UCLA (13-24) vs. No. 12 UC Irvine (28-8)
Tuesday, April 23, 2024 - 6 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Jackie Robinson Stadium)
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Stream: Pac-12.com / Pac-12 Now app
Broadcast Talent: Nick Koop (pbp), Wes Clements (analyst)
Live Stats

UCLA Wraps Homestand with UCI Midweek    
This Tuesday night, the UCLA (13-24) baseball team concludes a four-game homestand by hosting Big West member and No. 12-ranked UC Irvine (28-8) at Jackie Robinson Stadium starting at 6 p.m. PT. The contest will be televised live by the Pac-12 Networks, with Nick Koop (play-by-play) and Wes Clements (analyst) on the call. A stream will also be available through the Pac-12 website (P12N subscription required). Fans can also follow along with live stats (StatBroadcast) and X/Twitter updates (@UCLABaseball). 

UCLA Quick Hits    

• UCLA is 13-24 overall on the season
• The Bruins are 4-4 in midweek contests, with wins against Nevada, Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara, and LMU
• The Bruins are 11-10 so far this season at home
• UCLA is 6-15 in Pac-12 play, taking weekend series against Washington State and USC
• The Bruins enter the weekend with a plus-26 walk differential (179 drawn, 153 issued)
• UCLA has an 83% success rate on stolen bases so far this year (34-41)
• Duce Gourson had a 22-game reached-base streak snapped Apr. 9 ... he's reached in 33 of 36 games so far this year
• UCLA has started multiple players at all nine defensive positions (plus DH)
• UCLA is coming off a 28-24-1 campaign and a berth into the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament
• It marked the program's 7th consecutive winning season and 15th overall in 19 seasons under HC John Savage
• The Bruins' freshman class was the No. 1-ranked recruit class in the country (as was the junior class)
• Junior 2B Duce Gourson earned Preseason All-America acclaim from Baseball America and Perfect Game
• Gourson, Cody Schrier, and Luke Jewett were named to the 2024 Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference Team
• The Bruins were picked to finish 3rd in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll
• Bruin alum Gerrit Cole won the 2023 AL Cy Young, making UCLA the first DI school ever to have had multiple Cy Young winners on the same team
• Nick Nastrini was called up by the White Sox on Apr. 15, making him the 92nd Bruin all-time to make his MLB debut

Projected Pitching Matchups
Tuesday, April 23 - 6 p.m. PT 
UCLA - Fr. RHP Luke Rodriguez (1-4, 4.91 ERA)
UCI - Fr. RHP Tim Grack (0-1, 6.91 ERA)

Midweek Notes    

• UCLA is 37-15 in midweek contests since the start of 2019
• The Bruins are 4-4 so far this year in midweeks, defeating Nevada, LBSU, and UCSB at home, and LMU on the road
• In 2023, UCLA went 6-4 with wins coming against Pepperdine, Michigan, Long Beach State (2), LMU, and CS Fullerton
• The Bruins had two midweek games rained out last year, and have had one rained out so far this year
• Payton Brennan (.375/.464/.583), Duce Gourson (.519 SLG, six RBIs), Roman Martin (.308/.357/.615), Rashad Ruff (1-0 2.89 ERA, 15 K in 9.1 IP), and Cody Delvecchio (6.2 IP, 2 ER, 8 K) have been standouts in midweeks so far this year for the Bruins
• Last season, the Bruins outscored their midweek opponents 77-68 and outperformed them in several stats including OBP (.414-.350), ERA (4.83-6.52), and home runs (12-6)
• Standouts in midweek games last year included Malakhi Knight (.410 BA, 10 RBIs), Jarrod Hocking (.435/.606/.565), Darius Perry (.487 OBP), Luke Jewett (0.00 ERA, 10 K in 8.2 IP), and Charles Harrison (0.00 ERA, 10 K, 7 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

The All-Time Series Against UC Irvine    
UCLA owns a 57-39-1 record all-time against the Anteaters, including a 25-18 mark under head coach John Savage. The Bruins have dropped the season series to UCI in back-to-back years (2022-23) after doing so just once from 2010-21. Exempting the COVID-shortened 2020 season, UCLA and UCI have met every year since 2004, a streak of 19 consecutive campaigns. The Bruins are looking to break a five-game skid against the Anteaters overall. 

