Bruins Ready for Long Beach Regional
June 01, 2017 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ The UCLA baseball team returns to postseason play for the second time in three seasons when they compete as the No. 3 seed in the Long Beach Regional this weekend from Blair Field. The Bruins will face No. 2 seed Texas in the first game of the Regional on Friday at 4 p.m (PT) on ESPN2 with Clay Matvick and Kyle Peterson on the call. Each game of the Long Beach Regional will be carried on the ESPN family of networks.
Long Beach Regional Schedule
Friday, June 2
4:00pm PT - No. 2 Texas vs. No. 3 UCLA (GM 1) | TV: ESPN2/WatchESPN
8:00pm PT - No. 1 Long Beach State vs. No. 4 San Diego State (GM 2) | TV: ESPN2/WatchESPN
Saturday, June 3
1:00pm PT - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (GM 3) | TV: ESPN3/WatchESPN
7:00pm PT - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 (GM 4) | TV: ESPN3/WatchESPN
Sunday, June 4
1:00pm PT - Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (GM 5) | TV: ESPN3/WatchESPN
7:00pm PT - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 (GM 6) | TV: ESPN3/WatchESPN
Monday, June 5
8:00pm PT - Rematch of Game 6 (if necessary) (GM 7) | TV: ESPN3/WatchESPN
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UCLA Named No. 3 seed at Long Beach Regional
The UCLA baseball team has captured a No. 3 seed at the NCAA Baseball Tournament's Long Beach Regional, beginning Friday, June 2, and earned its second postseason appearance in the last three seasons. The Bruins earned their 21st NCAA Tournament berth and ninth under head coach John Savage. UCLA will be making its first Regional appearance away from Jackie Robinson Stadium since 2008 when they traveled to Cal State Fullerton as the No. 2 seed. The Bruins are a No. 3 seed in a Regional for the first time since 2004.
Watch/Listen Live
All of the seven possible games will be carried on the ESPN family of networks including Friday's opening games on ESPN2 with Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Kyle Peterson (color) on the call. Additionally, the weekend's UCLA games will feature a live audio broadcast online, free of charge, at uclabruins.com. Tim Wilhelm and John Ramey will have the call live from Blair Field.
UCLA Quick Hits
UCLA is 30-25 overall on the season including 19-11 in Pac-12 play, good for third place in the conference.
- Griffin Canning has 134 total punch outs in 16 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 .529 and is fourth in home runs with nine. He also ranks inside the top-10 in the conference in doubles, RBIs and total bases.
- Nick Scheidler is fifth in the NCAA in pitching appearances with 35, while Scott Burke ranks ninth with 33. Burke is also 26th on the NCAA's career active list for relief appearances with 86.
- Daniel Amaral leads the Pac-12 with 16 stolen bases this season.
- The Bruins pitching staff ranks 19th in the NCAA in ERA at 3.49, 19th in shutouts at six, 22nd in hits allowed per nine innings at 7.94, 33rd in WHIP at 1.28, 58th in strikeouts per nine innings at 8.4, 71st in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 2.34 and 83rd in walks allowed per nine innings (3.60).
Canning Named Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist
Right-handed pitcher Griffin Canning has been named one of 25 semifinalists for the 40th Golden Spikes Award, given to the top amateur baseball player in the United States, announced USA Baseball on Wednesday. He was also selected as a All-American second team selection by Collegiate Baseball. Canning has compiled a 7-3 record with a 2.34 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 111.1 innings pitched. He is top-10 in the NCAA in strikeouts, complete games and games started. This season he has thrown four complete games including three complete game shutouts, all on the road during Pac-12 play. Canning has recorded double-digit strikeouts in eight starts, including three games tying a career-high with 12 punch outs. UCLA alum Trevor Bauer (2008-11) won the Golden Spikes Award in 2011 after posting a 13-2 record with a 1.25 ERA. Bauer recorded 203 strikeouts compared to just 36 walks in 136.2 innings pitched.
All-Pac-12 Selections
Three UCLA players earned All-Pac-12 honors on Thursday as Sean Bouchard, Griffin Canning and Jon Olsen were named to the All-Pac-12 team. In addition, Canning was named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team. Five Bruins also received honorable mention honors as Daniel Amaral, Kyle Cuellar, Ryan Kreidler, Brett Stephens and Michael Toglia each earned their first conference honors.
