against Portland
The Bruins last played the Pilots to begin the 2014 season with UCLA taking two out of the three games. Portland won the opening game 1-0 over James Kaprielian making his first collegiate start. The Bruins exploded offensively in game two as Chris Keck led the way for UCLA going 4-for-5 with a double, a triple, three runs scored. UCLA earned the win in the rubber match with a 4-3 walk-off win in the 11th inning by Shane Zeile.
Positional Rankings
D1Baseball has ranked the top players in the country by position and a number of Bruins have made the positional rankings:
- Michael Toglia - 1B - No. 9
- Chase Strumpf - 2B - No. 13
- Ryan Kreidler - SS - No. 23
- Daniel Amaral - OF - No. 59
- Garrett Mitchell - OF - No. 81
Draft Stock
UCLA has several players that are ranked inside the top 100 MLB draft prospects in the country.
- Kyle Molnar was named the No. 10 2018 draft prospect by Baseball America and No. 13 by D1Baseball in the Pac-12. He was also tabbed the No. 91 overall college draft prospect by D1Baseball.
- Jon Olsen was pegged No. 14 by Baseball America and No. 16 by D1Baseball in the Pac-12 for 2018 draft prospects.
- Daniel Amaral and Jake Bird were each named to D1Baseball's list of 2018 draft prospects in the Pac-12.
- Bird was also named as one of the top college senior draft prospects by D1Baseball and baseball America.
- Michael Toglia was tabbed the No. 1 draft prospect in the Pac-12 by D1Baseball for the 2019 MLB draft and No. 8 by Baseball America. He was also tabbed the 12th-highest prospect overall by D1Baseball.
- In addition to Toglia, Chase Strumpf, Ryan Kreidler, Jeremy Ydens and Jack Stronach were on D1Baseball'sย top 2019 MLB draft prospects list.
2017 at a Glance
In 2017, UCLA made its ninth postseason in the last 12 seasons and second in the last three years after earning a berth into the Long Beach Regional and finished with an overall record of 30-27. The Bruins finished third in the Pac-12 with a record of 19-11 after earning a road sweep at crosstown rival USC and also taking two out of three at both Stanford and Oregon. The season came to a heartbreaking end in the regional after dropping a tough opening game to Texas, 3-2, and then being eliminated in a thrilling 13-inning affair, 3-2, to San Diego State.
UCLA continued its success on the mound as the team was ranked in the top-30 in the country in ERA, shutouts, hits allowed per nine innings and WHIP. The pitching staff was led by All-American and All-Pac-12 selection Griffin Canning and also All-Pac-12 team honoree Jon Olsen. Offensively, UCLA was led by All-Pac-12 selection Sean Bouchard and Freshman All-Americans Kyle Cuellar and Michael Toglia.
Looking Ahead
The Bruins continue a seven-game homestand to begin the season next week when they host Pepperdine on Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT before welcoming Baylor to Jackie Robinson Stadium for a three-game series beginning on Friday, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. PT.
