UCLA
Oregon
Bruins Travel to Oregon for Regular Season Finale
May 24, 2017 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ The UCLA baseball team will play its final games of the regular season this weekend when they head to Oregon for a three-game Pac-12 series starting on Thursday at 6 p.m. (PT) from PK Park. All three games of the series will be streamed online at Pac-12 Plus and on Twitter.
Probable Starters
Thursday, May 25 - 6:00 p.m. PT
UCLA โ Griffin Canning, RHP, Jr. (6-3, 2.55 ERA)
ORE โ David Peterson, LHP, Jr. (11-3, 2.31 ERA)
Friday, May 26 - 6:00 p.m. PT
UCLA โ Jake Bird, RHP, Jr. (5-3, 3.02 ERA)
ORE โ Matt Mercer, RHP, So. (5-7, 3.44 ERA)
Saturday, May 27 - 2:00 p.m. PT
UCLA โ Jon Olsen, RHP, So. (6-1, 3.12 ERA)
ORE โ Cole Stringer, LHP, So. (4-2, 3.36 ERA)
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UCLA Quick Hits
UCLA is 28-24 overall on the season including 17-10 in Pac-12 play, good for third place in the conference.
- Griffin Canning has 124 total punch outs in 15 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 sixth in the Pac-12 in slugging percentage at .560 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 and Nick Scheidler are both fifth in the NCAA in pitching appearances with 33. Burke is also 24th on the NCAA's career active list for relief appearances with 85.
- Daniel Amaral leads the Pac-12 with 16 stolen bases this season.
- The Bruins pitching staff ranks 30th in the NCAA in hits allowed per nine innings at 8.02, 32nd in ERA at 3.62, 32nd in shutouts with five, 42nd in WHIP at 1.28, 58th in strikeouts per nine innings at 8.4 and 81st in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 2.28.
Week in Review
UCLA swept its third Pac-12 series this season in the final home games of 2017 over Utah.
- On Friday, Jack Stronach went 2-for-3 with a solo home run while Griffin Canning tossed a complete game with 10 strikeouts to win the series opener 7-3.
- The Bruins won the series with a 5-3 win on Saturday as Chase Strumpf hit the first grand slam by a UCLA player since 2015.
- UCLA earned the series sweep with a 8-3 win after Michael Toglia, Chase Strumpf and Daniel Rosica each hit home runs and Jon Olsen improved to 5-0 in conference play.
- On Tuesday, the Bruins fell to UC Irvine in the final midweek game of the season, 12-4, as Ryan Kreidler hit a solo home run and Jake Pries recorded a RBI-double.
Scouting Oregon
The Ducks enter the weekend with a 29-23 record but are just 11-16 during Pac-12 play. Oregon is coming off a series win at USC last weekend and defeated UC Riverside on Monday, 10-6. The offense is led by Kyle Kasser hitting .350 with 24 RBIs and nine extra-base hits. On the mound, David Peterson leads the Pac-12 with 131 strikeouts and has compiled a 11-3 record with a 2.31 ERA.
The Bruins vs. the Ducks
UCLA has faced Oregon 37 previous times, posting a record of 24-13 against the Ducks. In the last 18 games, UCLA is 10-8 against Oregon and on the road, the Bruins are 6-3 in its last nine games against the Ducks. Under John Savage, UCLA is 13-11 against Oregon.
UCLA in the Polls
The Bruins have cracked the top-30 of a national poll for the second time in three weeks as Collegiate Baseball has UCLA ranked No. 30 in the country.
NCAA Rankings
UCLA as a team is ranked in the top-100 in the country in a number of categories:
- 11th in fielding percentage - 0.981
- 30th in hits allowed per nine innings - 8.02
- 32nd in ERA - 3.62
- 32nd in shutouts - 5
- 42nd in WHIP - 1.31
- 58th in strikeouts per nine innings - 8.4
- 81st in strikeout-to-walk ratio - 2.28
Pac-12 Leaders
Heading into the final week of Pac-12 play, several UCLA players are ranked inside the top-10 a number of categories:
- Michael Toglia: 2nd in slugging percentage (.642), T3rd in walks (17), 7th in on-base percentage (.444), T5th in home runs (5), T9th in RBIs (22).
- Sean Bouchard: T4th in doubles (10), T6th in RBIs (24), T8th in runs scored (23), 10th in slugging percentage (.495).
- Chase Strumpf: T5th in home runs (5), 8th in RBIs (23), 9th in slugging percentage (.500).
- Griffin Canning: 3rd in strikeouts (76), 3rd in innings pitched (65.2), T4th in wins (5).
- Jon Olsen: 2nd in opposing batting average (.179), 4th in ERA (2.23), 4th in hits allowed (30), T4th in runs allowed (12), T4th in wins (5), 7th in strikeouts (45).
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)
- 6. 285 - 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 28 of last 29 eligible starts, including throwing 7.0 or more innings in 18 of the 29 starts. He currently ranks 7th on the NCAA's active career list for complete games with 7, 13th in strikeouts with 285, and 39th in innings pitched with 275.1. In addition, Canning ranks top-100 in the country in several individual categories:
- 5th in games starts (15)
- 5th in strikeouts (124)
- 43rd in strikeouts per nine innings (10.91)
Tough Road
The Bruins have played one of the toughest schedules in the country as UCLA ranks No. 20 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. 24 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 home runs and walks. He is hitting .321 in Pac-12 play and leads the team with five home runs. Toglia has hit the third most home runs by a UCLA freshman since 2005.
- Chase Strumpf is third on the team in home runs with seven and has 28 RBIs, including 23 during Pac-12 play. He is the first UCLA player since 2000 to drive in seven runs in a single game and hit the first grand slam since 2015.
- Ryan Kreidler has driven in 23 runs, scored 25 times and has started at shortstop in 25 of the last 27 games. During Pac-12 play he is hitting .277 with two home runs and 12 RBIs.
- Jack Stronach is hitting .327 during Pac-12 play with six doubles, one home run and has recorded 12 RBIs. He totaled 16 RBIs and nine runs in 82 at-bats this season.
Olsen's Pac-12 Dominance
Sophomore pitcher Jon Olsen has been dominant during Pac-12 play this season as he has amassed a perfect 5-0 record during conference play. He also ranks top-10 during conference play in a number of categories:
- 2nd in opposing batting average - .179
- 4th in ERA - 2.23
- 4th in hits allowed - 30
- T4th in runs allowed - 12
- T4th in wins - 5
- 7th in strikeouts - 45
UCLA Ironman
Over the past three seasons, senior Brett Stephens has been an ironman for the UCLA Bruins.
- Stephens has appeared in 158 of the 169 total games played by the Bruins in the past three years.
- He has played in a total of 197 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
