Tuesday, March 12
Los Angeles, CA
6:00 PM
UCLA
vs
Connecticut
Roch Cholowsky
Photo by: Ross Turteltaub
Bruins Open Homestand by Hosting Connecticut
March 11, 2024 | Baseball
UCLA (5-9) vs. Connecticut (3-8)
Tuesday, Mar. 12, 2024 - 6:00 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Jackie Robinson Stadium)
TV: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Brian Webber
Stream:ย Pac-12.comย / Pac-12 Now app
Audio:ย UCLA Lean Player
Play-by-Play Talent:ย Nick Koop
Live Stats
UCLA Opens Eight-Game Homestand by Hosting Connecticutย ย ย
After playing five straight games away from home, the UCLA baseball team (5-9, 0-3 Pac-12) returns to Jackie Robinson Stadium for its next eight games, starting on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. against Connecticut (3-8). The contest will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks and streamed on Pac-12.com, with Brian Webber on the call. Nick Koop will also be on hand for an audio-only broadcast, accessible on UCLABruins.com. Fans can also follow along with live stats (StatBroadcast) and X/Twitter updates (@UCLABaseball).ย
UCLA Quick Hitsย ย ย
Tuesday, Mar. 12 - 6 p.m. PTย
UCLA - Fr. RHP Landon Stump (0-1, 4.30 ERA)
UCONN - Gr. LHP Joe Cinnella (0-1, 5.68 ERA)
The All-Time Series Against Connecticutย ย ย
Tuesday marks the first-ever meeting in baseball between UCLA and UConn. In fact, the Bruins have only ever faced one of the six Division I schools from the state of Connecticut, going 3-0 all-time against Yale (2-0 in 1967, 1-0 in 1992). UCLA has never faced UConn, Central Connecticut, Fairfield, Quinnipiac, or Sacred Heart.
UCLA Against the Big Eastย ย ย
UCLA is 6-1 all-time against active Big East baseball programs, posting a 3-1 record against Creighton and a 3-0 mark against St. John's. The Bruins last played a Big East opponent in 2019, sweeping St. John's in a three-game series at Jackie Robinson Stadium to open the regular season. UCLA has never faced six of the eight Big East schools that sponsor baseball: Georgetown, Seton Hall, Xavier, Butler, Villanova, and Connecticut.
Friendly Confinesย ย ย
The Bruins are off to a hot start in home games so far this season, going 5-1 at Jackie Robinson Stadium. UCLA is outscoring its opponents 44-29 at home and holds sizable advantages in batting (.281-.222), OBP (.431-.310), slugging (.427-.363), and ERA (3.11-7.46).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.ย
The Week In Reviewย ย ย
UCLA is coming off an 0-4 week, dropping a Tuesday midweek at Long Beach State and a weekend series at California:
UCLA enters the week ranked highly in the following team stats:
UCLA freshman first baseman Mulivai Levu hit three home runs during the Cal series, including a two-HR performance in the series finale. He became the first Bruin in 2024 with multiple home runs in one game, and moved into a tie for the team lead with four on the season (Duce Gourson). In addition, Levu's four homers are tied for the most among all Pac-12 freshmen. The Huntington Beach native is the first Bruin frosh with a two-homer game since current Cincinnati Red Matt McLain had two bombs at Washington State on May 12, 2019.
Change of Sceneryย ย ย
UCLA recently had a stretch that saw the team play four consecutive games in different venues (Mar. 1 at Jackie Robinson Stadium, Mar. 3 at Dodger Stadium, Mar. 5 at Blair Field, Mar. 8 at Stu Gordon Stadium). It was just the second time that's occurred for the Bruins over the last eight seasons, matching a stretch from May 9-15, 2021 that saw UCLA play four successive games at Washington State's Bailey-Brayton Field, LMU's Page Stadium, Jackie Robinson Stadium, and UC Santa Barbara's Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.ย
Good Eyeย ย ย
So far this season, UCLA has issued more walks than its drawn just three times in 14 games. The Bruins own a plus-28 walk differential overall on the season (70 drawn, 42 issued), good for first in the Pac-12, third among schools in the western half of the country, and 32nd overall in the NCAA. UCLA is averaging 10.2 free passes (walks + hit batters) per game in wins this season, compared to 3.9 in losses.
Tuesday, Mar. 12, 2024 - 6:00 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Jackie Robinson Stadium)
TV: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Brian Webber
Stream:ย Pac-12.comย / Pac-12 Now app
Audio:ย UCLA Lean Player
Play-by-Play Talent:ย Nick Koop
Live Stats
UCLA Opens Eight-Game Homestand by Hosting Connecticutย ย ย
After playing five straight games away from home, the UCLA baseball team (5-9, 0-3 Pac-12) returns to Jackie Robinson Stadium for its next eight games, starting on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. against Connecticut (3-8). The contest will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks and streamed on Pac-12.com, with Brian Webber on the call. Nick Koop will also be on hand for an audio-only broadcast, accessible on UCLABruins.com. Fans can also follow along with live stats (StatBroadcast) and X/Twitter updates (@UCLABaseball).ย
UCLA Quick Hitsย ย ย
- UCLA is 5-9 on the season, including a sweep of Gonzaga and midweek wins over Nevada and Long Beach State
- The Bruins are 5-1 so far this season in home games, but are seeking their first win away from Jackie Robinson Stadium
- The Bruins enter the week with a plus-28 walk differential (70 drawn, 42 issued)
- Michael Barnett enters the week with the second-best BB/9 rate (1.3) among all qualifying Pac-12 pitchers
- 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
Tuesday, Mar. 12 - 6 p.m. PTย
UCLA - Fr. RHP Landon Stump (0-1, 4.30 ERA)
UCONN - Gr. LHP Joe Cinnella (0-1, 5.68 ERA)
The All-Time Series Against Connecticutย ย ย
Tuesday marks the first-ever meeting in baseball between UCLA and UConn. In fact, the Bruins have only ever faced one of the six Division I schools from the state of Connecticut, going 3-0 all-time against Yale (2-0 in 1967, 1-0 in 1992). UCLA has never faced UConn, Central Connecticut, Fairfield, Quinnipiac, or Sacred Heart.
