UCLA
Washington State
No. 16 Bruins Open Pac-12 Play Hosting Washington State
March 15, 2018 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES - The 16th-ranked UCLA baseball team (10-4) will open Pac-12 conference play this weekend when it hosts Washington State (4-9) for a three-game series beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. PT at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The game can be heard live on UCLABruins.com with Tim Wilhelm on the call.
Probably Starters
Friday, March 16 - 6 p.m. PT
UCLA - Jake Bird, RHP, Sr. (1-1, 0.36 ERA)
WSU - Isaac Mullins, LHP, R-So. (0-2, 4.40 ERA)
Saturday, March 17 - 2 p.m. PT
UCLA - Zach Pettway, RHP, Fr. (3-0, 1.42 ERA)
WSU - Scotty Sunitsch, LHP, Sr. (1-1, 3.38 ERA)
Sunday, March 18 - 1 p.m. PT
UCLA - TBA
WSU - Cody Anderson, LHP, Sr. (1-3, 2.41 ERA)
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Weekย in Review
UCLA played in the Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic over the weekend with Vanderbilt, TCU and USC.
- On Friday, UCLA fell to No. 21 Vanderbilt, 6-3, as Chase Strumpf hit a two-run home run, while Michael Toglia went 3-for-3.
- Game two of the weekend against No. 7 TCU was canceled due to rain.
- In the final game of the weekend, the Bruins dropped a 3-2 decision to USC on Sunday at Dodger Stadium as Zach Pettway struck out seven batters over 6.1 innings and Michael Toglia and Jeremy Ydens drove in a run.
- On Wednesday, UCLA's game at CSUN was suspended in the eighth inning with the Bruins leading 3-2. The game will be completed on May 15 at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Toglia Sets the Pace
Sophomore Michael Toglia is leading the Bruin offense so far the season. Toglia comes into the game leading the team hitting .431, slugging .784 and recording a .559 on-base percentages. Toglia has four home runs this season, including two at Cal State Fullerton from both sides of the plate, has driven in 13 runs and has also stole two bases. He ranks top-50 in the country in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and walks.
Starting Pitchers Lead the Way
Under head coach John Savage, the UCLA baseball team has been known for its starting pitching and this year is no different. Through the first 14 games of the season, Bruin starting pitchers have thrown 82.2 innings and have allowed 10 earned runs for a 1.09 ERA. The four starters have also totaled 73 strikeouts compared to just 19 walks and are 8-1.
Pac-12 Openers
UCLA has been very successful in Pac-12 openers under head coach John Savage. Since 2011, the Bruins are 16-5 during the first conference series of the season, good for a .762 winning percentage. UCLA has been just as successful in the home Pac-12 opener compiling an identical 16-5 mark at Jackie Robinson Stadium over the past seven seasons.
Oh the Places You'll Go
This season, the Bruins had a unique opportunity to do something that may never have been done in college baseball. UCLA will be playing consecutive Sundays in stadiums that hosted the most recent Super Bowl as U.S. Bank Stadium welcomed Super Bowl LII with the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, and the most recent World Series game as Dodger Stadium was the site of Game 7 between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
NCAA Rankings
Beginning week five of the college baseball season, the Bruins are ranked top-25 nationally in a number of categories:
- WHIP (2nd, 1.02), Fielding Percentage (3rd, .987), Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (4th, 6.17), ERA (5th, 2.03), Sacrifice Flies (19th, 10), Hit by Pitch (24th, 27) and Shutouts (25th, 2).
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, opposing batting average, runs allowed, hits allowed and walks allowed. The Bruins are top-3 in on-base percentage, home runs, sacrifice flies, and fielding percentage.
- Individually, Michael Toglia is top-10 in the Pac-12 conference in batting average, hits, RBIs, home runs, slugging percentage, doubles and on-base percentage. Daniel Amaral is tied for the lead in stolen bases, while Chase Strumpf is top-10 in slugging percentage, RBIs and home runs. Zach Pettway is top-10 in ERA, opposing batting average, and innings pitched, while Jake Bird is second in the conference in ERA and Ryan Garcia is fifth.
In The Polls
UCLA dropped in the national polls after going just 1-2 last week. Baseball America has the Bruins at No. 16, falling five spots, while D1Baseball has UCLA at No. 17 in the country.
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.
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 WSU
Washington State enters the weekend with a 4-9 mark after splitting a four-game series last weekend at home against St. Mary's and falling 5-1 to Long Beach State on the road on Wednesday. The Wazzou offense is led by Andres Alvarez hitting .275 with a team-best four doubles. James Rudkin leads the team with seven RBIs and two home runs. On the mound, Cody Anderson leads the pitching staff with a 2.41 ERA in four appearances, including three starts, and has a 1-3 record. Ryan Walker has a 0.82 ERA in four relief appearances with the only save for WSU this season.
History against the Cougars
The Bruins are 53-24 against Washington State all-time as the Bruins dropped two out of three games last season at the Palouse. UCLA has won nine of the last 12 contests against WSU including five of the last six at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Under head coach John Savage, UCLA is 26-13 against the Cougars.
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 continue Pac-12 play next weekend when they welcome Arizona State to Jackie Robinson Stadium for a three-game conference series starting on Friday, March 23 at 7 p.m. PT. Each game of the series will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
