UCLA Prepares for Road Midweek at LMU

Tuesday, April 25

Los Angeles, CA

6:00 PM

UCLA

Loyola Marymount

Jarrod Hocking (photo: Scott Chandler)

Photo by: Scott Chandler

UCLA Prepares for Road Midweek at LMU

April 24, 2023 | Baseball

Game Notes (PDF)Listen Watch Live Stats

UCLA (22-13-1) at LMU (23-17)
Tuesday, Apr. 25, 2023 - 6:00 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Page Stadium)
Stream: WCC Network
Audio: UCLA Lean Player / UCLA Bruins app / Varsity Network app
Play-by-Play Talent: Nick Koop
Live Stats

UCLA Continues Road Swing at LMU
UCLA (22-13-1) continues a season-long eight-game home road trip this week, facing LMU on Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. PT before heading to the Bay Area for a Pac-12 showdown against Stanford this weekend. Tuesday's contest will be streamed live through the WCC Network. Fans can access a live audio broadcast through UCLABruins.com or the Varsity Network app, with Nick Koop on the mic. In addition, there will be live stats and Twitter updates from @UCLABaseball.

Quick Hits

UCLA is 23-12-1 overall on the year, with a 13-6 mark in non-conference competition
The Bruins are 9-7-1 in Pac-12 play, with series wins against Oregon, Arizona, and Utah
UCLA and LMU had a midweek contest rained out earlier this year (Feb. 28)
The Bruins enter the weekend with the No. 8 ERA in the country (3.67)
UCLA ranks top-10 nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.4, fourth) and walks per nine innings (2.9, fifth)
Kelly Austin (2.49) and Alonzo Tredwell (3.57) rank 1-4 in the Pac-12 in individual ERA
UCLA has sizable advantages in walks drawn vs. issued (195-105) and HBPs drawn vs. issued (50-30)
The Bruins have issued more walks than they've drawn in just six of 36 games this year
UCLA has allowed a crooked number 34 times in 328 defensive innings
The Bruins are 16-3-0 when scoring first this year, and 16-4-1 this year in games with 1+ SB
UCLA's current sophomore class was the No. 1-ranked recruit class in the country
Cody Schrier and Alonzo Tredwell were named 2023 Preseason All-Americans
2022: UCLA went 40-24, earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tourney, had an NCAA-high four Freshman All-Americans

Projected Pitching Matchups
Tuesday, Apr. 25 - 6:00 p.m. PT
UCLA - Michael Barnett, RHP, Fr. (1-0, 4.50 ERA)
LMU - Chaz McRoberts, RHP, Fr. (0-1, 4.00 ERA)

The Week In Review
UCLA went 1-3 last week, dropping a midweek game to UC Irvine and two-of-three over the weekend at USC:

UCLA dropped a 12-4 decision at home to UC Irvine last Tuesday. The Anteaters plated single runs in the second and fourth before using an eight-run fifth to go ahead 10-0. Duce Gourson had three RBIs for the Bruins, and Daylen Reyes was 2-4 in his first game since Mar. 12. On the mound, Caedon Kottinger led UCLA with 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief, getting a key double play to bring an end to that big fifth before striking out the side in order the next frame. Ethan Flanagan (3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 K) was a tough-luck loser in his first start of the 2023 campaign.
Duce Gourson matched a season-high with four RBIs to lead UCLA to a 9-3 Friday win at Dedeaux Field. The Bruins never trailed, going ahead for good with a four-run second. Gourson had an RBI in each of UCLA's first three run-scoring innings, helping the Bruins to an 8-3 lead by the sixth. Jake Brooks got the win for UCLA after going five innings with two earned runs against. Kelly Austin and Cody Delvecchio shut out the Trojans the rest of the way.
UCLA was limited to four hits in a 5-1 Saturday loss to USC. Caden Aoki went 6 1/3 strong for the Trojans, allowing just one earned run. Darius Perry threw out a career-high three would-be basestealers in the game. Jack Holman hit a solo homer in the fourth to account for UCLA's one run.
UCLA ended up on the wrong end of a 6-5 thriller in Sunday's rubber match, as USC walked it off with a single in the ninth. The Bruins fought back from an early 3-0 deficit to take the lead, using a four-spot in the seventh to go ahead 5-3. USC answered with a pair in the bottom half of the seventh, and UCLA stranded multiple runners in both the eighth and ninth before Cole Gabrielson's walk-off knock with two strikes and two outs. Kyle Karros had UCLA's biggest swing of the game, clearing the bases for a three-run double to cap off the seventh-inning rally.
JonJon Vaughns (.375 BA), Malakhi Knight (.353 BA), Kelly Austin (4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER), and Caedon Kottinger (2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R) all had strong weeks statistically for the Bruins.

Midweek Notes
UCLA is 31-10 in midweek contests since the start of 2019

In 2023, UCLA is 4-3 with wins coming against Pepperdine, Michigan, and Long Beach State
The Bruins have had two midweek games rained out
In 2022, UCLA swept UCSB, LMU ... split with LBSU, CSF, Pepperdine ... was winless against Omaha (0-1) and UCI (0-2)
This season, the Bruins are outperforming their midweek opponents in hitting (.283-.267), OBP (.411-.354), walks drawn (46-27), and ERA (5.48-6.19).
Standouts in midweek games this year include Malakhi Knight (.481/.548/.519, 9 RBIs), Kyle Karros (.350/.440/.500), Duce Gourson (.333/.432/.467), Luke Jewett (0.00 ERA, 10 K in 8.2 IP), and Charles Harrison (0.00 ERA, 10 K, 6 IP).
The Bruins went undefeated in midweeks in 2019 (11-0) and 2021 (8-0)
UCLA won seven straight midweeks from Mar. 1 to Apr. 19, 2022

In The Polls
UCLA was unranked in the five major national polls on Monday, a first for the 2023 season. The Bruins did receive votes in the USA TODAY Coaches and NCBWA polls. UCLA had been ranked as high as No. 7 this season.
The All-Time Series Against LMU
UCLA owns a 63-48-1 record all-time against Loyola Marymount, including a 19-6 mark under head coach John Savage. This is the sixth consecutive season that UCLA and LMU have matched up. The Bruins have won nine straight in the head-to-head series against the Lions.

