UCLA
Cal State Fullerton
No. 9 Bruins Welcome Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday
April 23, 2018 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES - The ninth-ranked UCLA baseball team (25-10) concludes a five-game homestand on Tuesday when it hosts Cal State Fullerton (19-19) at Jackie Robinson Stadium starting at 6 p.m. PT. The game can be heard live on UCLABruins.com with Tim Wilhelm on the call.
Probable Starters
Tuesday, April 24 - 6 p.m. PT
UCLA - TBA
CSF - Tanner Bibee, RHP, Fr. (2-3, 4.04 ERA)
Live Audio | Live Stats | Follow @UCLABaseball
Weekendย in Review
UCLA earned its second-straight Pac-12 sweep after outscoring USC 42-6 in the three-games at home.
- UCLA won the series opener against USC, 16-1, as Kevin Kendall hit a three-run home run and scored three times, while Jake Bird allowed just one run in seven innings on the mound.
- The Bruins won game two, 19-2, behind Michael Toglia driving in four runs on two base hits including a three-run home run, while Daniel Amaral went 3-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs.
- UCLA won the series finale, 7-3, as Daniel Rosica drove in two runs and Ryan Garcia tossed 6.0 scoreless innings as the Bruins improved to 14-4 in Pac-12 play.
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. Heading into the second half of the season, Bruin starting pitchers on the weekend have thrown 183 innings and have allowed 43 earned runs for a 2.11 ERA. The weekend starters have also totaled 113 strikeouts compared to just 39 walks, good or a 2.9 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Dynamic Duo
Sophomores Chase Strumpf and Michael Toglia are leading the UCLA run production this season. Strumpf leads the team in slugging percentage (.638), on-base percentage (.485), hits (46) and runs scored (35). Not to be outdone, Toglia is the team leader in RBIs (39), home runs (9) and doubles (14). The right-side of the UCLA infield has combined to drive in 77 runs, score 66 runs and record 42 extra-base hits. They are also the only two UCLA players to start every game 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 first in batting average (.318), runs scored (147), RBIs (136), hits (195) and on-base percentage (.425). They are also top-3 in slugging percentage (.471), home runs (16) and doubles (40). UCLA is scoring over eight runs a game against Pac-12 opponents including averaging more than 11 runs over the last three weekends.
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 75 percent of the team's hits. In addition, they have scored just over 72 percent of the team's runs and have registered 85 of the 112 extra-base hits.
The Bruins Keeping Pace
The Bruins continue to keep pace with some of the great UCLA teams of the recent past with a 25-10 record. This is the best start for UCLA since beginning the 2015 season 27-8, becoming the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and also the 2013 season starting 25-10, 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-25 nationally in a number of categories:
- ERA (6th, 2.78), WHIP (7th, 1.19), Sacrifice Flies (7th, 25), On-Base Percentage (8th, .408), Walks Allowed Per Nine Innings (13th, 2.95), Doubles per Game (14th, 2.23), Fielding Percentage (17th, .980), Scoring (19th, 7.3).
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 ERA, on-base percentage, runs scored, RBIs, doubles, walks, sacrifice flies, stolen bases, opposing batting average, runs allowed, hits allowed, walks allowed and fielding percentage.
- Offensively, Chase Strumpf and Michael Toglia are top-10 in slugging percentage, home runs, RBIs and walks. Strumpf is also top-10 in batting average, on-base percentage and runs, while Toglia is second in doubles. Jeremy Ydens in fifth in the conference in batting average and Daniel Amaral is top-10 in on-base percentage and stolen bases.
- On the mound, Zach Pettway is top-10 in ERA, opponent batting average, wins and innings pitched, while Jake Bird is second in the conference in ERA and tops in innings pitched. Ryan Garica leads the conference in opposing batting average and is third in ERA.
In The Polls
UCLA made a jump into the top-10 in the national polls after going 3-1 last week including earning its second-straight series sweep in Pac-12 play. Baseball America has the Bruins at No. 9, up six spots from last week and D1Baseball has UCLA shooting up four spots to No. 9 in the country. The ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll has the Bruins climbing to No. 9 as well 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.
Scouting Cal State Fullerton
Cal State Fullerton enters the midweek contest with a 19-19 mark, including 6-3 in the Big West, after winning two out of three at home against Hawai'i at home over the weekend. The Titans are led offensively by Mitchell Berryhill hitting .308 with 14 RBIs, while Daniel Cope has a team-high four home runs and 24 RBIs. Projected starting pitcher Tanner Bibee is 2-3 this season with a 4.04 ERA in 35.2 innings with 33 strikeouts.
History against the Titans
UCLA is 36-68-2 all-time against Cal State Fullerton after the Bruins earned a 12-2 victory on Feb. 27 at Goodwin Field behind Michael Toglia hitting two home runs and Garrett Mitchell driving in three runs on two hits. UCLA is 4-3 since 2015 versus CSF with the Bruins splitting the two-game series last season. The Bruins are 13-27 against the Titans under head coach John Savage. Current Cal State Fullerton head coach Rick Vanderhook was an assistant coach for the Bruins from 2009-11 under John Savage and was also an assistant coach on the 2017 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
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
UCLA will travel to Cal Poly this weekend for a three-game non-conference series beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. PT from Baggett Stadium.