UCLA Against the Big Eastย ย ย
UCLA is 6-1 all-time against active Big East baseball programs, posting a 3-1 record against Creighton and a 3-0 mark against St. John's. The Bruins last played a Big East opponent in 2019, sweeping St. John's in a three-game series at Jackie Robinson Stadium to open the regular season. UCLA has never faced six of the eight Big East schools that sponsor baseball: Georgetown, Seton Hall, Xavier, Butler, Villanova, and Connecticut.
Friendly Confinesย ย ย
The Bruins are off to a hot start in home games so far this season, going 5-1 at Jackie Robinson Stadium. UCLA is outscoring its opponents 44-29 at home and holds sizable advantages in batting (.281-.222), OBP (.431-.310), slugging (.427-.363), and ERA (3.11-7.46).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.ย
The Week In Reviewย ย ย
UCLA is coming off an 0-4 week, dropping a Tuesday midweek at Long Beach State and a weekend series at California:
- TUE โ Freshman right-handers Landon Stump (4 IP, 1 ER, 8 K) and Luke Rodriguez (3 IP, faced the minimum) teamed up for seven standout innings on the mound, but UCLA couldn't get the bats going in a 2-0 loss at Long Beach State. Stump's 8 Ks were the most by a Bruin pitcher in a single game this year.ย
- FRI โ Duce Gourson had four RBIs and UCLA hit three home runs as a team, but California used a late charge to claim an 11-7 comeback win in Friday's series opener. UCLA led 7-1 at the midpoint of the game, but Cal scored 10 unanswered runs to close it out, tying it up with a six-spot in the fifth and going ahead for good two frames later. Gourson, Mulivai Levu, and Malakhi Knight all homered to help UCLA build that early lead.
- SAT โ Cal clinched the series with a 4-1 win in game two. The teams were tied or separated by one for most of the game, but Cal pulled away with a go-ahead two-run seventh before adding an insurance run in the eighth. Cody Schrier had a pair of hits and drove in UCLA's lone run. Finn McIlroy allowed just one run on three hits over four solid innings for UCLA, and Landon Stump followed with two scoreless relief innings.ย
- SUN โ Caleb Lomavita hit a walk-off three-run home run to finish off a 6-5 Cal win in game three. UCLA never trailed until the game-winning hit, as Mulivai Levu hit a pair of homers as UCLA went ahead 5-1 through seven. Jack Holman added a solo homer and senior left fielder JonJon Vaughns had a strong two-way game, robbing a potential go-ahead home-run in the bottom of the sixth and contributing an RBI single in the fourth.ย
UCLA enters the week ranked highly in the following team stats:
- BB/9 - 3.19 (3rd in the Pac-12 / 20th in the NCAA)
- Shutouts - 1 (2nd / 40th)
- K-BB Ratio - 2.62 (2nd / 41st)
- WHIP - 1.42 (5th / 75th)
- ERA - 4.79 (5th / 84th)
- Double plays turned - 11 (6th / 76th)
- UCLA is 35-12 in midweek contests since the start of 2019
- The Bruins are 2-1 so far this year in midweeks, defeating Nevada and LBSU at home
- 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
- Duce Gourson (.692 SLG, four RBIs), Rashad Ruff (3 IP, 0 R, 6 K), and Cody Delvecchio (2.1 IP, 0 H) 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
UCLA freshman first baseman Mulivai Levu hit three home runs during the Cal series, including a two-HR performance in the series finale. He became the first Bruin in 2024 with multiple home runs in one game, and moved into a tie for the team lead with four on the season (Duce Gourson). In addition, Levu's four homers are tied for the most among all Pac-12 freshmen. The Huntington Beach native is the first Bruin frosh with a two-homer game since current Cincinnati Red Matt McLain had two bombs at Washington State on May 12, 2019.
Change of Sceneryย ย ย
UCLA recently had a stretch that saw the team play four consecutive games in different venues (Mar. 1 at Jackie Robinson Stadium, Mar. 3 at Dodger Stadium, Mar. 5 at Blair Field, Mar. 8 at Stu Gordon Stadium). It was just the second time that's occurred for the Bruins over the last eight seasons, matching a stretch from May 9-15, 2021 that saw UCLA play four successive games at Washington State's Bailey-Brayton Field, LMU's Page Stadium, Jackie Robinson Stadium, and UC Santa Barbara's Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.ย
Good Eyeย ย ย
So far this season, UCLA has issued more walks than its drawn just three times in 14 games. The Bruins own a plus-28 walk differential overall on the season (70 drawn, 42 issued), good for first in the Pac-12, third among schools in the western half of the country, and 32nd overall in the NCAA. UCLA is averaging 10.2 free passes (walks + hit batters) per game in wins this season, compared to 3.9 in losses.
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