No. 24 UCLA Baseball Set to Face UC Irvine on Tuesday

No. 24 UCLA Baseball Set to Face UC Irvine on Tuesday

April 25, 2011

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LOS ANGELES - The No. 24 UCLA baseball team hosts a non-conference game against UC Irvine on Tuesday evening. The Bruins (21-14) will send freshman right-hander Zack Weiss to the mound against UC Irvine (26-10) at Steele Field at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

TUESDAY NIGHT'S STARTERS
Tuesday, April 26 (6 p.m.)
UC Irvine - Andy Lines, LHP, RS So. (3-1, 2.42)
UCLA - Zack Weiss, RHP, Fr. (3-1, 2.78)

LISTEN LIVE ONLINE (click here)
UCLA's game against UC Irvine will feature a live audio broadcast online, free of charge, at uclabruins.com. Listen live as UCLA's John Ramey call the game from Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins' three games against Oregon State at Jackie Robinson Stadium this weekend 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 UC Irvine cost just $2 as part of the Bruins' ongoing "Two-Dollar Tuesday" promotion. Parking on the VA grounds costs $7. Tickets to games on the weekend cost $7 for adults and $5 for children. UCLA's baseball concession stand is stocked with hot dogs, peanuts, nachos, chili, sodas and much more classic ballpark food.

WHAT'S ON DECK
UCLA hosts a midweek meeting Tuesday night against UC Irvine before opening a three-game Pac-10 series against No. 3 Oregon State on Friday. Last season, the Bruins went 2-1 against UC Irvine, splitting a pair of midweek contests before defeating the Anteaters, 6-2, in the finals of the NCAA Los Angeles Regional. Freshman right-hander Zack Weiss will start for the Bruins. Weiss, who has gone 3-1 with a 2.78 ERA, has started each of the Bruins' last four midweek games. He has totaled 29 strikeouts in 32.1 innings.

BAUER POWER
Junior right-hander Trevor Bauer leads all Pac-10 pitchers in strikeouts (127), innings (82.2), wins (8) and opponent batting average (.145) and ranks second in ERA (1.42). Bauer has earned Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week honors four times this season, including each of the last three weeks. He has thrown a complete game to earn the victory in each of his last three starts, all in Pac-10 play, and earned the victory in his last seven starts. He has twice logged a career-high 17 strikeouts this spring, notching at least 10 in nine of his 10 starts.

WEEKEND IN REVIEW
The Bruins dropped two of three games at Stanford last weekend, the team's first losing weekend since going 1-2 at the Dodgertown Classic (March 11-13). UCLA had won its previous four weekend series, all in Pac-10 play. In Saturday's series finale, the Bruins' let a 4-1 lead slip away with two outs in the ninth as Stanford rallied with four runs. Cody Keefer went 6-for-12 with four doubles and three runs in the series at Stanford. The Bruins dropped a 7-4 decision on Thursday, surrendering a season-high three home runs.

DOUBLE VISION
Sophomore outfielder Cody Keefer batted .500 in four games last week, going 8-for-16 with a team-leading four doubles. Keefer had two doubles in each of the Bruins' final two games at Stanford, going 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI in a 4-1 victory on Friday evening. He went 2-for-4 in Saturday's series finale, scoring one run. The resident of Davis, Calif. has batted .306 with nine doubles and 18 runs in 34 starts this spring.

CENTER STAGE
Sophomore center fielder Beau Amaral leads UCLA with a .312 batting average. Amaral has collected a team-high 11 doubles and ranks third on the team with 18 RBI. Among the team's hottest hitters over the last month, he leads UCLA in Pac-10 games with a .370 batting average (fifth-highest in the Pac-10), having gone 20-for-54 with 10 runs and 11 RBI in conference action. He totaled six RBI in an 8-5 win over Arizona on April 17.

POWER PITCHING
UCLA's pitching staff has posted a 2.42 ERA, the lowest mark among Pac-10 teams. The Bruins also lead the Pac-10 with 360 strikeouts and a .192 opponent batting average. UCLA's pitchers are atop the conference in strikeouts per nine innings (10.25) and hits allowed per nine innings (6.09). The Bruins have hurled seven shutouts and limited the opposition to five hits or fewer in 17 of 35 games this season.

