UCLA
UC Irvine
No. 15 Bruins Set to Host UC Irvine on Tuesday
April 16, 2018 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES - The 15th-ranked UCLA baseball team (22-9) will begin a four-game homestand at Jackie Robinson Stadium this week starting on Tuesday by welcoming UC Irvine (20-14) for a midweek contest beginning at 6 p.m. PT. The game can be heard live on UCLABruins.com with Tim Wilhelm on the call.
Probable Starters
Tuesday, April 17 - 6 p.m. PT
UCLA - Ryan Garcia, RHP, So. (3-0, 2.03 ERA)
UCI - Louis Raymond, RHP, R-Jr. (1-3, 3.48 ERA)
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Weekendย in Review
UCLA earned a series sweep over the weekend at Utah to improve to 11-4 in Pac-12 play.
- UCLA won the series opener against the Utes, 16-3, as Jeremy Ydens hit a home run and a double with three runs scored, while Jake Bird allowed just two runs in 7.1 innings of work.
- The Bruins won game two with a three-run ninth inning when Jarron Silva drove in the go-ahead runs with a double in the ninth inning, while Zach Pettway tossed 7.0 innings for a 6-3 victory.
- UCLA won the series finale, 12-4, as Jack Stronach collected two base hits and three RBIs, while Garrett Mitchell also drove in three runs and scored twice.
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 on the weekend have thrown 163.1 innings and have allowed 40 earned runs for a 2.20 ERA. The weekend starters have also totaled 103 strikeouts compared to just 36 walks, good or a 2.9 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
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 first in runs scored (105), RBIs (97) and on-base percentage (.405). They are also top-3 in batting average (.297), hits (149), home runs (11) and doubles (27). UCLA is scoring seven runs a game against Pac-12 opponents including averaging 10 runs over the last two weekends against then-No. 2 Stanford and on the road at Utah.
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 74 percent of the team's hits. In addition, they have scored just under 73 percent of the team's runs and have registered 70 of the 92 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 22-9 record. This is the best start for UCLA since beginning the 2015 season 24-7, becoming the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and also the 2013 season starting 22-9, the year the Bruins won its first-ever NCAA championship.
NCAA Rankings
More than halfway through the college baseball season and the Bruins are ranked top-50 nationally in a number of categories:
- ERA (5th, 2.68), Sacrifice Flies (9th, 22), WHIP (12th, 1.20), Fielding Percentage (18th, .979), Walks Allowed Per Nine Innings (19th, 3.04), On-Base Percentage (23rd, .399), Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (34th, 7.76), Doubles per Game (35th, 2.06), Scoring (44th, 6.9), Ball on Ball (50th, 169).
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 tops in the conference in ERA and also top-3 in doubles, walks, hit by pitches, sacrifice flies, stolen bases, opposing batting average, runs allowed, hits allowed, walks allowed and fielding percentage.
- Offensively, Chase Strumpf and Michael Toglia are top-11 in the Pac-12 conference in home runs, slugging and walks, while Strumpf is also top-10 in on-base percentage and RBIs and Toglia in doubles. Jeremy Ydens ranks in the top-10 in the conference in batting average and on-base percentage.
- On the mound, Zach Pettway is top-11 in opponent batting average, wins and innings pitched, while Jake Bird is third in the conference in ERA and tops in innings pitched. Ryan Garica leads the conference in opposing batting average and is top-10 in ERA.
In The Polls
UCLA made a jump in the national polls after going 3-1 last week including earning a series sweep on the road at Utah. Baseball America has the Bruins at No. 15, up three spots from last week and D1Baseball has UCLA shooting up four spots to No. 13 in the country. The ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll has the Bruins jumping to No. 13 after being No. 14 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 UCI
UC Irvine enters Tuesday's matchup with a 20-12 mark after winning two out of three over the weekend at home against UC Santa Barbara. The Anteaters are led offensively by Jake Palmer hitting a team-best .343, while Ryan Fitzpatrick has a team-high seven home runs and 34 RBIs. Tuesday's probable starter, Louis Raymond has made seven starts this season with a 3.48 ERA in 31.0 innings of work, but opponents are hitting over .300 against the redshirt junior. UC Irvine's head coach Mike Gillespie announced that after this season he will retire after 31 seasons of being a head coach in Southern California. Gillespie is one of only two people to win a College World Series as both a player and a coach, both at USC. Coach Savage was the pitching coach for Gillespie when the Trojans won the national title in 1998.
History against the Anteaters
UCLA is 54-32-1 all-time against UC Irvine and are 7-4 since 2013, but dropped both games of the season series last season. UCI has had some recent success against the Bruins at Jackie Robinson Stadium as the Anteaters hold a 2-3 mark in their last five meetings at JRS. The Bruins are 20-11 against the Anteatersย 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 continue their four-game homestand over the weekend when they host crosstown rival USC for a three-game series starting on Friday at 7 p.m. PT. All three games of that series will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
