UCLA
Illinois
No. 11 Bruins Set for Pac-12 vs. Big Ten Challenge
March 01, 2018 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES - The 11th-ranked UCLA baseball team will head to Minneapolis, Minn. and U.S. Bank Stadium to compete in the DQ Classic/Pac-12 vs. Big Ten Challenge. The Bruins will face off against Illinois, Michigan State and the host Gophers over the weekend as each game can be heard live on UCLABruins.com with Tim Wilhelm on the call. Sunday's game against Minnesota will be live streamed on Big Network Plus.
Probably Starters
Friday, March 2 - 9 a.m. PT
UCLA - Jake Bird, RHP, Sr. (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Illinois - Quinn Snarskis, RHP, Jr. (0-0, 5.40 ERA)
Saturday, March 3 - 9 a.m. PT
UCLA - Jon Olsen, RHP, Jr. (1-0, 2.84 ERA)
Michigan State - Ethan Landon, Jr. (0-1, 2.38 ERA)
Sunday, March 4 - 4 p.m. PT
UCLA - Zach Pettway, RHP, Fr. (2-0, 0.69 ERA)
Illinois - Quinn Snarskis, RHP, Jr. (0-0, 5.40 ERA)
Live Audio | Friday Live Stats | Saturday Live Stats | Sunday Live Video | Sunday Live Stats | Follow @UCLABaseball
Weekย in Review
UCLA earned its second series win of the season over the weekend as the Bruins won two out of three games from the visiting Baylor Bears at Jackie Robinson Stadium and then defeated Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday.
- Game one saw the Bruins use a four-run eighth inning rally to earn a 5-2 win. Michael Toglia collected three hits, drove in two runs and scored once, while Chase Strumpf also recorded two RBIs.
- In game two, Jeremy Ydens drove in two runs and scored once, while Daniel Amaral hit a home run but UCLA dropped its first game of the season, 8-6, to Baylor.
- In the series finale, freshman Zach Pettway tossed eight shutout innings without allowing a walk and struck out six batters, while Jeremy Ydens, Jake Pries and Daniel Amaral each drove in a run for a 3-0 win.
- The Bruins improved to 2-0 in midweek games after defeating Cal State Fullerton, 12-2 on Tuesday. Michael Toglia hit two home runs, from both sides of the plate, Garrett Mitchell drove in three runs and Chase Strumpf also hit a solo home run to lead the way for UCLA.
Toglia and Strumpf Set the Pace
Sophomores Michael Toglia and Chase Strumpf are leading the offense for the Bruins in the early part of the season. They come into the weekend with identical .433 batting averages, .867 slugging percentages and .538 on-base percentages. Strumpf leads the team with five doubles and 14 RBIs, while Toglia has a team-best three home runs, including two against Cal State Fullerton, with 10 RBIs.
NCAA Rankings
After the first two weekends of the college baseball season, the Bruins are ranked top-25 nationally in a number of categories:
- Shutouts (5th, 2), ERA (10th, 1.88), Walks (10th, 54), Sacrifice Flies (12th, 6), On-Base Percentage (15th, .431), Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (17th, 6.25), Doubles (18th, 20), Fielding Percentage (19th, .984), Walks Allowed Per Nine Innings (21st, 2.50).
Pac-12 Leaders
UCLA is ranked in the top-3 in the conference both individually and as a team in a number of categories:
- As a team, UCLA is tops in the Pac-12 in doubles, walks, ERA, runs allowed and walks allowed. The Bruins are top-3 in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hits, runs, RBIs, home runs, opposing batting average and fielding percentage.
- Individually, Chase Strumpf leads the Pac-12 in doubles, while also top-10 in batting average, RBIs, runs, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Michael Toglia is in the top-10 in the conference for batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs, RBIs, doubles and walks. Daniel Amaral is tied for the lead in stolen bases and top-10 in on-base percentage and runs scored.
In The Polls
After earning its second series win of the season, UCLA has once again climbed the national rankings. Baseball America has moved the Bruins up one spot to No. 11 in the country, while Collegiate Baseball pushed UCLA up two spots to No. 9 in the country. D1Baseball has the Bruins holding at No. 11 in the nation.
Strumpf Named to Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week
Sophomore Chase Strumpf was named to Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week after his opening weekend performance. Strumpf went 7-for-10 with 10 RBIs and five runs scored. He accounted for 15 of UCLA's 35 runs over the weekend as he posted a 1.400 slugging percentage with four doubles and a home run. The second basemen currently ranks ninth in the NCAA in doubles and 15th in RBIs.
Power Numbers
The UCLA offense put on a display in its opening weekend totaling 35 runs, 31 RBIs and 16 extra-base hits including four home runs. As a team the Bruins hit .364 for the weekend and slugged just over .600 with a .500 on-base percentage. The 35 runs were the most by UCLA on an opening weekend since plating 43 runs against Hofsrta in 2015.
Olsen Named Preseason All-American
Junior right-handed pitcher Jon Olsen was named to the Preseason All-American third team by both Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Olsen was an All-Pac-12 selection last season after posting a 7-1 record with a 2.86 ERA. He totaled 80 strikeouts in 85.0 innings of work and held opponents to a .201 batting average. During conference play, the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. native finished with a perfect 6-0 record and a team-best 2.08 ERA.