The Bruins vs. the Long Beach Regional
UCLA will face Long Beach State, Texas and San Diego State in the Long Beach Regional. UCLA holds an all-time record of 65-44 against Long Beach State, 4-7 against Texas and 49-32-2 against San Diego State. The Bruins won the season series over the Dirtbags winning 2-1 in 11 innings on April 18 at home and 5-1 at Blair Field on April 25. UCLA dropped all three games at Texas during a three-game series March 10-12 in Austin. The Bruins dropped a pair of games against the Aztecs during the season, falling 5-4 in Lake Elsinore, Calif. on April 4 and 8-6 at home on May 2. Under Coach Savage, UCLA has gone 16-13 against LBSU, 2-4 against Texas and 9-8 against SDSU.
UCLA in the Polls
The Bruins are in the top-30 of a national poll for the second-straight week 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:
- Ninth in fielding percentage - 0.981
- 19th in ERA - 3.49
- 19th in shutouts - 6
- 22nd in hits allowed per nine innings - 7.94
- 33rd in WHIP - 1.28
- 58th in strikeouts per nine innings - 8.4
- 71st in strikeout-to-walk ratio - 2.34
- 83rd in walks allowed per nine innings - 3.60
Pac-12 Leaders
During Pac-12 play this season, several UCLA players are ranked inside the top-10 a number of categories:
- Michael Toglia: 4th in walks (19), 5th in slugging percentage (.602), T5th in home runs (5), 10th in on-base percentage (.434), T10th in RBIs (25), T10th in total bases (56).
- Sean Bouchard: T6th in doubles (10), T6th in RBIs (27), T6th in runs scored (24).
- Chase Strumpf: T5th in home runs (5), T10th in RBIs (24).
- Griffin Canning: T1st in innings pitched (74.2), 2nd in strikeouts (86), T3rd in wins (6), 7th in opposing batting average (.239), 9th in ERA (3.01).
- Jon Olsen: 2nd in opposing batting average (.174), 3rd in ERA (2.08), 3rd in hits allowed (34), T3rd in wins (6), 4th in runs allowed (13), 7th in strikeouts (53).
300 K's
Griffin Canning is looking to become the sixth pitcher in UCLA program history, and the third pitcher since John Savage took over the program in 2005, to surpass the 300 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. 295 - 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 as a Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist and a Collegiate Baseball All-American Second Team selection. Canning was also tabbed an All-Pac-12 selection and a Pac-12 All-Defensive team honoree. He was named the No. 16 draft prospect by D1 Baseball and the No. 17 draft prospect by MLB.com. He has lasted at least 5.0 innings in 29 of last 30 eligible starts, including throwing 7.0 or more innings in 19 of the 30 starts. His 134 strikeouts this season is sixth on UCLA's single-season strikeout list. Canning currently ranks second on the NCAA's active career list for shutouts with four, fifth in complete games with eight, eighth in strikeouts with 295, 34th in innings pitched with 284.1 and 46th in victories at 19. In addition, Canning ranks top-100 in the country in several individual categories:
- Third in games starts (16)
- Fifth in strikeouts (134)
- Ninth in complete games (4)
- 44th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.83)
- 53rd in ERA (2.34)
- 60th in WHIP (1.05)
Tough Road
The Bruins have played one of the toughest schedules in the country as UCLA ranks No. 19 on the NCAA's Toughest Schedule Report. UCLA's opponents have accumulated a 0.570 winning percentage coming in to this week. The Bruins also rank No. 2 in strength of schedule by Boyd's World and No. 26 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 .312 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 RBIs with 30, including 25 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 24 runs, scored 27 times and has started at shortstop in the last 28 games. During Pac-12 play he is hitting .277 with two home runs and 13 RBIs.
- Jack Stronach is hitting .302 during Pac-12 play with six doubles, one home run and has recorded 12 RBIs. He totaled 16 RBIs and nine runs in 86 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 6-0 record during conference play en route to being named to the All-Pac-12 team. He also ranks top-10 during conference play in a number of categories:
- 2nd in opposing batting average - .174
- 3rd in ERA - 2.08
- 3rd in hits allowed - 34
- T3rd in wins - 6
- 4th in runs allowed - 13
- 7th in strikeouts - 53
UCLA Ironman
Over the past three seasons, senior Brett Stephens has been an ironman for the UCLA Bruins.
- Stephens has appeared in 161 of the 172 total games played by the Bruins in the past three years.
- He has played in a total of 200 games in his career.
- Stephens became the 16th player since 1975 to play in 200 career games.
Pac-12 All-Academic Team
Seven UCLA baseball players earned Pac-12 All-Academic team honors, led by Daniel Rosica being named a first team selection.
- Rosica earned his second-straight all-academic first team selection.
- Jake Bird was tabbed to the second team for the second consecutive year.
- Scott Burke earned honorable mention accolades for the second time, while Sean Bouchard, Brian Gadsby, Justin Hooper and Matt Walker received their first awards.
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.
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