Tuesday, February 25
Los Angeles, CA
4:00 PM
UCLA
vs
Keio University (Exhibition)
Matt McLain (photo: Don Liebig)
Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA
Bruins Host Keio, Pepperdine in Busy Week
February 24, 2020 | Baseball
No. 8 UCLA vs. Keio University - Exhibition
Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 - 4:00 p.m. PT
Location: Jackie Robinson Stadium
Live Stats
No. 8 UCLA (7-0) vs. Pepperdine (7-0)
Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020 - 6:00 p.m. PT
Location: Jackie Robinson Stadium
Audio:ย UCLA Lean Player
Audio Talent: Tim Wilhelm
Live Stats
No. 8 UCLA Wraps Homestand Against Keio, Pepperdineย ย ย
The No. 8-ranked UCLA baseball team finishes a season-opening nine-game homestand this week by hosting Keio University in an international exhibition on Tuesday afternoon followed by a Wednesday night midweek against local rival Pepperdine (7-0). Admission and parking will both be free for the exhibition against Keio, and live stats will be available on UCLABruins.com. Tim Wilhelm will return to call the game against the Waves on Wednesday night, with that broadcast available at UCLA.LeanPlayer.com.
Projected Pitching Matchups
Tuesday, Feb. 25 - 4:00 p.m. PT
UCLA - TBA
Keio - TBA
Wednesday, Feb. 26 - 6:00 p.m. PT
UCLA - Jared Karros (1-0, 1.80 ERA)
PEPP - Gunnar Groen, RHP, RSo. (1-0, 1.12 ERA)
Hot Start to 2020ย ย
UCLA has had an impressive start to the 2020 season, sweeping weekend series against UC Riverside and St. Mary's while defeating Loyola Marymount in the team's lone midweek. UCLA is outscoring its opponents 45-5 (plus-40) so far on the year and has an anemic 0.71 team ERA. This is the team's best start to a season since 2010, when the squad won a program-record 22 straight games to open the year.ย
First Things First ย ย ย
UCLA has dominated the first inning of games to this point in the season. Over the first seven games of the year, UCLA has scored 10 runs including a five-spot against Loyola Marymount last Tuesday, and has had at least one baserunner in all but one game. Meanwhile, UCLA pitchers went the first six games without allowing a single baserunner, and opponents still have just one hit in the first inning so far this year.ย
History Against Pepperdine
UCLA is 63-39-4 all-time against Pepperdine, including two wins in as many matchups last season. The Bruins haven't lost to the Waves since 2016, and are 17-6 against them under head coach John Savage.ย
Midweek Notesย ย ย
UCLA is an undefeated 12-0 in midweeks dating back to the beginning of last season, winning six games apiece at home and on the road. 2019 marked the second time in the John Savage era that UCLA went unbeaten in midweeks (2012). Last year, UCLA outhit its opponents by 100 points in midweek games (.282 to .182) and held a 1.59 to 4.81 advantage in team ERA. Top offensive players in midweeks included Garrett Mitchell (.438/.481/.667) and Noah Cardenas (.364/.464/.409) while top pitchers included Felix Rubi (1.42 ERA in 12.2 IP), and Nick Nastrini (0 R in two starts).ย
Week In Review
The Bruins are coming off a 4-0 week, beating LMU in the first midweek of the year before sweeping UC Riverside.
A year after leading the NCAA in team ERA, UCLA's pitching staff is off to a great start to the 2020 campaign. To this point in the year, the Bruins rank third nationally in team ERA at 0.71, and rank second in the country in hits allowed per nine innings (4.4) and WHIP (0.71, Central Connecticut leads in both categories as well as ERA). The hot start is nothing new - UCLA allowed just nine runs through its first seven games last year.
