University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Arizona
Bruins Open Pac-12 Play Hosting No. 12 Arizona
March 16, 2017 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA baseball team begins Pac-12 play this weekend as it hosts No. 12 Arizona for a three-game weekend series starting on Friday at 7 p.m. (PT). Friday and Sunday's game against the Wildcats will be televised live on the Pac-12 Netowrk with Roxy Bernstein and Dean Stotz on the call.
Probable Starters
Friday, March 17 - 7:00 p.m. PT
UCLA – Griffin Canning, RHP, Jr. (0-0, 0.96 ERA)
ARIZ - JC Cloney, LHP, Sr. (4-0, 1.00 ERA)
Saturday, March 18 - 2:00 p.m. (PT)
UCLA – TBA
ARIZ - Michael Flynn, RHP, So. (2-0, 1.40 ERA)
Sunday, March 19 - 2:00 p.m. (PT)
UCLA – Jon Olsen, RHP, So. (0-1, 5.06 ERA)
ARIZ - TBA
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Tickets | Follow @UCLABaseball
Week in Review
UCLA went 0-4 this past week after dropping three games at Texas in the first road series of the season and then falling to UC Irvine on Tuesday.
- 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 fourth quality start of the season.
- On Saturday, the Bruins fell to the Longhorns 5-2 as Moises Ceja threw 5.0 shutout 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.
- On Tuesday, the Bruins fell to UC Irvine 5-3 as Kyle Cuellar collected three hits and drove in three runs.
Scouting Arizona
Arizona enters the weekend as the 12th-ranked team in the country with a 13-3 record and are coming of a postseason run last season that saw them get to the final series of the College World Series. The Wildcats are the number one offense in the country in runs (10.4) and batting average (.357). Arizona has four players hitting over .400 led by Jared Oliva with a .429 batting average and a team-high 27 hits, three home runs and 25 RBIs. On the mound, JC CLoney is 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA in four starts with 21 strikeouts.
The Bruins vs. the Wildcats
UCLA has faced Arizona 249 previous times, posting a record of 129-118-2 against the Wildcats. The Bruins lost two out of three at Arizona last season during a weekend series on March 24-26. In the last 10 games, UCLA is 6-4 against Arizona, but at Jackie Robinson Stadium, the Bruins have won eight out of the last nine games against the Wildcats. Under John Savage, UCLA is 22-15 against Arizona.
NCAA Rankings
UCLA as a team is ranked in the top-50 in the country in a number of categories:
- 12th in hits allowed per nine innings - 6.82
- 30th in ERA - 2.98
- 33rd in fielding percentage - 0.979
- 40th in strikeouts per nine innings - 9.4
- 32nd in fielding percentage - 0.981
- 47th in WHIP - 1.25
200 K's
Griffin Canning is one strikeout away from reaching 200 punch outs in his career with the Bruins. He would become just the 22nd pitcher in UCLA program history, and the eighth pitcher since John Savage took over the program in 2005, to surpass the 200 strikeout mark. Canning also currently ranks 22nd in the NCAA on the active career strikeout list.
- 1. 460 - Trevor Bauer (2009-11)
- 2. 376 - Gerrit Cole (2009-11)
- 18. 209 - Ryan Carter (1998-00)
- 19. 208 - Rob Henkel (1997-00)
- 20. 207 - Tim Murphy (2007-08)
- 21. 201 - Nick Vander Tuig (2011-13)
- 22. 199 - Griffin Canning (2015-Pres.)
Canning Effect
Griffin Canning made the jump last season to UCLA's Friday starter and has excelled on the bump for the Bruins. Earlier this season, he was selected to the Golden Spikes Preseason Watch List and named a Preseason All-America third team selection by Baseball America. He lasted at least 5.0 innings in all 19 starts, including throwing 7.0 or more innings in 11 of the last 19 starts. In addition, Canning ranks top-50 in the country in several individual categories:
- 11th in strikeouts (38)
- 22nd in hits allowed per nine inning (4.18)
- 27th in games started (4)
- 45th in ERA (0.96)
Tough Road
The Bruins have played one of the toughest schedules in the country as UCLA ranks No. 10 on the NCAA's Toughest Schedule Report. UCLA's opponents have accumulated a 0.634 winning percentage coming in to this weekend. California is the only other Pac-12 team in the top 10, coming in at No. 9 with an opponents winning percentage of 0.637.
Freshman Stepping Up
A number of UCLA freshman have made a big impact through the first quarter of this season:
- Kyle Cuellar is hitting .364 and is third on the team in RBIs with seven. He 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 .438 with six RBIs, one home run and two doubles.
- Ryan Kreidler is second on the team in RBIs with eight and drove in the game-winning run against San Jose State in the season opener.
- Nick Scheidler is third on the team with eight 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.
- Michael Toglia has started 12 games for UCLA this season in the outfield.
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 as UCLA received 54 points overall. Prior to the season, D1Baseball.com ranked the top position players in the country and 11 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 Strumpf (2B) No. 39, Brian Gadsby (RP) - No. 39, Michael Toglia (OF) - No. 50, Jake Bird (SP) - No. 85, Daniel Amaral (OF) - No. 149, Jon Olsen (SP) - No. 165 and 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. The Bruins first TV game will be the Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic matchup with USC on March 5 at 3 p.m. (PT).
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
