University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Washington State
Bruins Play at Washington State for Weekend Series
May 11, 2017 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA baseball team will complete a seven-game road swing this weekend when it travels to Washington State for a three-game Pac-12 series starting on Friday at 7 p.m. (PT) from Bailey-Brayton Field. All three games of the series will be televised live on the Pac-12 Network with Rich Burk and Andy Lopez on the call.
Probable Starters
Friday, May 12 - 7:00 p.m. PT
UCLA – Griffin Canning, RHP, Jr. (5-2, 2.29 ERA)
WSU – Damon Jones, LHP, R-Jr. (2-3, 5.64 ERA)
Saturday, May 13 - 4:00 p.m. PT
UCLA – Jake Bird, RHP, Jr. (4-2, 2.80 ERA)
WSU – Cody Anderson, LHP, Jr. (4-2, 2.64 ERA)
Sunday, May 14 - 12:00 p.m. PT
UCLA – Jon Olsen, RHP, So. (4-1, 3.34 ERA)
WSU – Isaac Mullins, LHP, Fr. (2-2, 5.70 ERA)
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Follow @UCLABaseball
UCLA Quick Hits
UCLA is 24-21 overall on the season including 13-8 in Pac-12 play.
- Griffin Canning has 108 total punch outs in 13 starts, good for fifth 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 .565 and is fourth in home runs with eight. 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 30. He is also 26th on the NCAA's career active list for relief appearances with 82.
- Kyle Cuellar is top-10 during Pac-12 play in batting average, on-base percentage and doubles.
- Daniel Amaral leads the Pac-12 with 13 stolen bases this season.
- The Bruins pitching staff ranks 18th in the NCAA in ERA at 3.36, 22nd in hits allowed per nine innings at 7.83, 24th in shutouts with five, 30th in WHIP at 1.28, 53rd in strikeouts per nine innings at 8.6 and 69th in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 2.35.
Week in Review
UCLA swept a road Pac-12 series at USC over the weekend to improve to 13-8 in conference play but dropped a midweek contest at No. 14 Cal State Fullerton.
- On Thursday, Griffin Canning tossed his second complete game shutout of the season with 10 strikeouts, while Chase Strumpf drove in the game's only runs with a two-run home run.
- The Bruins won game two, 4-2, as Ryan Kreidler drove in three runs, including the game-winning RBIs in the ninth inning, and Jake Bird tossed 6.1 shutout innings in relief.
- UCLA swept the Trojans with a 13-0 victory on Saturday as Michael Toglia recorded six RBIs and Jon Olsen struck out seven in 5.0 innings of work.
- On Tuesday, the Bruins fell at No. 14 Cal State Fullerton, 4-3, as Sean Bouchard went 3-for-4 with a RBI-double, while Brett Stephens collected a pair of hits.
Scouting Washington State
The Cougars enter the series with a 22-22 record, including 8-13 in Pac-12 play. Washington State is coming off winning two out of three at home over Oregon last weekend. James Rudkin is hitting a team-high .312 with 12 doubles and 28 RBIs, while Justin Harrer and J.J. Hancock are tied for the team lead with four home runs. On the mound, Cody Anderson is 4-2 with a 2.64 ERA in 12 starts this season with 53 strikeouts.
The Bruins vs. the Cougars
UCLA has faced Washington State 74 previous times, posting a record of 52-22 against the Cougars. UCLA has won 10 of the last 12 contests against Washington State and on the road, the Bruins are 5-1 in its last six games against the Cougars. Under John Savage, UCLA is 25-11 against the Cougars.
UCLA in the Polls
The Bruins have cracked the top-30 of a national poll for the first time since Feb. 27 as Collegiate Baseball has UCLA ranked No. 28 in the country.
NCAA Rankings
UCLA as a team is ranked in the top-100 in the country in a number of categories:
- 12th in fielding percentage - 0.980
- 18th in ERA - 3.36
- 22nd in hits allowed per nine innings - 7.83
- 24th in shutouts - 5
- 30th in WHIP - 1.28
- 53rd in strikeouts per nine innings - 8.6
- 69th in strikeout-to-walk ratio - 2.35
- 90th in walks allowed per nine innings - 3.65
Pac-12 Leaders
With three weeks left in Pac-12 play, several UCLA players are ranked inside the top-10 a number of categories:
- Michael Toglia: 1st in slugging percentage (.695), 2nd in on-base percentage (.486), T7th in doubles (7), T8th in home runs (3), 9th in batting average (.356), 10th in RBIs (18).
- Kyle Cuellar: 3rd in on-base percentage (.472), 6th in batting average (.373), T10th in double (6).
- Griffin Canning: 3rd in strikeouts (60), T3rd in wins (4), 4th in innings pitched (49.2).
- Jon Olsen: 2nd in opposing batting average (.172), T2nd in hits allowed (21), 4th in runs allowed (9), 5th in ERA (2.27), T7th in strikeouts (30).
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)
- 5. 307 - Pete Janicki (1990-92)
- 6. 275 - James Kaprielian (2013-15)
- 7. 274 - Gary Robson (1970-72)
- 8. 272 - Adam Plutko (2011-13)
- 9. 269 - Griffin Canning (2015-Pres.)
Canning Effect
Griffin Canning has excelled on the bump for the Bruins this season and is one of the top starters in the country. Earlier this season, he was selected to the Golden Spikes Midseason and Preseason Watch Lists and named a Preseason All-America third team selection by Baseball America. He lasted at least 5.0 innings in 26 of last 27 eligible starts, including throwing 7.0 or more innings in 16 of the 27 starts. He currently ranks 13th in strikeouts on the NCAA's active career list with 269, 15th for complete games with six, 43rd in innings pitched with 259.1 and 49th in fewest walks per nine innings at 1.77. In addition, Canning ranks top-100 in the country in several individual categories:
- 5th in games starts (13)
- 5th in strikeouts (108)
- 36th in strikeouts per nine innings (11.26)
Tough Road
The Bruins have played one of the toughest schedules in the country as UCLA ranks No. 28 on the NCAA's Toughest Schedule Report. UCLA's opponents have accumulated a 0.572 winning percentage coming in to this week. The Bruins also rank No. 2 in strength of schedule by Boyd's World and No. 15 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 .327 and on-base percentage at .423. He is also third on the team in slugging percentage at .439. Cuellar leads the team in batting average during Pac-12 play as well at .373 with 11 RBIs.
- Michael Toglia is second on the team in slugging percentage, on-base percentage and home runs. He is hitting .356 in Pac-12 play and leads the team with three home runs and 18 RBIs.
- Nick Scheidler is second on the team with 27 appearances on the mound, good for 21st in the country. He has a 2-4 record and has not allowed a run in his last 11 appearances.
- Ryan Kreidler has driven in 22 runs, scored 20 times and has started at shortstop in 18 of the last 20 games. During Pac-12 play he is hitting .317 with two home runs and 12 RBIs.
- Chase Strumpf is third on the team in home runs with five and has 20 RBIs, including 16 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 hitting .317 during Pac-12 play with five doubles and has recorded nine RBIs. He totaled 13 RBIs and eight runs in 72 at-bats this season.
UCLA Ironman
Over the past three seasons, senior Brett Stephens has been an ironman for the UCLA Bruins.
- Stephens has appeared in 151 of the 162 total games played by the Bruins in the past three years.
- He has played in a total of 190 games in his career.
- Stephens is looking to become the 16th player since 1975 to play in 200 career games.
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