POINT BLANK
UCLA has thrown seven shutouts through its first 35 games, the most for a Bruins' ballclub 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.

THE COLE FILE
Junior right-hander Gerrit Cole has started each of UCLA's series-opening games this season, going 4-4 with a 2.78 ERA and three complete games. Cole pitched complete games to earn the victory on back-to-back starts against Washington (April 1) and at Washington State (April 8). He has collected 76 strikeouts and just 12 walks in 71.1 innings, compiling a 0.88 WHIP as a junior this spring.

RECORD WATCH
Trevor Bauer has become UCLA's career leader in strikeouts (387) and wins (29), posting a career 29-7 record (27-4 all-time as a starter). His 387 strikeouts is fourth all-time among Pac-10 pitchers. He ranks fourth on UCLA's career innings list (319.1), standing 21.2 innings shy of tying Alex Sanchez's all-time innings pitched record.

HEATING UP
UCLA's offense has batted at a .324 clip through its last eight games and has posted a .305 batting average through the last 16 contests. Pat Valaika leads UCLA with a .455 batting average through the last eight games, going 10-for-22 with three doubles and one homer. Cody Keefer has batted .419 in the last eight contests, totaling one triple and five doubles. Beau Amaral leads the Bruins through their last 16 games with a .379 batting average, going 22-for-58 with 14 of the team's 80 runs.

STREAKING
Sophomore Cody Regis had a career-long 15-game hitting streak come to an end on April 23 at Stanford. During that streak, Regis batted .370 with three doubles, one triple and one home run. Regis' streak was the longest since Beau Amaral hit in 15 consecutive games in April and May of 2010. Amaral has currently compiled a season-long 12-game hitting streak, posting a .391 batting average in that span. No Bruin has recorded a hitting streak longer than 16 games since 2005, when Chris Jensen hit in 18 straight contests.

MILESTONE VICTORIES
In his seventh season as UCLA's head coach, John Savage has picked up two milestone victories this spring. Savage earned career win No. 200 at UCLA on March 12 (vs. Saint Mary's). One week ago in a win over San Diego State, he collected career victory No. 300. Savage accrued 88 wins in three seasons as UC Irvine's head coach (2002-2004) and has logged 212 wins midway through his seventh year at UCLA.

CAUGHT RED-HANDED
Junior catcher Steve Rodriguez has thrown out 14 of 28 attempted base stealers this spring, including six of 11 attempts in Pac-10 action. Rodriguez is converting on the basepaths at a 50 percent clip, highest among Pac-10 catchers who have had at least 25 attempts against. In addition, Rodriguez is batting .270 with five doubles and 13 RBI, including a .326 batting average in Pac-10 play this season.

NEWS AND NOTES
UCLA's weekend starters (Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer, Adam Plutko) have logged 258 strikeouts in 218 innings, averaging 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings ... that trio has posted a 1.94 ERA, limiting the opposition to 7.7 hits and walks allowed per nine innings (WHIP) ... first baseman Dean Espy is the only Bruin to have played all 35 games ... second baseman Tyler Rahmatulla is unable to play, pending the resolution of an academic issue.

POWER OF THE PAC
Five Pac-10 teams are currently ranked in one of the five college baseball polls. UCLA checks in at No. 24 in Baseball America, with its highest ranking coming from Collegiate Baseball (No. 13). Baseball America's poll features five Pac-10 teams, including Oregon State (3), Arizona State (8), California (20), Stanford (21) and UCLA (24). 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.

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 wins and 43 regular-season victories established school records. The pitching staff led the nation with 700 strikeouts, (school and Pac-10 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).

SIX-SEASON COMPOSITE
In conference games over the last five-plus seasons (2006-11), UCLA ranks second in both wins (83) and winning percentage (.593). Overall, the Bruins rank fourth in total wins (198) and winning percentage (.586). 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.