UCLA
Long Beach State
No. 18 Bruins Begin Road Swing at LBSU on Tuesday
April 09, 2018 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES - The 18th-ranked UCLA baseball team (19-8) will begin a four-game road swing away from Jackie Robinson Stadium on Tuesday when it travels to Long Beach State for a midweek game beginning at 6 p.m. PT from Blair Field. The game can be heard live on UCLABruins.com with Tim Wilhelm on the call.
Probable Starters
Tuesday, April 10 - 6 p.m. PT
UCLA - Jack Ralston, RHP, R-So. (0-1, 6.10 ERA)
LBSU - TBA
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Weekend in Review
UCLA claimed a series win over No. 2 Stanford at home over the weekend and has now won all three of its Pac-12 home series to begin the season.
- UCLA won the series opener against the Cardinal, 8-4, Jake Bird tossed 7.1 strong innings allowing two runs, while Ryan Kreidler hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to seal the win.
- The Bruins dropped the second game of the series, 13-11, as they scored five runs in the ninth inning but the comeback fell short as Michael Toglia hit two home runs and registered six RBIs, while Chase Strumpf drove in four runs and hit a home run.
- UCLA won the series finale, 7-2, when Garrett Mitchell tallied two hits and drove in three runs, while Ryan Garcia tossed 4.2 scoreless innings in relief.
Strumpf Named Pac-12 Player of the Week
UCLA's Chase Strumpf earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors on Monday after leading the Bruins offensively to a 3-1 week, including a series win over No. 2 Stanford. The sophomore hit a team-best .667 (8-12) with a 1.250 slugging percentage, .789 on-base percentage, eight RBIs and eight runs scored over the four contests. He also recorded a pair of home runs, one each in the final two games against Stanford. Strumpf is the first Bruins position player to win the weekly award since Kort Peterson in 2016.
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 have thrown 149.2 innings and have allowed 38 earned runs for a 2.29 ERA. The starters have also totaled 119 strikeouts compared to just 36 walks, good or a 3.3 strikeout-to-walk ratio and are 13-4 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 79 percent of the team's runs and have also tallied 72 percent of the team's hits. In addition, they have scored just over 70 percent of the team's runs and have registered 60 of the 81 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 19-8 record. This is the best start for UCLA since beginning the 2015 season 21-6, becoming the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and also the 2013 season starting 19-8, the year the Bruins won its first-ever NCAA championship.
NCAA Rankings
Halfway through the college baseball season and the Bruins are ranked top-50 nationally in a number of categories:
- ERA (4th, 2.63), WHIP (11th, 1.19), Fielding Percentage (16th, .981), Walks Allowed Per Nine Innings (19th, 2.96), Doubles per Game (32nd, 2.07), On-Base Percentage (33rd, .393), Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (38th, 7.76), Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (42nd, 2.57).
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, Chase Strumpf and Michael Toglia are top-10 in the Pac-12 conference in slugging, home runs and walks, while Strumpf is also top-10 in RBIs and Toglia in doubles. Zach Pettway is top-10 in strikeouts, opposing batting average, and innings pitched, while Jake Bird is second in the conference in ERA and third in innings pitched. Ryan Garica is also top-10 in ERA, opposing batting average and batters struck out looking.
In The Polls
UCLA made a jump in the national polls after going 3-1 last week including earning the series win over No. 2 Stanford. Baseball America has the Bruins at No. 18, up two spots from last week and D1Baseball has UCLA shooting up four spots to No. 17 in the country. The ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll has the Bruins jumping to No. 14 after being No. 18 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 LBSU
Long Beach State enters Tuesday's contest with a 12-20 after dropping two out of three games over the weekend to UC Irvine. The Dirtbags have lost five of their last six games. Clayton Andrews leads the LBSU offense hitting .292 with 15 RBIs, while Jarren Duran has a team-best 34 hits including two home runs. As a pitching staff, LBSU has a 4.03 ERA but averages over eight strikeouts a game. Closer Chris Rivera has eight saves this season and holds a 0.64 ERA.
History against the Dirtbags
UCLA is 65-44 all-time against Long Beach State and are 4-2 over its last six meetings, including winning both matchups last season. At home, the Bruins are also 4-2 over the Dirtbags over their last six games at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins are 16-13 against LBSU 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's top 2019 MLB draft prospects list.
Looking Ahead
The Bruins will continue their four-game road swing over the weekend when they travel to Salt Lake City for a three-game Pac-12 series at Utah beginning on Friday, April 13 at 5 p.m. PT.
