UCLA
Cal Poly
No. 9 Bruins Head to Cal Poly for Weekend Series
April 26, 2018 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES - The ninth-ranked UCLA baseball team (26-10) begins a seven-game road swing this weekend when it travels to Cal Poly (19-20) for a three-game non-conference series starting on Friday at 6 p.m. PT. The games can be heard live on UCLABruins.com with Tim Wilhelm on the call.
Probable Starters
Friday, April 27 - 6 p.m. PT
UCLA - Jake Bird, RHP, Sr. (5-2, 1.61 ERA)
CP - Trent Shelton, LHP, Sr. (3-2, 3.72 ERA)
Saturday, April 28 - 6 p.m. PT
UCLA - Zach Pettway, RHP, Fr. (6-1, 2.83 ERA)
CP - Darren Nelson, RHP, Fr. (4-3, 4.93 ERA)
Sunday, April 29 - 1 p.m. PT
UCLA - TBA
CP - TBA
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Weekย 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.
- The Bruins won its midweek game on Tuesday at home against Cal State Fullerton, 12-4 as Chase Strumpf recorded three doubles, while Michael Toglia went 3-for-5 with two doubles and Daniel Amaral drove in three runs and scored four times.
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 batting average (.363), slugging percentage (.659), on-base percentage (.488) and runs scored (37). Not to be outdone, Toglia is the team leader in RBIs (40), home runs (9) and doubles (16), while also being winner of the Gold Standard Performance of the Week by the Golden Spikes Award. The right-side of the UCLA infield has combined to drive in 79 runs, score 70 runs and record 48 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 74 percent of the team's hits. In addition, they have scored just under 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 26-10 record. This is the best start for UCLA since beginning the 2015 season 28-8, becoming the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and also the 2013 season starting 25-11, 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:
- Sacrifice Flies (3rd, 27), Doubles per Game (5th, 2.36), ERA (6th, 2.78), On-Base Percentage (6th, .410), WHIP (7th, 1.19), Scoring (14th, 7.4), Walks Allowed Per Nine Innings (14th, 3.01), Fielding Percentage (18th, .979), Hits Allowed Per Nine Inning (24th, 7.68).
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, batting average, 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, runs and walks. Strumpf is also top-10 in batting average and on-base percentage, while Toglia is first in doubles. Jeremy Ydens in eighth in the conference in batting average and Daniel Amaral is top-10 in on-base percentage, runs scored, 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. Nick Scheidler leads the Pac-12 with 24 appearances.
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 Poly
Cal Poly enters the weekend with a 19-20 mark, including 6-7 in the Big West, after winning all three games against Long Beach State last weekend at home and falling to Santa Clara on Tuesday on the road, 10-7. The Mustangs are led offensively by Alex McKenna hitting .329 with 20 RBIs and 17 extra-base hits, while Tate Samuelson has a team-high five home runs and 28 RBIs. On the mound, Trent Shelton is 3-2 this season with a 3.72 ERA in eight starts with a team-best 48 strikeouts. Cam Schneider has a team-high three saves in 27.1 innings with 26 strikeouts.
History against the Mustangs
UCLA is 26-8 all-time against Cal Poly as the Bruins won two out of three games last season at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins are 13-8 against the Mustangs under head coach John Savage. Current Cal Poly head coach Larry Lee was an assistant coach on the 2017 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team under John Savage and recently won his 500th career game at Cal Poly.
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 continue its seven-game road swing next week when it travels to UC Irvine on Tuesday for a midweek contest before heading to Tucson for a three-game Pac-12 series at Arizona beginning on Thursday, May 3 at 6 p.m. PT. All three games of the weekend series will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
