UCLA
California
Bruins Ready for Series Against California
March 23, 2017 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA baseball team continues an eight-game homestand this weekend when it hosts California for a three-game Pac-12 series starting on Friday at 6 p.m. (PT). All three games of the series will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network with JB Long and UCLA alum Eric Byrnes on the call.
Probable Starters
Friday, March 24 - 6:00 p.m. PT
UCLA – Griffin Canning, RHP, Jr. (0-1, 1.89 ERA)
CAL – Jared Horn, RHP, Fr. (1-2, 5.32 ERA)
Saturday, March 25 - 4:00 p.m. PT
UCLA – Moises Ceja, RHP, Sr. (1-1, 1.69 ERA)
CAL – Joey Matulovich, RHP, So. (3-0, 3.18 ERA)
Sunday, March 26 - 2:00 p.m. PT
UCLA – Jon Olsen, RHP, So. (0-1, 5.50 ERA)
CAL – Tanner Dodson, RHP, So. (1-4, 4.67 ERA)
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Tickets | Follow @UCLABaseball
Promotions
This weekend is 90's weekend at Jackie Robinson Stadium as UCLA Baseball is turning back the clocks and all fans born in the 1990s will be able to get FREE admission all weekend long. To redeem your free ticket, just show your ID at the Jackie Robinson Stadium Box Office on gameday. On Friday, the first 300 fans will recieve a UCLA slap bracelet, while on Saturday fans will have a chance to win movie tickets to the new Power Rangers movie! Sunday is Little League Sunday as all Little League teams can attend for free and run the bases after the game.
UCLA Quick Hits
UCLA is 7-11 overall on the season after starting off Pac-12 play 1-2 at home against Arizona over the weekend.
- Griffin Canning has twice tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts this season. He has 43 total punch outs in six starts, good for 20th in NCAA. He leads the Pac-12 in strikeouts looking at 21 and ranks inside the top-10 in the conference in ERA, strikeouts, opposing batting average and innings pitched.
- Sean Bouchard is tied for the most home runs in the Pac-12 with four and ranks inside the top-10 in the conference in slugging percentage and total bases.
- The Bruins pitching staff ranks 50th in the NCAA in hits allowed per nine innings at 8.01, 53rd in strikeouts per nine innings at 9.0 and 78th in ERA at 3.90.
Week in Review
UCLA went 1-2 this past weekend against 12th-ranked Arizona to start Pac-12 play.
- On Friday, the game was suspended until Saturday due to fog and Arizona won 19-4. Sean Bouchard and Kyle Cuellar each went 3-for-4.
- On Saturday, the Bruins fell to the Wildcats, 4-3, as Moises Ceja threw 5.2 innings in relief allowing two runs, while Brett Stephens collected two hits and scored twice.
- On Sunday, UCLA won the series finale against Arizona, 8-7, in 10 innings as Kyle Cuellar and Zander Clarke drove in two runs, while Ryan Kreidler hit his first career home run.
Scouting California
California enters the weekend with a 9-9 record after dropping two out of three games to Oregon to gein Pac-12 play last weekend. Offensively, the Golden Bears are led by Cameron Eden who is hitting a team-best .365 with three doubles, while Andrew Vaughn leads the team with four home runs and 12 Rbis while hitting .329. On the mound, Joey Matulovich tossed eight innings against Oregon to improve his record to 3-0 on the season with a 3.18 ERA and Erik Martinez holds a 0.93 ERA with three saves out of the bullpen.
The Bruins vs. the Golden Bears
UCLA has faced California 352 previous times, posting a record of 177-175 against the Golden Bears. The Bruins lost all three games at California last season during a weekend series on April 1-3, but in the last 10 games, UCLA is 6-4 against California. At Jackie Robinson Stadium, the Bruins have won six of the last nine games against the Golden Bears, including winning the last three weekend series. Under John Savage, UCLA is 21-15 against California.
NCAA Rankings
UCLA as a team is ranked in the top-100 in the country in a number of categories:
- 50th in hits allowed per nine innings - 8.01
- 52nd in fielding percentage - 0.976
- 53rd in strikeouts per nine innings - 9.0
- 78th in ERA - 3.90
- 89th in shutouts - 1
- 93rd in WHIP - 1.37
200 K's
Griffin Canning is 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 23rd in the NCAA on the active career strikeout list.
- 1. 460 - Trevor Bauer (2009-11)
- 2. 376 - Gerrit Cole (2009-11)
- 17. 215 Pete Janicki (1990-92)
- 18. 209 - Ryan Carter (1998-00))
- 19. 208 - Rob Henkel (1997-00)
- 20. 207 - Tim Murphy (2007-08)
- 21. 204 - 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 19 of last 20 eligible starts, including throwing 7.0 or more innings in 11 of the 20 starts. In addition, Canning ranks top-100 in the country in several individual categories:
- 3rd in games starts (6)
- 20th in strikeouts (43)
- 58th in hits allowed per nine inning (5.40)
- 64th in strikeouts per nine innings (11.61)
- 97th in ERA (1.89)
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 0.622 winning percentage coming in to this weekend. California is the only other Pac-12 team in the top 10, coming in at No. 6 with an opponents winning percentage of 0.629.
Freshman Stepping Up
A number of UCLA freshman have made a big impact through the first third of this season:
- Kyle Cuellar is hitting .441 (14th in NCAA) in 34 at-bats and is second on the team in RBIs with 10. He hit his first career home run at Texas and drove in the game-tying runs in series finale vs. Arizona. Over his last five games, he is hitting a team-best .524 with six RBIs and three doubles.
- Ryan Kreidler is second on the team in RBIs with 10 and hit his first career home run in win over Arizona. He also drove in the game-winning run against San Jose State in the season opener.
- Nick Scheidler is third on the team with nine 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 13 games for UCLA this season in the outfield and has two doubles.
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, including the next four consecutive home 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
