UCLA
Stanford
Bruins Head North to Play Weekend Series at Stanford
April 12, 2017 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ The UCLA baseball team return home this weekend to host Washington for a three-game Pac-12 series starting on Friday at 6 p.m. (PT) from Jackie Robinson Stadium. All three games of the series will be televised on the Pac-12 Network with Ted Robinson, Ted Enberg and Scott Erickson on the call over the weekend.
Probable Starters
Thursday, April 13 - 6:00 p.m. PT
UCLA โ Griffin Canning, RHP, Jr. (2-2, 3.25 ERA)
STAN โย Kris Bubic, LHP, So. (2-5, 4.08 ERA)
Friday, April 14 - 7:00 p.m. PT
UCLA โ Moises Ceja, RHP, Sr. (1-2, 2.68 ERA)
STAN โ Andrew Summerville, LHP, Jr. (1-1, 3.00 ERA)
Saturday, April 15 - 4:00 p.m. PT
UCLA โ Jon Olsen, RHP, So. (2-1, 4.58 ERA)
STAN โ Chris Castellanos, LHP, Sr. (5-1, 2.31 ERA)
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UCLA Quick Hits
UCLA is 14-15 overall on the season including 7-5 in Pac-12 play.
- Griffin Canning has twice tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts this season. He has 66 total punch outs in nine starts, good for 18th in NCAA. He leads the Pac-12 in strikeouts looking at 29 and ranks inside the top-10 in the conference in strikeouts, opposing batting average and innings pitched.
- Kyle Cuellar is sixth in the NCAA in batting average at .422 and 10th in on-base percentage at .512. He is also eighth in the conference in slugging percentage at 0.578.
- Sean Bouchard third in the Pac-12 in slugging percentage at .615 and second in home runs with six. He also ranks inside the top-10 in the conference in doubles, RBIs and total bases.
- Scott Burke is third in the NCAA in pitching appearances with 21 and eighth during Pac-12 play with a 1.88 ERA.
- Daniel Amaral leads the Pac-12 with 10 stolen bases this season.
- The Bruins pitching staff ranks 42nd in the NCAA in hits allowed per nine innings at 8.10, 70th in WHIP at 1.34, 69th in strikeouts per nine innings at 8.5 and 84th in ERA at 4.03.
Week in Review
UCLA went 1-2 this past weekend against Washington and are now 7-5 and tied for third in Pac-12 play.
- On Friday, UCLA dropped the series opener, 7-3, as Brett Stephens became the second Bruin this season to hit two home runs in one game.
- On Saturday, the Bruins fell to the Huskies, 6-3. Michael Toglia hit his first career home run, while Sean Bouchard and Ryan Kreidler each collected two hits.
- UCLA earned the win in the series finale on Sunday as the Bruins earned a walk-off victory, 6-5, after trailing 5-0. Zander Clarke drove in the game-winning run, while Jack Bird and Scott Burke combined to throw 5.1 shutout innings in relief. Kyle Cuellar tallied four hits and Jack Stronach had three hits and two RBIs.
Scouting Stanford
The 18th ranked Cardinal enter the weekend with a 17-10 record, including 4-5 in Pac-12 play. Stanford won two out of three last weekend against USC on the road. Offensively, Mikey Diekroeger is hitting .312 in 93 at-bats, while Quinn Brodey leads the team with four home runs and 25 RBIs. On the mound, Chris Castellanos is 5-1 in seven starts with a 2.31 ERA, while Colton Hock has seven saves and a 4-0 record in 12 appearances out of the bullpen.
The Bruins vs. the Cardinal
UCLA has faced Stanford 346 previous times, posting a record of 147-199 against the Cardinal. The Bruins dropped two out of three last season to the Cardinal at home and UCLA is 5-7 in its last 12 games against Stanford. On the road, the Bruins are 4-5 in the last nine games. Under John Savage, UCLA is 17-19 against Stanford.
NCAA Rankings
UCLA as a team is ranked in the top-100 in the country in a number of categories:
- 17th in fielding percentage - 0.980
- 42nd in hits allowed per nine innings - 8.10
- 69th in strikeouts per nine innings - 8.5
- 70th in WHIP - 1.34
- 84th in ERA - 4.03
- 93rd in Walks - 132
Pac-12 Leaders
After the first four weekends of Pac-12 play, several UCLA players are ranked inside the top-10 a number of categories:
- Kyle Cuellar: T2nd in batting average (.450), 3rd in on-pase percentage (.540), T5th in walks (8), T8th in hits (18), T9th in RBIs (10).
- Sean Bouchard: T3rd in runs scored (12), T4th in doubles (5) T9th in RBIs (10).
- Brett Stephens: T3rd in runs scored (12), T6th in home runs (2).
- Ryan Kreidler: 6th in on-base percentage (.486), T7 in batting average (.400).
- Daniel Amaral: T5th in walks (6), T10th in runs scored (10), T10th in hits (17).
- Griffin Canning: 2nd in strikeouts (28), 8th in innings pitched (24.2).
- Scott Burke: 1st in appearances (9), 4th in hits allowed (11), 8th in ERA (1.88).
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 18th in the NCAA on the active career strikeout list.
- 1. 460 - Trevor Bauer (2009-11)
- 2. 376 - Gerrit Cole (2009-11)
- 14. 241 - David Berg (2012-15)
- 15. 238 - Grant Watson (2012-15)
- 16. 227 - 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 22 of last 23 eligible starts, including throwing 7.0 or more innings in 12 of the 23 starts. In addition, Canning ranks top-100 in the country in several individual categories:
- 3rd in games starts (9)
- 16th in strikeouts (66)
- 59th in strikeouts per nine innings (11.28)
Freshman Stepping Up
A number of UCLA freshman have made a big impact through the first third of this season:
- Kyle Cuellar is sixth in the NCAA in batting average at .422 and 10th in on-base percentage in .512. He is also second on the team in slugging percentage at .578 and in RBIs with 18. Over the last 10 games, he is hitting .423 with six RBIs.
- Ryan Kreidler is third on the team in batting average at .295 and RBIs with 17. He hit his first career home run in win over Arizona. During Pac-12 play he is hitting .400 with seven RBIs.
- Chase Strumpf is tied for second on the team in home runs with three and has 14 RBIs, including 11 in Pac-12 play. He is the first UCLA player since 2000 to drive in seven runs in a single game on April 2 at Arizona State.
- Michael Toglia has started 21 games for UCLA this season in the outfield and set a career-high with three RBIs with two extra-base hits against Cal on March 25. He is hitting .345 with one home run and a league-best nine walks in Pac-12 play.
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.
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.
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
