UCLA
Loyola Marymount
No. 20 Bruins Head to LMU for Midweek Clash
April 02, 2018 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES - The 20th-ranked UCLA baseball team (16-7) will continue its four-game road trip on Tuesday when they travel to Loyola Marymount (13-14) for a midweek game at Page Stadium starting at 6 p.m. PT. The game can be heard live on UCLABruins.com with a video live stream also available at LMULions.com.
Probable Starters
Tuesday, April 3 - 6 p.m. PT
UCLA - Kyle Mora, RHP, So. (1-1, 4.70 ERA)
LMU - CJ Fernandezees, RHP, Fr. (0-1, 4.50 ERA)
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Follow @UCLABaseball
Weekendย in Review
UCLA dropped its first Pac-12 series of the season at California last week picking up just one game in Berkeley.
- UCLA fell 5-2 in the series finale at Evans Diamond as Chase Strumpf hit a solo home run, while Ryan Kreidler drove in a run.
- The Bruins tied the series on Friday with a 4-2 victory when Daniel Amaral hit a two-run home run, while Zach Pettway tossed six strong innings.
- UCLA dropped the series finale, 8-3, to Cal as Garrett Mitchell totaled two hits and two runs, while Kevin Kendall went 2-for-4 and drove in a run.
Savage Reaches 800
UCLA head coach John Savage reached a milestone mark at UCLA over the weekend. The skipper surpassed 800 career games at UCLA on March 29 at California. Savage is the third longest-tenured coach in program history behind Gary Adams (1975-2004) with over 1,800 career games and Arthur Reichle (1941, 1946-74) with over 1,300 games. Coach Savage has the highest winning percentage of any coach since 1926 and has taken the Bruins to new heights with its first national championship in 2013, three College World Series appearances and led UCLA to postseason play in nine seasons.
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 23 games of the season, Bruin starting pitchers have thrown 131.1 innings and have allowed 30 earned runs for a 2.06 ERA. The starters have also totaled 100 strikeouts compared to just 30 walks, good or a 3.3 strikeout-to-walk ratio and are 11-3 this season.
Hot Start for the Bruins
The Bruins are off to a fast start this year as they enter Tuesday with a 16-7 record. This is the best start for UCLA since beginning the 2015 season 18-5, becoming the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and also the 2013 season starting 17-6, the year the Bruins won its first-ever NCAA championship.
NCAA Rankings
One third of the college baseball season is in the books and the Bruins are ranked top-50 nationally in a number of categories:
- ERA (4th, 2.43), Fielding Percentage (10th, .982), WHIP (12th, 1.18), Walks Allowed Per Nine Innings (24th, 3.04), Doubles per Game (27th, 2.13), Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (31st, 7.59), On-Base Percentage (45th, .388).
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, the Bruins are top-3 in walks, hit by pitches, sacrifice flies, stolen bases, ERA, opposing batting average, runs allowed, hits allowed, walks allowed and fielding percentage.
- Individually, Michael Toglia is top-10 in the Pac-12 conference in home runs, slugging percentage, doubles and walks. Chase Strumpf is also top-10 in RBIs and home runs. Zach Pettway is top-10 in ERA, strikeouts, opposing batting average, and innings pitched, while Jake Bird is tops in the conference in ERA and innings pitched and Ryan Garica is also top-10 in ERA and opposing batting average.
In The Polls
UCLA fell in the national polls after going 1-2 over the weekend and is now 6-3 in Pac-12 play. Baseball America has the Bruins at No. 20, down five spots from last week and D1Baseball has UCLA dropping six spots to No. 21 in the country. The ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll has the Bruins falling to No. 18 after being No. 13 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.
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 LMU
Loyola Marymount enters the game with a 13-14 mark, including 6-3 in West Coast Conference play, but dropped two out of three games over the weekend on the road at Pacific. The Lions offense is led by Nick Sogard who leads the team hitting .363 with 17 runs scored, while Jamey Smart holds the team-high in hits (37), doubles (7) and RBIs (27).
History against the Lions
UCLA is 51-47-1 all-time against Loyola Marymount but are 5-2 over its last seven meetings. Last time the two teams met was on March 6 as UCLA won 12-1 behind Ryan Garcia striking out nine batters and allowing just one run, while Jake Hirabayashi and Jeremy Ydens each tallied three hits. The Bruins are 6-5 against Loyola Marymount under head coach John Savage.
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.
Looking Ahead
The Bruins return to Jackie Robinson Stadium this weekend for a marquee top-25 matchup as they host No. 2 Stanford for a three-game series beginning on Friday, April 6 at 6 p.m. PT.
