No. 20 UCLA Baseball Hosts San Diego State on Tuesday Night

No. 20 UCLA Baseball Hosts San Diego State on Tuesday Night

April 18, 2011

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LOS ANGELES - The No. 20 UCLA baseball team plays a non-conference game Tuesday evening against San Diego State (11-25). The Bruins (19-12) have won eight of their last 11 ballgames and will send freshman right-hander Zack Weiss (2-1, 2.63 ERA) to the mound for Tuesday's contest.

TUESDAY NIGHT'S STARTERS
Tuesday, April 19 (6 p.m.)
SDSU - Mike Hachadorian, RHP, Jr. (0-2, 6.75)
UCLA - Zack Weiss, RHP, Fr. (2-1, 2.63)

LISTEN LIVE ONLINE (click here)
UCLA's game against San Diego State will feature a live audio broadcast online, free of charge, at uclabruins.com. Listen live as UCLA's John Ramey and Tim Wilhelm call the game from Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins' three Pac-10 games at Stanford this week (Thursday through Saturday) will also feature a live audio broadcast online. In addition, fans can follow the action online through GameTracker, which provides pitch-by-pitch updates of the game in progress on uclabruins.com.

GETTING TO JACKIE ROBINSON STADIUM
Steele Field at Jackie Robinson Stadium is located on the grounds of the West L.A. Veteran Administration, north of Wilshire Blvd. and west of the 405 Freeway. From the 405 North, exit Wilshire Blvd. (west offramp), stay in the right lane coming down the offramp and turn right onto Sepulveda Blvd. Continue until Constitution Ave. and turn left. Parking lots for the ballpark are located on the north side of Constitution Ave.

TICKETS AND PARKING
Tickets to Tuesday night's game against San Diego State cost just $2 as part of the Bruins' ongoing "Two-Dollar Tuesday" promotion. Parking on the VA grounds costs $7. UCLA's baseball concession stand is stocked with hot dogs, peanuts, nachos, chili, sodas and much more classic ballpark food.

MIDWEEK MATCHUP
UCLA plays San Diego State on Tuesday night before opening a three-game Pac-10 series at Stanford on Thursday. The Bruins earned a 5-2 victory at San Diego State on March 1 in UCLA's eighth game of the season. Scott Griggs started for the Bruins in that contest, but Zack Weiss earned the victory by tossing 3.1 hitless innings of relief. Beau Amaral went 3-for-5 with one double, one run and one RBI in the previous meeting against the Aztecs. A win on Tuesday would hand UCLA its first season series victory over SDSU since 2006.

WEEKEND IN REVIEW
The Bruins won the final two of three games over Arizona last weekend to secure their fourth consecutive Pac-10 series victory. UCLA's pitching staff tallied 29 strikeouts and one walk in 27.0 innings, limiting the Pac-10's top-hitting team (.340 batting average prior to the series) to a .202 batting average. Trevor Bauer struck out 13 on Saturday as the Bruins blanked Arizona, 4-0. In Sunday's series finale, UCLA erased a 5-2 fifth-inning deficit as Beau Amaral went 3-for-4 with a career-high six RBI, leading the Bruins to an 8-5 win.

CENTER STAGE
Sophomore center fielder Beau Amaral had a tremendous day at the plate in UCLA's 8-5 win on Sunday. Aside from a 3-for-4 effort, Amaral belted a game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the 7th, knotting the game at 5-5. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, Amaral slapped a three-run double into the left field corner, sending UCLA ahead by an 8-5 margin in a crucial series finale against Arizona. Amaral's six RBI were the most in a game by a Bruin since March 7, 2008, when Gabe Cohen had six in a victory over Saint Mary's.

POWER PITCHING
UCLA's pitching staff has posted a 2.14 ERA, the lowest mark among Pac-10 teams. The Bruins also lead the Pac-10 with 325 strikeouts and a .190 opponent batting average. UCLA's pitchers are atop the conference in strikeouts per nine innings (10.4) and hits allowed per nine innings (5.98). The Bruins have hurled seven shutouts and limited the opposition to five hits or fewer in 15 of 31 games this season.

PAC-10 PLAY
The Bruins enter this week tied for second place in the Pac-10 with California (both at 9-3), trailing conference leader Oregon State (8-1) by one-half game. Arizona State (8-4) and USC (6-6) round out the top five teams in the Pac-10 standings, nearly halfway through the 27-game conference schedule. In Pac-10 games, Beau Amaral ranks fourth in the league in batting average (.405) and second in on-base percentage (.519).

POINT BLANK
UCLA has thrown seven shutouts through its first 31 games, the most shutouts for a Bruins' ballclub in one season since 1978. In comparison, UCLA's vaunted pitching staff hurled just one shutout last spring. Since 1967, UCLA has pitched seven or more shutouts in four seasons. The Bruins' 1969 team hurled a school-record 10 shutouts. UCLA had nine shutouts in 1978, eight in 1967, and five in 2008, 1992 and 1977.

