UCLA
Washington
Bruins Host Washington for Weekend Series
April 06, 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. The Bruins currently sit in second place in the Pac-12 standings with a 6-3 record.
Probable Starters
Friday, April 7 - 6:00 p.m. PT
UCLA โ Griffin Canning, RHP, Jr. (2-1, 2.87 ERA)
WASH โ Leo Nierenberg, RHP, Fr. (0-1, 3.22 ERA)
Saturday, April 8 - 2:00 p.m. PT
UCLA โ Moises Ceja, RHP, Sr. (1-1, 2.53 ERA)
WASH โ Chris Micheles, LHP, Fr. (1-2, 3.68 ERA)
Sunday, April 9 - 1:00 p.m. PT
UCLA โ Jon Olsen, RHP, So. (2-1, 3.69 ERA)
WASH โ TBA
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UCLA Quick Hits
UCLA is 13-13 overall on the season and have won seven out of the last nine games.
- Griffin Canning has twice tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts this season. He has 58 total punch outs in eight starts, good for 16th in NCAA. He leads the Pac-12 in strikeouts looking at 25 and ranks inside the top-10 in the conference in ERA, strikeouts, opposing batting average and innings pitched.
- Sean Bouchard second in the Pac-12 in slugging percentage at .636 and home runs with six. He also ranks inside the top-10 in the conference in doubles, RBIs and total bases.
- Kyle Cuellar is 29th in the NCAA in batting average and 20th in on-base percentage. He is also 11th in the conference in slugging percentage.
- Daniel Amaral leads the Pac-12 with 10 stolen bases this season.
- Scott Burke is third in the NCAA in pitching appearances with 19.
- The Bruins pitching staff ranks 33rd in the NCAA in hits allowed per nine innings at 7.88, 57th in WHIP at 1.31, 66th in ERA at 3.85 and 69th in strikeouts per nine innings at 8.6.
Week in Review
UCLA went 2-1 this past weekend at Arizona State to improve to 6-3 in Pac-12 play before falling to San Diego State on Tuesday.
- On Friday, UCLA took the series opener at ASU, 9-3. Griffin Canning threw 7.1 innings with nine strikeouts, while Ryan Kreidler went 3-for-3 with two RBIs.
- On Saturday, the Bruins fell to the Sun Devils, 5-4. Daniel Amaral and Ryan Kreidler each recorded three hits and one RBI, while Moises Ceja tied a career-high with six strikeouts.
- UCLA clinched the series on Sunday with a 17-4 win as Chase Strumpf became the first Bruin since 2000 to record seven RBIs and Jon Olsen tossed 6.2 innings.
- On Tuesday, the Bruins played in Lake Elsinore, Calif. against San Diego State and fell 5-4. Jack Stronach drove in two runs and Sean Bouchard hit a home run in the loss.
Promotions
Friday's game will have a student shuttle bus where all students who take the bus to the game will receive a free hot dog, chips and a drink. On Saturday, the Bruins will welcome back all former UCLA baseball campers for Camper Reunion Day and also Boy Scout Day. Sunday is always Little League Sunday at Jackie Robinson Stadium as kids can run the bases after the game.
Scouting Washington
Washington enters the weekend 16-11 overall and 4-2 in Pac-12 play. They took two out of three last weekend against Baylor in a non-conference weekend but fell to Seattle, 4-2, on Tuesday. MJ Hubbs leads the Washington offense hitting .333 with two home runs, while Joey Morgan is batting .322 with a team-best 20 RBIs. On the mound, Chris Micheles is projected to make his eighth start of the season and has a 3.68 ERA in 29.1 innings.
The Bruins vs. the Huskies
UCLA has faced Washington 70 previous times, posting a record of 49-21 against the Huskies. The Bruins dropped two out of three last season to the Huskies in Seattle, but UCLA has won eight of the last 12 games and two out of the last three weekend series against Washington. At Jackie Robinson Stadium, the Bruins are 5-1 in the last six games. Under John Savage, UCLA is 25-11 against Washington.
NCAA Rankings
UCLA as a team is ranked in the top-100 in the country in a number of categories:
- 22nd in fielding percentage - 0.979
- 33rd in hits allowed per nine innings - 7.88
- 57th in WHIP - 1.31
- 66th in ERA - 3.85
- 68th in shutouts - 2
- 69th in strikeouts per nine innings - 8.6
- 80th in Walks - 122
- 98th in strikeout-to-walk ratio - 2.22
Pac-12 Leaders
After the first three weekends of Pac-12 play, several UCLA players are ranked inside the top-10 a number of categories:
- Kyle Cuellar: T1st in walks (8), 2nd in on-base percentage (.537), 8th in batting average (.419).
- Daniel Amaral: 1st in stolen bases (3), 2nd in hits (17), T2nd in runs scored (10), T5th in walks (6), 6th in on-base percentage (.511), 7th in batting average (.436).
- Sean Bouchard: T2nd in RBIs (10), T5th in runs scored (9), T6th in doubles (4).
- Ryan Kreidler: T2nd in stolen bases (2), T4th in on-base percentage (.519), 5th in batting average (.455), 7th in slugging percentage (.636).
- Daniel Rosica: 1st in on-base percentage (.538).
- Chase Strumpf: 1st in RBIs (11).
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)
- 15. 238 Grant Watson (2012-15)
- 16. 223 Ed Cowan (1974-76)
- 17. 219 - Griffin Canning (2015-Pres.)
Bruin Bats on Fire
The Bruins have won seven of their last nine games thanks in large parts to their bats. In the seven wins they have averaged 11.6 runs and are hitting .332 with a .441 on-base percentage. The team is averaging over 11 hits a game, six walks and three extra-base hits per contest. UCLA scored eight or more runs in six consecutive games for the first time since 1997.
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 21 of last 22 eligible starts, including throwing 7.0 or more innings in 12 of the 22 starts. In addition, Canning ranks top-100 in the country in several individual categories:
- 3rd in games starts (8)
- 16th in strikeouts (58)
- 59th in strikeouts per nine innings (11.11)
Freshman Stepping Up
A number of UCLA freshman have made a big impact through the first third of this season:
- Kyle Cuellar is hitting .400, second in the Pac-12 and 29th in NCAA, and is third on the team in RBIs with 16. He also ranks top-11 in the conference in on-base and slugging percentage. Over the last 10 games, he is hitting .379 with eight RBIs.
- Ryan Kreidler is third on the team in batting average at .300 and is second in RBIs with 17. He hit his first career home run in win over Arizona. Kreidler is the team leader in batting average (.455) and slugging percentage (.636) in Pac-12 only games.
- 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. Strumpf is hitting .389 with three doubles and 10 RBIs in his last five games.
- Michael Toglia has started 19 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 .381 with two doubles and six runs scored 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