Last Time Out Against the Anteaters    
A seventh-inning grand slam proved to be the difference as UCLA dropped a 5-2 decision to then-No. 20 UC Irvine at Chavez Ravine on Mar. 3 in the finale of the 2024 Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic. UCLA tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth on an RBI groundout from Duce Gourson, but the Anteaters broke it open on a four-run homer from Caden Kendle to improve to 9-0 on the year (at the time). Michael Barnett pitched five solid innings for the Bruins, allowing just five hits and one run. It was UCLA's first appearance at Dodger Stadium since 2019.

Active Bruins Against UCI    
Current members of the UCLA baseball team with strong career numbers against UC Irvine include: Roch Cholowsky (2-5 in 1 GP), Cashel Dugger (2-4 in 1 GP), Duce Gourson (.300 BA, 5 RBIs in 5 GP), and Jarrod Hocking (4-12, 2 R in 3 GP).

Friendly Confines    
The Bruins are off to a solid start in home games so far this season, going 11-10 at Jackie Robinson Stadium. UCLA holds advantages in on-base percentage (.385-.361) and walks drawn (121-98). The Bruins went 19-9-1 at JRS a season ago, including a 13-game home winning streak to open the campaign. UCLA had a plus-63 run differential (207-144) in home games last year. 

The Week In Review    
UCLA is coming off an 0-4 week, dropping a road midweek at UCSB and a home weekend series against Arizona State:

• TUE — UCLA absorbed a 6-0 loss at UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday afternoon. The Bruins nearly doubled up the Gauchos in the hit column (9-5), but went 0-4 with runners in scoring position, were twice caught stealing, ran into two more outs on the basepaths, and hit a plethora of well-struck "at-him" balls that went for outs. A second-inning grand slam from UCSB's Aaron Parker proved decisive, and the Gauchos added two insurance runs late. Roch Cholowsky and Carson Yates both had two-hit days, and seven different Bruins ended the day with at least one knock. Besides the slam, UCLA pitchers limited UCSB to one earned run. 
• FRI — Despite AJ Salgado going 3-4 and Duce Gourson reaching four times, UCLA logged a 5-3 loss in game one. The Bruins led early after a first-inning two-spot, but were held off the board from then until the ninth inning. ASU took the lead for good with three unearned runs in the second. Luke Jewett was a tough-luck loser for the Bruins, going six complete while allowing just one earned run. He settled in after the early innings, retiring nine of the final 10 and 14 of the final 16 batters he faced.
• SAT — ASU scored in each of its first four offensive innings en route to a series-clinching 8-2 win in game two. JonJon Vaughns (RBI double) and Cody Schrier (solo HR) paced UCLA offensively. Michael Barnett took the loss for UCLA but improved as his seven-inning outing went along, posting a zero in each of his last three frames and allowing just one hit over that span. All nine starters had a hit for ASU. 
• SUN — ASU finished off the sweep with a 13-1 Sunday decision. Cody Schrier, Mulivai Levu, and Roch Cholowsky had two hits apiece for UCLA, and Phoenix Call singled in the ninth for his first-career hit. Rashad Ruff was the standout among the five pitchers employed by UCLA, going 3 2/3 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit. ASU hit four home runs, and robbed UCLA's JonJon Vaughns of a roundtripper of his own in the eighth inning. 

Bruins On the National Leaderboards    
UCLA enters the contest ranked in the upper-third nationally in the following team stats:

• BB/9 - 4.18 (5th in the Pac-12 / 78th in the NCAA)
• Triples - 9 (6th / 88th)
• ERA - 5.27 (8th / 87th)
• Sac Bunts - 18 (4th / 92nd)
• WHIP - 1.51 (8th / 93rd)