Representing the Red, White and Blue
Over the summer in 2017, head coach John Savage was the manager of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and right-handed pitcher Jon Olsen became the first Bruin to play for Team USA since James Kaprielian in 2014. Savage led the U.S. to a 15-5 record over the summer, including holding an 11-4 mark during international play. The United States won all three international series it competed in, including going 4-0 against Chinese Taipei and 3-2 versus both Cuba and Japan. Olsen finished the summer with a 1-0 record and a 2.67 ERA in six appearances for the red, white and blue. He also registered 15 strikeouts compared to just two walks.
Preseason Rankings
The Bruins were tabbed to finish third in the Preseason Pac-12 coaches poll. UCLA received 84 votes, behind favorite Oregon State and second place Stanford. Arizona came in fourth with 68 points, followed by California with 56 and Oregon with 51.
Baby Bruins
The Bruins welcome eight new players to Westwood for the 2018 season. The recruiting class was ranked No. 16 by Baseball America, marking the fourth consecutive year that UCLA has been tabbed in the top 25. The class was also tabbed No. 18 by Collegiate Baseball. It marks the 11th time in 13 years the Bruins have earned a top-20 ranking from Collegiate Baseball.
- Garrett Mitchell, Sam Glick and Chase Farrell were selected in the 2017 MLB draft in June.
- Holden Powell was named to the All-West Coast League second team selection, while Zach Pettway was named an honorable mention over the summer.
- Mitchell was named the Preseason Freshman of the Year in the Pac-12 by Baseball America.
Scouting the Competition
Illinois is 3-3 entering the weekend and is led by Bren Spillane hitting .391 with a team-best .739 slugging percentage and seven RBIs, while Ben Troike is batting .320. Michigan State is 2-5 after its first seven games with Ryan King leading the offense hitting .381, while Marty Bechina has two home runs with a team-best four RBIs. The Gophers are 6-2 with Terrin Vavra batting .471 with 11 RBIs, while Cole McDevitt has driven in nine runs and is hitting .350.
Last Time Against this Weekend's Opponents
UCLA has played Illinois only twice in program history with the last game coming in 1990 with the Bruins winning 14-9. The Bruins hosted Michigan State for a three-game series at Jackie Robinson Stadium for the only three games between the two teams with UCLA earning the series sweep. UCLA is 5-2 all-time against Minnesota as the two met for the opening series of the 2013 season with the Bruins claiming the final two games to win the series.
Positional Rankings
D1Baseball has ranked the top players in the country by position and a number of Bruins have made the positional rankings:
- Michael Toglia - 1B - No. 9
- Chase Strumpf - 2B - No. 13
- Ryan Kreidler - SS - No. 23
- Jon Olsen - SP - No. 33
- Daniel Amaral - OF - No. 59
- Kyle Molnar - SP - No. 70
- Garrett Mitchell - OF - No. 81
Draft Stock
UCLA has several players that are ranked inside the top 100 MLB draft prospects in the country.
- Kyle Molnar was named the No. 10 2018 draft prospect by Baseball America and No. 13 by D1Baseball in the Pac-12. He was also tabbed the No. 91 overall college draft prospect by D1Baseball.
- Jon Olsen was pegged No. 14 by Baseball America and No. 16 by D1Baseball in the Pac-12 for 2018 draft prospects.
- Daniel Amaral and Jake Bird were each named to D1Baseball's list of 2018 draft prospects in the Pac-12.
- Bird was also named as one of the top college senior draft prospects by D1Baseball and baseball America.
- Michael Toglia was tabbed the No. 1 draft prospect in the Pac-12 by D1Baseball for the 2019 MLB draft and No. 8 by Baseball America. He was also tabbed the 12th-highest prospect overall by D1Baseball.
- In addition to Toglia, Chase Strumpf, Ryan Kreidler, Jeremy Ydens and Jack Stronach were on D1Baseball'sย top 2019 MLB draft prospects list.
2017 at a Glance
In 2017, UCLA made its ninth postseason in the last 12 seasons and second in the last three years after earning a berth into the Long Beach Regional and finished with an overall record of 30-27. The Bruins finished third in the Pac-12 with a record of 19-11 after earning a road sweep at crosstown rival USC and also taking two out of three at both Stanford and Oregon. The season came to a heartbreaking end in the regional after dropping a tough opening game to Texas, 3-2, and then being eliminated in a thrilling 13-inning affair, 3-2, to San Diego State.
UCLA continued its success on the mound as the team was ranked in the top-30 in the country in ERA, shutouts, hits allowed per nine innings and WHIP. The pitching staff was led by All-American and All-Pac-12 selection Griffin Canning and also All-Pac-12 team honoree Jon Olsen. Offensively, UCLA was led by All-Pac-12 selection Sean Bouchard and Freshman All-Americans Kyle Cuellar and Michael Toglia.
Looking Ahead
The Bruins will return to Los Angeles for a midweek game at home against Loyola Marymount on Tuesday at Jackie Robinson Stadium before hosting the annual Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic over the weekend. UCLA will host top-25 opponents Vanderbilt and TCU on Friday and Saturday at JRS before facing crosstown rival USC at Dodger Stadium on Sunday.
