UCLA
Utah
Bruins Host Utah in Final Home Series
May 18, 2017 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ The UCLA baseball team will compete in its final home games of the season this weekend when it hosts Utah in a three-game Pac-12 series starting on Friday at 6 p.m. (PT) from Jackie Robinson Stadium. Sunday is Senior Day as Scott Burke, Moises Ceja, Nick Kern and Brett Stephens will be honored prior to first pitch.
Probable Starters
Friday, May 19 - 6:00 p.m. PT
UCLA โ Griffin Canning, RHP, Jr. (5-3, 2.51 ERA)
UTAH โ Jayson Rose, RHP, Jr. (7-2, 3.31 ERA)
Saturday, May 20 - 6:00 p.m. PT
UCLA โ Jake Bird, RHP, Jr. (4-3, 2.95 ERA)
UTAH โ Riley Ottesen, RHP, So. (4-3, 4.86 ERA)
Sunday, May 21 - 1:00 p.m. PT
UCLA โ Jon Olsen, RHP, So. (5-1, 3.25 ERA)
UTAH โ Josh Lapiana, LHP, Jr. (3-5, 4.92 ERA)
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UCLA Quick Hits
UCLA is 25-23 overall on the season including 14-10 in Pac-12 play, good for third in the conference.
- Griffin Canning has 114 total punch outs in 14 starts, good for sixth 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 second in the Pac-12 in slugging percentage at .577 and is fourth in home runs with nine. He also ranks inside the top-10 in the conference in doubles, RBIs and total bases.
- Scott Burke is fourth in the NCAA in pitching appearances with 31. He is also 29th on the NCAA's career active list for relief appearances with 83.
- Kyle Cuellar is top-10 during Pac-12 play in batting average, on-base percentage and doubles.
- Daniel Amaral is tied for second in the Pac-12 with 13 stolen bases this season.
- The Bruins pitching staff ranks 23rd in the NCAA in ERA at 3.48, 27th in hits allowed per nine innings at 8.02, 29th in shutouts with five, 35th in WHIP at 1.29, 49th in strikeouts per nine innings at 8.6 and 60th in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 2.39.
Week in Review
UCLA dropped its first Pac-12 road series of the season at Washington State after losing two out of three in Pullman, Wash.
- On Friday, Zander Clarke hit a solo home run, while Chase Strumpf and Brett Stephens each went 2-for-4 as UCLA lost the series opener 7-1.
- The Bruins fell in game two 7-3 as Chase Strumpf drove in a pair of runs and Michael Toglia hit a solo home run.
- UCLA won the series finale over the Cougars, 12-2, as Sean Bouchard drove in five runs including a three-run home run and Jon Olsen struck out nine batters in 7.0 innings of work.
Scouting Utah
The Utes enter the weekend with a 24-21 record, including 12-12 during Pac-12 play, tied for fourth in the standings. Dallas Carroll leads the Utah offense hitting a team-best .369 with five home runs and 42 RBIs, while DaShawn Keirsey Jr. is batting .360 during Pac-12 play with eight extra-base hits. On the mound, Jayson Rose is 7-2 with a 3.31 ERA in 81.2 innings pitched with 75 strikeouts, including compiling a 4-2 record with a 2.70 ERA during conference play.
The Bruins vs. the Utes
UCLA has faced Utah 24 previous times, posting a record of 19-5 against the Utes. UCLA has won nine of the last 12 contests against Utah and at home, the Bruins are 6-0 in its last six games against the Utes. Under John Savage, UCLA is 12-4 against the Utes.
NCAA Rankings
UCLA as a team is ranked in the top-100 in the country in a number of categories:
- 17th in fielding percentage - 0.979
- 23rd in ERA - 3.48
- 27th in hits allowed per nine innings - 8.02
- 29th in shutouts - 5
- 35th in WHIP - 1.29
- 49th in strikeouts per nine innings - 8.6
- 60th in strikeout-to-walk ratio - 2.39
- 88th in walks allowed per nine innings - 3.60
Pac-12 Leaders
With two weeks left in Pac-12 play, several UCLA players are ranked inside the top-10 a number of categories:
- Michael Toglia: 2nd in slugging percentage (.662), 2nd in on-base percentage (.460), T5th in home runs (4), T9th in doubles (7), 11th in RBIs (19).
- Sean Bouchard: T4th in doubles (9), T7th in RBIs (21), T8th in home runs (3), T8th in runs scored (20), 10th in slugging percentage (.522).
- Griffin Canning: 3rd in strikeouts (66), 4th in innings pitched (56.2), T5th in wins (4).
- Jon Olsen: 1st in opposing batting average (.170), 3rd in hits allowed (25), 4th in runs allowed (11), 5th in ERA (2.32), T5th in wins (4), 7th in strikeouts (39).
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)
- 3. 328 - Alex Sanchez (1985-87)
- 4. 319 - Jim Parque (1995-97)
- 5. 307 - Pete Janicki (1990-92)
- T6. 275 - James Kaprielian (2013-15)
- T6. 275 - 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 27 of last 28 eligible starts, including throwing 7.0 or more innings in 17 of the 28 starts. He currently ranks 14th in strikeouts on the NCAA's active career list with 275, 18th for complete games with six and 42nd in innings pitched with 266.1. In addition, Canning ranks top-100 in the country in several individual categories:
- 4th in games starts (14)
- 6th in strikeouts (114)
- 38th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.99)
Tough Road
The Bruins have played one of the toughest schedules in the country as UCLA ranks No. 22 on the NCAA's Toughest Schedule Report. UCLA's opponents have accumulated a 0.571 winning percentage coming in to this week. The Bruins also rank No. 2 in strength of schedule by Boyd's World and No. 21 by Warren Nolan.
Freshman Stepping Up
A number of UCLA freshman have made a big impact this season:
- Michael Toglia is top-10 in the Pac-12 in slugging percentage at .514 and home runs with seven. He is hitting .338 in Pac-12 play and leads the team with four home runs and is second with 19 RBIs. Toglia has hit the third most home runs by a UCLA freshman since 2005.
- 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.
- Ryan Kreidler has driven in 22 runs, scored 23 times and has started at shortstop in 21 of the last 23 games. During Pac-12 play he is hitting .288 with two home runs and 12 RBIs.
- Chase Strumpf is third on the team in home runs with five and has 23 RBIs, including 18 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 .318 during Pac-12 play with five doubles and has recorded nine RBIs. He totaled 13 RBIs and eight runs in 75 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 154 of the 165 total games played by the Bruins in the past three years.
- He has played in a total of 193 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
