UCLA
Washington
No. 11 Bruins Continue Pac-12 Play at Washington
May 10, 2018 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES - The 11th-ranked UCLA baseball team (30-14, 14-7) returns to Pac-12 play this weekend when it travels to Seattle to face Washington (23-20, 13-8) for a three-game series beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. PT at Husky Ballpark. All three games of the series can be heard live on UCLABruins.com with Tim Wilhelm on the call.
Probable Starters
Friday, May 11 - 6 p.m. PT
UCLA - Jake Bird, RHP, Sr. (5-3, 1.87 ERA)
UW - Lucas Knowles, LHP, Fr. (3-4, 3.94 ERA)
Saturday, May 12 - 2 p.m. PT
UCLA - Zach Pettway, RHP, Fr. (7-2, 2.92 ERA)
UW - Joe DeMers, RHP, Jr. (4-3, 2.39 ERA)
Sunday, May 13 - 1 p.m. PT
UCLA - Ryan Garcia, RHP, So. (5-1, 2.37 ERA)
UW - Jordan Jones, RHP, So. (5-3, 3.26 ERA)
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Weekย in Review
UCLA dropped all three games over the weekend at Arizona to fall to 14-7 in Pac-12 play.
- UCLA fell in the series opener 2-0, as Jeremy Ydens went 2-for-4 with a double, while Jake Bird tossed his first career complete game surrendering two runs.
- The Bruins dropped game two, 3-1, when Zach Pettway threw seven innings and recorded a career-best 10 strikeouts, while Chase Strumpf recorded two base hits.
- UCLA fell in the series finale, 6-3 as Chase Strumpf hit a two-run home and Kevin Kendall recorded two hits with a double as the Bruins were swept for the first time since 2016.
- UCLA dropped its midweek contest on Tuesday to Long Beach State, 5-1, as Jeremy Ydens recorded two base hits and drove in a run, while Jake Pries finished the game 2-for-3 at the plate.
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. Well into the second half of the season, Bruin starting pitchers have thrown 242 innings and have allowed 69 earned runs for a 2.57 ERA. The starters have also totaled 180 strikeouts compared to just 57 walks, good or a 3.2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Dynamic Duo
Sophomores Chase Strumpf and Michael Toglia are leading the UCLA run production this season. The duo both rank top-11 in the Pac-12 in slugging, home runs, RBIs, runs, doubles and walks. Strumpf is also 14th in the NCAA in on-base percentage (.495), while Toglia is 24th in the country in doubles (18). Toglia was named the winner of the Gold Standard Performance of the Week by the Golden Spikes Award on April 25 and Strumpf earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors on April 8. The right-side of the UCLA infield has combined to drive in 87 runs, score 83 times and record 54 extra-base hits. They are also the only two UCLA players to start every game this season.
Big Innings
The UCLA offense has scored in bunches to help facilitate a potent offense in 2018. This season, the Bruins have scored five or more runs in an inning 16 times already this season. That is the most by a UCLA offense since 2013 when the Bruins recorded 11 in 66 games and won the national championship. In addition, the offense has done a great job of picking up the pitching staff. After allowing a run on defense, UCLA has answered with two or more runs 15 times in the next half inning.
Pitching and Defense
The old adage that pitching and defense wins ball games remains true for the Bruins this season as they rank fifth in the NCAA in ERA at 2.82 and are also 18th in fielding percentage at 0.979. They are just one of five teams in the country (Florida, St. John's, Gonzaga, College of Charleston) that rank in the top-20 in both ERA and fielding percentage 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 top-3 in batting average (.302), runs scored (151), RBIs (140), on-base percentage (.405), doubles (43) and walks (103). UCLA is scoring over seven runs a game against Pac-12 opponents.
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 77 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 107 of the 139 extra-base hits.
The Bruins Keeping Pace
UCLA continues to keep pace with some of the great UCLA teams of the recent past with a 30-14 record. This is the best record for the Bruins at this point of the season since the 2015 season when they were 33-11, becoming the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and also the 2013 season starting 31-13, the year the Bruins won its first-ever NCAA championship.
NCAA Rankings
With just one quarter of the college baseball season remaining, the Bruins are ranked top-25 nationally in a number of categories:
- ERA (5th, 2.82), WHIP (8th, 1.18), Doubles per Game (10th, 2.23), Walks Allowed Per Nine Innings (11th, 2.89), On-Base Percentage (16th, .399), Sacrifice Flies (17th, 28), Fielding Percentage (18th, .979) and Doubles (24th, 98).
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-11 in the conference in slugging, home runs, RBIs, doubles, runs and walks. Strumpf is also top-10 in batting average and on-base percentage. Jeremy Ydens ranks inside the top-10 in batting average, doubles and stolen bases, while Daniel Amaral is top-10 in on-base percentage, triples and stolen bases.
- On the mound, Zach Pettway is top-11 in ERA, strikeouts, opposing 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 fifth in ERA. Nick Scheidler leads the Pac-12 with 30 appearances and Holden Powell is tied for fifth with six saves.
Savage Surpassing Milestones
UCLA head coach John Savage reached a milestone mark at UCLA this season and is looking to surpass another one. The skipper reached 800 career games at UCLA on March 29 at California and is just five games away from coaching in his 1,000th game of his career. 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.
In The Polls
UCLA slipped outside the top-10 in the national polls after going 1-3 last week on the road. Baseball America has the Bruins at No. 11, down threeย spot from last week and D1Baseball has UCLA sliding back four spots to No. 11 in the country. The ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll has the Bruins dropping to No. 14 after being No. 7 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 UW
Washington enters this weekend with a 23-20 record, including 13-8 in Pac-12 play, after winning two out of three last weekend on the road at Arizona State. The Huskies have won five of their last seven contests. Mason Cerrillo leads the UW offense hitting .371 with 11 doubles and 14 RBIs, while Joe Wainhouse has a team-best 36 RBIs and eight home runs. Joe DeMers leads the Husky pitching staff with a 2.39 ERA and a 4-3 record in 79.0 innings this season and threw a perfect game on Feb. 24. Alex Hardy has a team-best four saves in 26 appearances this year with 33 strikeouts.
History against the Huskies
UCLA is 50-23 all-time against Washington and are 12-6 since 2012, including dropping two out of three last season at Jackie Robinson Stadium. On the road, the Bruins are 6-2 against the Huskies over the past six seasons. The Bruins are 26-13 against UW under head coach John Savage.
Positional Rankings
With the season past 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
Looking Ahead
UCLA will prepare for its final four regular-season home games of the year next week when it hosts CSUN for the last midweek game of 2018 on Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT before welcoming Oregon for a three-game Pac-12 series beginning on Friday at 4 p.m PT. All three games against the Ducks will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