No Runs For Youย ย ย
UCLA has surrendered just five runs to this point of the campaign. That represents a new program record for the fewest runs allowed through the first seven games of a season (prev: 8, 1969).ย
Bruins In The Pollsย ย ย
UCLA was represented in all five major national polls this week, and was ranked as high as No. 1 (Collegiate Baseball). Elsewhere, the Bruins checked in at No. 7 (NCBWA), No. 8 (ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, which hasn't been updated since the preseason), No. 10 (D1Baseball), and No. 11 (Baseball America). Pepperdine is unranked in all polls.ย
Staying Aheadย ย ย
Out of the 63 innings UCLA has played this season, the Bruins have only trailed for two. The Bruins have trailed at any point in just two of their seven games so far. On Opening Day, they fell behind 2-0 in the third before tying it in the fifth in an eventual 4-2 triumph. UCLA briefly trailed 1-0 in the top of the third in Sunday's series finale against St. Mary's, but tied it up in the bottom half of frame before going ahead for good their next time up.ย
Back to Back
Freshman Michael Curialle and sophomore Matt McLain launched solo homers in back-to-back fashion during the first inning of Feb. 16's series finale against UCR. The pair of jacks represented UCLA's first set of back-to-back homers since Michael Toglia and Chase Strumpf did so on May 21, 2017 against Utah.ย
Schwartz Swingin' itย ย ย
Redshirt freshman JT Schwartz has looked like anything but a first-year player so far in 2020, batting a team-high .464 while starting every game at first base. He's hit safely in all but one contest, and has a trio of three-hit performances, all within the last four games.ย
Hot At Homeย ย ย
UCLA is 7-0 at home this year and has gone 77-25 (.755) at Jackie Robinson Stadium since the start of the 2017 season. Dating back to 2017, the Bruins have won 19 consecutive regular season series on their home field, with their last loss coming to Oregon State (Apr. 21-13, 2017).ย
In Controlย ย ย
Part of UCLA's success on the mound can be attributed to the lack of free passes allowed by the team's pitchers. Bruin hurlers are averaging just two walks per nine innings - sixth in the nation - while the team's 6.29 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks fourth in the country. Zach Pettway (0 BB in 12.2 IP), Michael Townsend (1 BB in 6.0 IP), Jared Karros (0 BB in 5 IP), and Holden Powell (0 BB in 6 IP) have been especially stingy.ย
A Year Of Firstsย ย ย
With six new starters in the Opening Day lineup, there have been plenty of opportunies for Bruins to record career firsts:
While UCLA's starters have been impressive in their own right, UCLA's bullpen has been downright unhittable, tossing 26 1/3 innings of scoreless relief with just nine hits against on the season. Top performers out of the pen include junior Michael Townsend (0 H in 6 IP) and Holden Powell (17 K in 5 IP, two saves).ย
Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 - 4:00 p.m. PT
Location: Jackie Robinson Stadium
Live Stats
No. 8 UCLA (7-0) vs. Pepperdine (7-0)
Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020 - 6:00 p.m. PT
Location: Jackie Robinson Stadium
Audio:ย UCLA Lean Player
Audio Talent: Tim Wilhelm
Live Stats
No. 8 UCLA Wraps Homestand Against Keio, Pepperdineย ย ย
The No. 8-ranked UCLA baseball team finishes a season-opening nine-game homestand this week by hosting Keio University in an international exhibition on Tuesday afternoon followed by a Wednesday night midweek against local rival Pepperdine (7-0). Admission and parking will both be free for the exhibition against Keio, and live stats will be available on UCLABruins.com. Tim Wilhelm will return to call the game against the Waves on Wednesday night, with that broadcast available at UCLA.LeanPlayer.com.
Projected Pitching Matchups
Tuesday, Feb. 25 - 4:00 p.m. PT
UCLA - TBA
Keio - TBA
Wednesday, Feb. 26 - 6:00 p.m. PT
UCLA - Jared Karros (1-0, 1.80 ERA)
PEPP - Gunnar Groen, RHP, RSo. (1-0, 1.12 ERA)
Hot Start to 2020ย ย
UCLA has had an impressive start to the 2020 season, sweeping weekend series against UC Riverside and St. Mary's while defeating Loyola Marymount in the team's lone midweek. UCLA is outscoring its opponents 45-5 (plus-40) so far on the year and has an anemic 0.71 team ERA. This is the team's best start to a season since 2010, when the squad won a program-record 22 straight games to open the year.ย
First Things First ย ย ย
UCLA has dominated the first inning of games to this point in the season. Over the first seven games of the year, UCLA has scored 10 runs including a five-spot against Loyola Marymount last Tuesday, and has had at least one baserunner in all but one game. Meanwhile, UCLA pitchers went the first six games without allowing a single baserunner, and opponents still have just one hit in the first inning so far this year.ย
History Against Pepperdine
UCLA is 63-39-4 all-time against Pepperdine, including two wins in as many matchups last season. The Bruins haven't lost to the Waves since 2016, and are 17-6 against them under head coach John Savage.ย
Midweek Notesย ย ย
UCLA is an undefeated 12-0 in midweeks dating back to the beginning of last season, winning six games apiece at home and on the road. 2019 marked the second time in the John Savage era that UCLA went unbeaten in midweeks (2012). Last year, UCLA outhit its opponents by 100 points in midweek games (.282 to .182) and held a 1.59 to 4.81 advantage in team ERA. Top offensive players in midweeks included Garrett Mitchell (.438/.481/.667) and Noah Cardenas (.364/.464/.409) while top pitchers included Felix Rubi (1.42 ERA in 12.2 IP), and Nick Nastrini (0 R in two starts).ย
Week In Review
The Bruins are coming off a 4-0 week, beating LMU in the first midweek of the year before sweeping UC Riverside.
- UCLA scored five runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back in a 10-1 rout of LMU on Tuesday. Jared Karros (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 6 K) led a combined two-hitter in his debut collegiate start. JT Schwartz went 3-5 and scored a pair of runs to key the offense.
