UCLA
Utah
No. 18 Bruins Travel to Utah for Pac-12 Series
April 11, 2018 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES - The 18th-ranked UCLA baseball team (19-9, 8-4) will complete a four-game road swing away from Jackie Robinson Stadium this weekend when it travels to Utah (9-22, 4-5) for a Pac-12 weekend series beginning on Friday at 5 p.m. PT. The game can be heard live on UCLABruins.com with Tim Wilhelm on the call.
Probable Starters
Friday, April 13 - 5 p.m. PT
UCLA - Jake Bird, RHP, Sr. (3-2, 1.54 ERA)
UTAH - Josh Tedeschi, LHP, Jr. (0-6, 4.83 ERA)
Saturday, April 14 - 12 p.m. PT
UCLA - Zach Pettway, RHP, Fr. (5-1, 3.09 ERA)
UTAH - Tanner Thomas, RHP, Sr. (2-2, 4.67 ERA)
Sunday, April 15 - 12 p.m. PT
UCLA - Jon Olsen, RHP, Jr. (2-0, 1.82 ERA)
UTAH - Brett Brocoff, RHP, Fr. (2-4, 4.42 ERA)
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Weekย in Review
UCLA claimed a series win over No. 2 Stanford at home over the weekend and has now won all three of its Pac-12 home series to begin the season.
- UCLA won the series opener against the Cardinal, 8-4, Jake Bird tossed 7.1 strong innings allowing two runs, while Ryan Kreidler hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to seal the win.
- The Bruins dropped the second game of the series, 13-11, as they scored five runs in the ninth inning but the comeback fell short as Michael Toglia hit two home runs and registered six RBIs, while Chase Strumpf drove in four runs and hit a home run.
- UCLA won the series finale, 7-2, when Garrett Mitchell tallied two hits and drove in three runs, while Ryan Garcia tossed 4.2 scoreless innings in relief.
- The Bruins fell in their midweek contest at Long Beach State on Tuesday, 5-2 as Chase Strumpf hit his third home run in as many games and Nick Scheidler tossed 4.2 scoreless relief innings.
Strumpf Named Pac-12 Player of the Week
UCLA's Chase Strumpf earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors on Monday after leading the Bruins offensively to a 3-1 week, including a series win over No. 2 Stanford. The sophomore hit a team-best .667 (8-12) with a 1.250 slugging percentage, .789 on-base percentage, eight RBIs and eight runs scored over the four contests. He also recorded a pair of home runs, one each in the final two games against Stanford. Strumpf is the first Bruins position player to win the weekly award since Kort Peterson in 2016.
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 half of the season, Bruin starting pitchers have thrown 149.2 innings and have allowed 38 earned runs for a 2.29 ERA. The starters have also totaled 119 strikeouts compared to just 36 walks, good or a 3.3 strikeout-to-walk ratio and are 13-4 this season.
Pac-12 Hitting
The UCLA offense has been one of the best in the conference during Pac-12 play. In conference games, the Bruins are second in runs scored (71), RBIs (66) and home runs (10). UCLA is scoring just under six runs a game against Pac-12 opponents including averaging nine runs a game last weekend against then-No. 2 Stanford at home. In addition, UCLA is top-3 during conference play in on-base percentage and stolen bases.
Youth Movement
This year the Bruins offense is being led by a talented group of underclassmen. The freshmen and sophomores have combined to drive in almost 79 percent of the team's runs and have also tallied 72 percent of the team's hits. In addition, they have scored just over 70 percent of the team's runs and have registered 61 of the 82 extra-base hits.
Hot Start for the Bruins
The Bruins are off to a fast start this year as they enter this weekend with a 19-9 record. This is the best start for UCLA since beginning the 2015 season 22-6, becoming the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and also the 2013 season starting 19-9, the year the Bruins won its first-ever NCAA championship.
NCAA Rankings
Halfway through the college baseball seasonย the Bruins are ranked top-50 nationally in a number of categories:
- ERA (5th, 2.72), WHIP (12th, 1.20), Fielding Percentage (15th, .981), Walks Allowed Per Nine Innings (17th, 3.01), Doubles per Game (38th, 2.00), Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (41st, 7.80), On-Base Percentage (45th, .386), Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (50th, 2.50).
Pac-12 Leaders
UCLA is ranked in the top-3 in the conference as a team and top-10 individually in a number of categories:
- As a team, the Bruins are top-3 in doubles, walks, hit by pitches, sacrifice flies, stolen bases, ERA, opposing batting average, runs allowed, hits allowed, walks allowed and fielding percentage.
- Individually, Chase Strumpf and Michael Toglia are top-10 in the Pac-12 conference in home runs and walks, while Strumpf is also top-10 in slugging and RBIs and Toglia in doubles. Zach Pettway is top-10 in strikeouts, wins and innings pitched, while Jake Bird is third in the conference in ERA and second in innings pitched. Ryan Garica is also top-10 in ERA, opposing batting average and batters struck out looking.
In The Polls
UCLA made a jump in the national polls after going 3-1 last week including earning the series win over No. 2 Stanford. Baseball America has the Bruins at No. 18, up two spots from last week and D1Baseball has UCLA shooting up four spots to No. 17 in the country. The ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll has the Bruins jumping to No. 14 after being No. 18 last week.
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.
Scouting Utah
Utah enters the weekend with a 9-22 record but are 4-5 in Pac-12 play, highlighted by taking the weekend series over then-No. 1 Oregon State at home two weeks ago. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. leads the Utah offense hitting .410 with 16 RBIs and 14 doubles, while Rykker Tom is batting .303 and has driven in 13 runs. On the mound, Brett Brocoff leads the starting rotation with a 4.42 ERA in 38.2 innings, while Tanner Thomas is 2-2 with a 4.67 ERA and a team-best 40 strikeouts.
History against the Utes
UCLA is 22-5 all-time against Utah and are 9-3 over the last four seasons, including earning a season sweep last season at home. However, on the road the Bruins are just 3-3 in their last two trips to Smith's Ballpark. The Bruins are 15-4 against the Utes under head coach John Savage.
Positional Rankings
With the season at its halfway point, D1Baseball updated its positional power rankings and a number of Bruins have made the positional rankings:
- Michael Toglia - 1B - No. 4
- Chase Strumpf - 2B - No. 9
- Daniel Amaral - OF - No. 72
- Zach Pettway - SP - No. 90
- Jake Bird - SP - No. 97
- Jon Olsen - SP - No. 99
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.
Looking Ahead
The Bruins will return to Jackie Robinson Stadium next week for a four-game homestand starting on Tuesday when they host UC Irvine at 6 p.m. PT before taking on crosstown rival USC for a three-game series starting on Friday at 7 p.m. PT.
