UCLA
San Diego State
Bruins Tussle with Aztecs on Tuesday
May 01, 2017 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ The UCLA baseball team is set to host San Diego State on Tuesday for its final midweek home game of the season starting at 6 p.m. (PT) from Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Probable Starters
Tuesday, May 2 - 6:00 p.m. PT
UCLA โ Justin Hooper, LHP, So. (1-0, 3.68 ERA)
SDSU โ Logan Boyer, RHP, Fr. (1-0, 0.79 ERA)
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UCLA Quick Hits
UCLA is 21-19 overall on the season including 10-8 in Pac-12 play.
- Griffin Canning has 98 total punch outs in 12 starts, good for seventh in NCAA and second in the conference. He has tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts three times this season. Canning ranks inside the top-10 in the conference in ERA, opposing batting average and innings pitched.
- Sean Bouchard is fifth in the Pac-12 in slugging percentage at .557 and tied for third in home runs with seven. He also ranks inside the top-11 in the conference in doubles, RBIs and total bases.
- Scott Burke is third in the NCAA in pitching appearances with 28 and top-10 during Pac-12 play in earned runs and hits allowed. He is also 28th on the NCAA's career active list for appearances with 80.
- Kyle Cuellar is top-10 during Pac-12 play in batting average, on-base percentage and doubles.
- Daniel Amaral leads the Pac-12 with 12 stolen bases this season.
- The Bruins pitching staff ranks 20th in the NCAA in hits allowed per nine innings at 7.79, 26th in ERA at 3.52, 34th in WHIP at 1.28, 72nd in strikeouts per nine innings at 8.4 and 85th in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 2.24.
Weekend in Review
UCLA played Cal Poly over the weekend and earned a series win over the Mustangs.
- On Friday, Griffin Canning tossed 8.2 innings and struck out 10 batters, while Brett Stephens hit a two-run double as UCLA won the series opener, 2-1.
- The Bruins dropped game two to the Mustangs, 6-3, as Michael Toglia hit a two-run home run and Daniel Amaral went 2-for-3.
- UCLA won the weekend series over the Mustangs on Sunday with a 5-4 victory. Brett Stephens and Kyle Cuellar recorded two hits, while Scott Burke recorded a five-out save.
Scouting San Diego State
The Aztecs come into Tuesday's game with a record of 30-15 but have lost three out of their last four games including dropping two out of three to New Mexico over the weekend. Offensively, David Hensley leads SDSU hitting .370, while Tyler Adkison has a team-best 40 RBIs and 11 home runs. Projected starter Logan Boyer is 1-0 with a 0.79 ERA in 11.1 innings pitched in nine appearances.
The Bruins vs. the Aztecs
UCLA has faced San Diego State 82 previous times, posting a record of 49-31-2 against the Aztecs. The Bruins fell to SDSU, 5-4, on April 4 in Lake Elsinore, Calif. as Sean Bouchard hit a home run and Jack Stronach drove in two runs. UCLA has won six of the last nine matchups between the two schools and at home, the Bruins have won six of the last seven contests against the Aztecs. Under John Savage, UCLA is 9-7 against San Diego State.
NCAA Rankings
UCLA as a team is ranked in the top-100 in the country in a number of categories:
- 19th in fielding percentage - 0.980
- 20th in hits allowed per nine innings - 7.79
- 26th in ERA - 3.52
- 34th in WHIP - 1.28
- 69th in shutouts - 3
- 72nd in strikeouts per nine innings - 8.4
- 85th in strikeout-to-walk ratio - 2.24
Pac-12 Leaders
Over halfway through Pac-12 play, several UCLA players are ranked inside the top-10 a number of categories:
- Kyle Cuellar: 3rd in on-base percentage (.472), 5th in batting average (.373), T8th in double (6).
- Michael Toglia: T3rd in triple (2), 5th in slugging percentage (.592), 6th in on-base percentage (.459).
- Griffin Canning: 4th in strikeouts (50), 9th in innings pitched (40.2), T9th in wins (3).
- Jon Olsen: 3rd in opposing batting average (.173), 3rd in hits allowed (18), T4th in runs allowed (9), 6th in ERA (2.64).
- Moises Ceja: 6th in opposing batting average (.231), T8th in walks allowed (8), 10th in ERA (3.06).
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.
- 1. 460 - Trevor Bauer (2009-11)
- 2. 376 - Gerrit Cole (2009-11)
- 8. 272 Adam Plutko (2011-13)
- 9. 265 Jon Brandt (1998-2001)
- 10. 262 Josh Karp (1999-2001)
- 11. 259 - Griffin Canning (2015-Pres.)
Tough Road
The Bruins have played one of the toughest schedules in the country as UCLA ranks No. 23 on the NCAA's Toughest Schedule Report. UCLA's opponents have accumulated a 0.578 winning percentage coming in to this week. The Bruins also rank No. 1 in strength of schedule by Boyd's World and No. 9 by Warren Nolan.
Freshman Stepping Up
A number of UCLA freshman have made a big impact this season:
- Kyle Cuellar is the team leader in batting average at .340 and on-base percentage at .437. He is also second on the team in slugging percentage at .456 and RBIs with 20. He is also leads the team in batting average and on-base percentage during Pac-12 play.
- Michael Toglia is second on the team in on-base percentage at .401, tied for second in home runs with four and third in slugging percentage at .456. He is hitting .327 in Pac-12 play and is third on the team with 12 RBIs. Toglia is batting .394 with three home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games.
- Ryan Kreidler is fifth on the team in batting average at .248 and has driven in 18 runs. He hit his second career home run in win over No. 1 Oregon State. During Pac-12 play he is hitting .294 with two home runs and eight RBIs.
- Chase Strumpf is tied for second on the team in home runs with four and has 18 RBIs, including 14 during 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.
- Jack Stronach is second on the team hitting .353 during Pac-12 play with five doubles and has recorded nine RBIs. He has recorded hits in fourof his last six games played and has five RBIs.
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