THE COLE FILE
Junior right-hander Gerrit Cole has thrown three complete games this season, having gone 4-3 with a 2.22 ERA as the Bruins' Friday starter. Slated to start Thursday night at Stanford, Cole ranks second on the list of NCAA active career strikeout leaders (332), tied with Southern Mississippi's Todd McInnis. He has thrown back-to-back complete games in Pac-10 play this season (April 1 vs. Washington, April 8 at Washington State).

RECORD WATCH
Trevor Bauer has become UCLA's career leader in strikeouts (367) and wins (28). He improved his career record to 28-7 last Saturday, throwing a complete game shutout against Arizona. Bauer also climbed to fourth on UCLA's career innings list (310.1). He has collected a 26-4 all-time record as a starting pitcher (went 2-3 in relief in 2009).

WEEKLY AWARDS
For the second straight week, Trevor Bauer secured Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week and Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week honors. He has earned Pac-10 weekly honors seven times in his career (four times this season). He leads the Pac-10 in strikeouts (110), innings (73.2) and opponent batting average (.148) and is tied for the conference lead in wins (7, with OSU's Sam Gaviligio).

HEATING UP
UCLA's offense has batted at a .313 clip through the last eight games. Beau Amaral leads the way in that eight-game span with a .452 batting average, one home run, two doubles and a .528 on-base percentage. Five other Bruins are each hitting above the .300 plateau in UCLA's last eight games - Steve Rodriguez (.381), Pat Valaika (.375), Jeff Gelalich (.367), Cody Regis (.355) and Dean Espy (.310). In Pac-10 play, UCLA is hitting .283 with Amaral leading the group at a .405 clip.

STREAKING
Sophomore Cody Regis has compiled a team-leading 12-game hitting streak, the longest by any UCLA hitter since Regis hit in 15 consecutive games last season (streak was snapped in finals of 2010 College World Series). Regis has batted .356 (16-for-45) with three doubles, one triple and 11 RBI during the streak. He has hit safely in 16 of the team's last 17 games, drawing two walks in the one game in which he went hitless. Sophomores Beau Amaral and Jeff Gelalich each enter Tuesday's game carrying an eight-game hitting streak.

MR. VERSATILE
Midway through the season, Trevor Brown has played four positions on the infield at UCLA. Last year, he served as a catcher in addition to playing third and first base. This season, he has played at third, first and second. Brown has started UCLA's last 10 of the last 11 games at second base in place of Tyler Rahmatulla (pending academic issue). Last summer, he played shortstop for the Wenatchee AppleSox (West Coast League).

CAUGHT RED-HANDED
Junior catcher Steve Rodriguez has thrown out 14 of 27 attempted base stealers this spring, including six of 10 attempts in Pac-10 action. Rodriguez is converting on the basepaths at a 51.9 percent clip, highest among Pac-10 catchers who have had at least 20 attempts against. In addition, Rodriguez is batting .291 with five doubles and 12 RBI, including a .389 batting average in Pac-10 play.

POWER OF THE PAC
Five Pac-10 teams are currently ranked in one of the five college baseball polls. UCLA checks in at No. 20 in Baseball America, with its highest ranking coming from Collegiate Baseball (No. 11). Baseball America's poll features five Pac-10 teams, including Oregon State (3), Arizona State (9), California (15), UCLA (20) and Arizona (23). Last season, a record eight Pac-10 teams advanced to NCAA Regionals, the highest percentage of teams to advance from one conference in the sport's history.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
In UCLA's 19 victories, the Bruins' pitching staff has limited the opposition to 30 runs (22 earned), for a 1.14 ERA. That translates to an average of 1.57 runs allowed per game when UCLA wins. The Bruins have held their opponents to two runs or fewer in 17 of 31 games, going 14-3 in those contests. Opponents have scored five runs or more in nine ballgames with no more than eight runs in a single game (San Jose State, Feb. 27).

2010 IN REVIEW
UCLA advanced to the finals of the College World Series in 2010 for the first time ever. The Bruins earned their third trip to the College World Series (first since 1997), defeating Cal State Fullerton in an NCAA Super Regional. UCLA's 51 total wins and 43 regular-season victories established school records. The pitching staff led the nation with 700 strikeouts, (school record) after the Bruins opened with a program-best 22-game win streak. UCLA hosted an NCAA Regional for the first time since 1986 (first-ever Super Regional host).

FIVE-YEAR COMPOSITE
In conference games over the last five-plus seasons (2006-11), UCLA ranks second in both wins (82) and winning percentage (.599). Overall, the Bruins rank fourth in total wins (196) and winning percentage (.587). UCLA finished second in the Pac-10 in 2010, after having posted a third-place finish the previous four years. The Bruins have advanced to the postseason in four of the last five seasons.