UCLA
Stanford
No. 20 Bruins Host Top-25 Matchup Against No. 2 Stanford
April 05, 2018 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES - The 20th-ranked UCLA baseball team (17-7, 6-3) returns to Jackie Robinson Stadium this weekend for a marquee top-25 matchup as the Bruins host No. 2 Stanford (22-3, 5-1) for a three-game series beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. PT. The game can be heard live on UCLABruins.com with Tim Wilhelm on the call.
Probable Starters
Friday, April 6 - 6 p.m. PT
UCLA - Jake Bird, RHP, Sr. (2-2, 1.39 ERA)
STAN - Tristan Beck, RHP, Jr. (3-1, 3.55 ERA)
Saturday, April 7 - 2 p.m. PT
UCLA - Zach Pettway, RHP, Fr. (5-0, 2.23 ERA)
STAN - Kris Bubic, LHP, Jr. (5-0, 0.96 ERA)
Sunday, April 8 - 1 p.m. PT
UCLA - TBA
STAN - Erik Miller, LHP, So. (1-1, 3.09 ERA)
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, but got the bats going for a 13-1 win on the road on Tuesday at Loyola Marymount.
- UCLA fell 5-2 in the series opener 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.
- The Bruins defeated LMU 13-1 as Kevin Kendall hit a home run, drove in two runs and scored three times, while Daniel Amaral finished with three hits and four runs. Kyle Mora threw 5.2 innings allowing just one run with eight strikeouts.
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 24 games of the season, Bruin starting pitchers have thrown 137.0 innings and have allowed 31 earned runs for a 2.04 ERA. The starters have also totaled 108 strikeouts compared to just 31 walks, good or a 3.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio and are 12-3 this season.
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 77 percent of the team's runs and have also tallied 70 percent of the team's hits. In addition, they have scored just over one third of the team's runs and have registered 50 of the 72 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 17-7 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
Almost one half of the college baseball season is in the books and the Bruins are ranked top-50 nationally in a number of categories:
- ERA (4th, 2.37), Fielding Percentage (9th, .983), WHIP (10th, 1.16), Walks Allowed Per Nine Innings (24th, 3.04), Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (23rd, 7.44), Doubles per Game (25th, 2.17), On-Base Percentage (32nd, .394), Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (49th, 2.49).
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 doubles 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, home runs and walks. Zach Pettway is top-10 in ERA, strikeouts, opposing batting average, and innings pitched, while Jake Bird is third in the conference in ERA and innings pitched. Ryan Garica is also top-10 in ERA, opposing batting average and batters struck out looking.
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 Stanford
The second-ranked Cardinal enter the weekend with an impressive 22-3 mark, including leading the Pac-12 with a 5-1 record. Stanford is coming off winning two out of three against Oregon and defeating both Gonzaga and Santa Clara in midweek contests. Stanford boats one of the best pitching staffs in the country as they rank No. 2 in ERA (2.21), No. 2 in WHIP (1.02) and No. 6 in shutouts (5). Kris Bubic leads the conference with a 0.96 ERA in six starts and has a 5-0 record, while out of the bullpen Jack Little has not allowed a run in 11 appearances and has collected nine saves. Offensively, the Cardinal are led by Tim Tawa batting .323 with 22 RBIs and four home runs, while Andrew Daschbach leads the team with five home runs and 24 RBIs.
History against the Cardinal
UCLA is 149-200 all-time against Stanford but are 5-4 over its last nine meetings, including winning two out of three games on the road last season. At home, the Cardinal hold a 4-2 advantage since 2014. The Bruins are 19-20 against Stanford 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 will begin a four-game road swing next week starting at Long Beach State on Tuesday, April 10 at 6 p.m. PT before traveling to Salt Lake City for a three-game Pac-12 series at Utah beginning on Friday, April 13 at 5 p.m. PT.