Current Bruins Against the Lions
Active Bruins with strong career numbers against the Lions include: Chris Aldrich (1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R), Ethan Flanagan (4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 6 K), Ethan Gourson (5-8, 4 XBH in 2 GP), Charles Harrison (4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 5 K), and Malakhi Knight (2-5 in 1 GP).

Last Year Against LMU
UCLA won both ends of a home-and-home midweek series against LMU in 2022:

Mar. 22, 2022 at LMU — UCLA scored five runs in the seventh inning to break a 4-4 tie en route to a 9-5 victory over LMU. Kenny Oyama sparked that decisive rally, lining the very first pitch of the inning over the wall in right field. The homer was cinematic in a number of ways: it was Oyama's first-career homer in 179 games at the NCAA level, it came on his birthday, and it was his first game back at LMU's Page Stadium after transferring to UCLA following a standout four-year career with the Lions. Ethan Gourson (3-5, HR, three runs) also had a standout day with the bat. Freshman lefty Gage Jump made his NCAA debut, tossing a scoreless sixth inning and picking up his first-career win.
Apr. 5, 2022 at UCLA — Kyle Karros and Cody Schrier each hit clutch home runs late to lead UCLA to a 5-4 walk-off win over Loyola Marymount. The Bruins trailed 4-1 entering the bottom of the ninth in that contest, but Karros tied it up with one swing of the bat after clanging a three-run home run off the left field foul pole. Two innings later, Schrier pounced on the first pitch of the bottom of the 11th and sent it over the left field fence for a walk-off home run. The Bruins employed seven pitchers in a bullpen game, posting a zero in 10 of 11 defensive innings. Key arms included Kelly Austin (3 IP, 3K), Ethan Flanagan (2.2 IP, 5 K), and Chris Aldrich (1 IP, 0 H, first career W), who were all unscored upon. Ethan Gourson added two doubles for UCLA.

Controlling the Zone
So far this season, UCLA has ranked among the best in nation in drawing walks on the offensive end while limiting free passes on the mound. The Bruins have a plus-90 walk differential this season (195 drawn, 105 issued), good for sixth in the country. UCLA's 105 walks issued are the third-fewest in the country.

Notes on Projected Starters

C Perry — .333 BA in 2-out ABs ... Threw out 3 runners on 4/22 at USC ... .277 BA in April is 2nd on team
1B Holman — 3 HR since 4/15 ... .321/.414/.536 in March ... H in 13 of last 16 GP ... Apr: Team-high 10 free passes
2B Reyes — Started 4 straight (prev. out since 3/12) ... 7 free passes (3 BB, 4 HBP), 3 R in USC series
SS Gourson — Leads team w/ 16 2-out RBI ... Played 2B, SS, 3B this year ... .300/.447/.533 in Mar.
3B Karros — Led team w/ .347/.396/.551 slash in Mar. ... Batting .326 w/ RISP ... Reached in first 23 starts of '23
OF Hocking — 9-34 (.265 BA) since Apr. 8 ... Has played 2B and OF ... 20 free passes in just 68 PAs
OF Knight — Apr.: leads team in BA (.345), H (19), OBP (.390) ... Multi H in 7 of last 10 GP ... Team-hi .382 BA w/ RISP
OF Vaughns — Had team-high 5 HR in Mar. ... Career-hi 3 H on Sunday vs. USC ... His 16 career HR lead active Bruins
OF Yates — Leads team w/ 15 productive outs ... H in 5 of last 8 GP ... Leads team in SB, SB success %
DH Hahn — Team-high 10 PH ABs (2-10) ... Went 3-5 at Pepp. on 4/11

Bruins On the National Leaderboards
To this point in the season, UCLA ranks near the top nationally in a number of statistics on both sides of the ball:

K-BB Ratio — 4th (3.36, 1st in the Pac-12)
BB/9 — 5th (2.90, 1st in the Pac-12)
ERA — 8th (3.67, 2nd in the Pac-12)
WHIP — 9th (1.26, 1st in the Pac-12)
Shutouts — 14th (4, 1st in the Pac-12)
K/9 — 50th (9.7, 4th in the Pac-12)
H/9 — 48th (8.47, 4th in the Pac-12)
Walks Drawn — 78th (195, 2nd in the Pac-12)

Digging the Long Ball
UCLA has hit 39 home runs so far this season while allowing just 26. The Bruins are a strong 16-8 when hitting at least one home run. Junior outfielder JonJon Vaughns leads the team with eight roundtrippers, while Duce Gourson (seven), Jack Holman (seven), Cody Schrier (six), and Kyle Karros (four) have also left the yard plenty. UCLA hit a home run in eight consecutive games to start the month of March, and the Bruins' 26 home runs allowed are tied for the fewest in the Pac.