- Zach Pettway struck out a career-high 13 as UCLA blanked St. Mary's 5-0 Friday night in the series opener. Pettway had at least one K in each frame he pitched, and struck out the side in three consecutive innings at one point (2-4).ย
- A Pat Caulfield two-run homer and a two-run single off the wall by Will McInerny were the biggest offensive blows in a 7-1 Saturday win over UCR. Adrian Chaidez earned the win for UCLA with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. UCLA's bullpen threw 5.2 scoreless frames to help lock down the win.ย
- The Bruins edged out St. Mary's 2-0 on Sunday to complete the sweep. Jesse Bergin pitched the first 5.1 innings before seeing the late inning combo of Michael Townsend-Kyle Mora-Holden Powell lock it down from there. UCLA strung together five consecutive hits in the third inning to produce the offense necessary to win the game.ย
A year after leading the NCAA in team ERA, UCLA's pitching staff is off to a great start to the 2020 campaign. To this point in the year, the Bruins rank third nationally in team ERA at 0.71, and rank second in the country in hits allowed per nine innings (4.4) and WHIP (0.71, Central Connecticut leads in both categories as well as ERA). The hot start is nothing new - UCLA allowed just nine runs through its first seven games last year.
No Runs For Youย ย ย
UCLA has surrendered just five runs to this point of the campaign. That represents a new program record for the fewest runs allowed through the first seven games of a season (prev: 8, 1969).ย
Bruins In The Pollsย ย ย
UCLA was represented in all five major national polls this week, and was ranked as high as No. 1 (Collegiate Baseball). Elsewhere, the Bruins checked in at No. 7 (NCBWA), No. 8 (ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, which hasn't been updated since the preseason), No. 10 (D1Baseball), and No. 11 (Baseball America). Pepperdine is unranked in all polls.ย
Staying Aheadย ย ย
Out of the 63 innings UCLA has played this season, the Bruins have only trailed for two. The Bruins have trailed at any point in just two of their seven games so far. On Opening Day, they fell behind 2-0 in the third before tying it in the fifth in an eventual 4-2 triumph. UCLA briefly trailed 1-0 in the top of the third in Sunday's series finale against St. Mary's, but tied it up in the bottom half of frame before going ahead for good their next time up.ย
Back to Back
Freshman Michael Curialle and sophomore Matt McLain launched solo homers in back-to-back fashion during the first inning of Feb. 16's series finale against UCR. The pair of jacks represented UCLA's first set of back-to-back homers since Michael Toglia and Chase Strumpf did so on May 21, 2017 against Utah.ย
Schwartz Swingin' itย ย ย
Redshirt freshman JT Schwartz has looked like anything but a first-year player so far in 2020, batting a team-high .464 while starting every game at first base. He's hit safely in all but one contest, and has a trio of three-hit performances, all within the last four games.ย
Hot At Homeย ย ย
UCLA is 7-0 at home this year and has gone 77-25 (.755) at Jackie Robinson Stadium since the start of the 2017 season. Dating back to 2017, the Bruins have won 19 consecutive regular season series on their home field, with their last loss coming to Oregon State (Apr. 21-13, 2017).ย
In Controlย ย ย
Part of UCLA's success on the mound can be attributed to the lack of free passes allowed by the team's pitchers. Bruin hurlers are averaging just two walks per nine innings - sixth in the nation - while the team's 6.29 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks fourth in the country. Zach Pettway (0 BB in 12.2 IP), Michael Townsend (1 BB in 6.0 IP), Jared Karros (0 BB in 5 IP), and Holden Powell (0 BB in 6 IP) have been especially stingy.ย
A Year Of Firstsย ย ย
With six new starters in the Opening Day lineup, there have been plenty of opportunies for Bruins to record career firsts:
- Hits: Michael Curialle (HR vs. UCR, 2/14), Jordan Prendiz (1B vs. LMU, 2/18) , JT Schwartz (1B vs. UCR, 2/14), Josh Hahn (1B vs. UCR, 2/14), Pat Caulfield (1B vs. UCR, 2/16)
- Home Run: Michael Curialle (to LF vs. UCR, 2/14, B5), Pat Caulfield (to LF vs. St. Mary's, 2/22, B5)
- RBI: Michael Curialle (HR vs. UCR, 2/14), JT Schwartz (1B vs. UCR, 2/14), Pat Caulfield (1B vs. UCR, 2/16), Jordan Prendiz (SF vs. UCR, 2/15)
- Pitching Win: Jared Karros (2/18 vs. LMU), Adrian Chaidez (2/22 vs. St. Mary's)
While UCLA's starters have been impressive in their own right, UCLA's bullpen has been downright unhittable, tossing 26 1/3 innings of scoreless relief with just nine hits against on the season. Top performers out of the pen include junior Michael Townsend (0 H in 6 IP) and Holden Powell (17 K in 5 IP, two saves).ย
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