UCLA Baseball Closes Home Schedule Against California
May 19, 2011
California at UCLA - Game Notes 
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LOS ANGELES - The UCLA baseball team hosts a three-game Pac-10 series against California at Steele Field at Jackie Robinson Stadium this weekend. The Bruins (29-19, 14-7) are tied for second place in the Pac-10, two games ahead of fourth-place California (29-16, 12-9).
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday, May 20 - 6 p.m.
California - Erik Johnson, RHP, Jr. (5-2, 2.11)
UCLA - Gerrit Cole, RHP, Jr. (5-6 3.42)
Saturday, May 21 - 2 p.m.
California - Dixon Anderson, RHP, Jr. (4-2, 4.29)
UCLA - Trevor Bauer, RHP, Jr. (10-2, 1.40)
Sunday, May 22 - 1 p.m.
California - Justin Jones, LHP, So. (7-4, 3.05)
UCLA - Adam Plutko, RHP, Fr. (5-3, 1.65)
LISTEN LIVE ONLINE (click here)
Each of UCLA's remaining seven regular-season ballgames will feature a live audio broadcast online, free of charge, at uclabruins.com. UCLA's John Ramey and Tim Wilhelm will have the call from Jackie Robinson Stadium this weekend as the Bruins take on California. In addition, fans unable to attend this weekend's games can follow 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 this weekend's games against California cost $7 for adults and $5 for children (ages 16 and under). 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.
THIS WEEKEND
UCLA will play its final home games of the regular season this weekend in a three-game Pac-10 series against California. The Bruins will send right-hander Gerrit Cole to the mound for Friday evening's series opener. UCLA enters the weekend in a tie for second place in the Pac-10 with Arizona State, two games ahead of fourth-place California. Last season, UCLA swept a three-game series against the Golden Bears at Evans Diamond.
THE LAST 10
Winners in seven of their last 10 ballgames, UCLA resumes Pac-10 play this weekend after having won two of three games against Cal State Bakersfield last weekend. The Bruins dropped the series opener on Friday, 5-1, before rebounding with a 10-1 victory on Saturday and a 3-2 win on Sunday. Tuesday night's game against Cal State Fullerton was canceled due to an electrical malfunction with the stadium lights prior to the game.
COMPLETE STREAK
Junior right-hander Trevor Bauer has hurled six consecutive complete games as UCLA's Saturday starter, totaling seven complete games this season. Bauer fanned 13 batters, allowing one run and eight hits, in the Bruins' 10-1 victory last Saturday against Cal State Bakersfield. He leads the nation with 167 strikeouts, the highest single-season total in school history (eclipsing his previous record of 165, established last season).
NATIONAL SELECTION
Junior right-hander Trevor Bauer was selected as a National Player of the Week selection for the sixth time this season on Monday by Louisville Slugger. Bauer, a five-time Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week honoree this year, has logged at least 10 strikeouts in 12 of his 13 starts. He has twice tallied a career-high 17 strikeouts this spring and is atop UCLA's career record book in wins (31), strikeouts (424) and innings pitched (346.1).
FINISHING THE WEEKEND
Freshman Adam Plutko has gone 5-3 with a 1.60 ERA, second-lowest in the Pac-10, totaling 80 strikeouts and 18 walks in 87.1 innings. Serving as UCLA's Sunday starter, Plutko has earned the victory in each of his last three starts. Through his last seven starts (since April 3), he has gone 3-0 with a 1.24 ERA, allowing seven earned runs in 50.2 innings. Plutko was a sixth-round selection in the 2010 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros.
POINT BLANK
UCLA has thrown nine shutouts, the most for the Bruins since 1978 (nine). In 1969, the Bruins hurled a school-record 10 shutouts. UCLA totaled eight shutouts in 1967 and had five in 2008, 1992 and 1977. Last season, UCLA's vaunted staff hurled just one shutout. The Bruins opened this season with six shutouts in their first 18 games. UCLA has tossed three shutouts in Pac-10 action.
ATOP THE OFFENSE
Beau Amaral leads UCLA with a .316 batting average and has totaled two home runs, 26 RBI and 32 runs. He leads all Bruins with a .433 on-base percentage and has stolen eight bases in 11 attempts. Amaral has started each of the team's last 44 games in center field.
THE COLE FILE
Gerrit Cole is among five UCLA pitchers in school history to have collected at least 20 wins and 250 strikeouts in a minimum of 250 innings (others include Trevor Bauer, Jim Parque, Alex Sanchez and Tim Leary). Cole enters Friday's game with a 5-6 record and 3.42 ERA, having compiled 93 strikeouts and 18 walks (two intentional) in 92.0 innings.
RECORD WATCH
Trevor Bauer has become UCLA's career leader in strikeouts (424), wins (31) and innings (346.1), posting a career record of 31-8 (29-5 as a starter). He has become the only pitcher in school history to record at least 10 wins in at least two seasons (10-2 in 2011, 12-3 in 2010). Bauer has averaged 12.8 strikeouts per start this season.
LEFT-HANDED LEADER
Mitchell Beacom, a 6-foot-8 left-handed reliever from San Diego, has posted a 1.69 ERA and 0-2 record in a team-leading 24 relief appearances this season. Beacom has struck out 37 batters and issued just seven walks in 32.0 innings out of the bullpen. This season, he has averaged 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
NATIONAL WATCH LISTS
Junior right-handers Trevor Bauer and Gerrit Cole are among the 60 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award, as announced by USA Baseball on May 3. The Golden Spikes Award is presented at the conclusion of each season to the nation's top amateur baseball player. In addition, Bauer has been named as one of 25 pitchers to the National Pitcher of the Year Watch List, as announced by the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
KEEPING CONSISTENT
Sophomore left fielder Cody Keefer has batted .311 with a .403 on-base percentage, UCLA's second-highest averages through 48 games. Keefer belted his first home run of the season on Saturday, leading the Bruins past Cal State Bakersfield, 10-1. Keefer leads the Bruins over the last 16 ballgames with a .365 batting average and 10 runs. In that 16-game span, he has posted a .469 on-base percentage and collected six doubles.
PACKING SOME POWER
Sophomore infielder Cody Regis has been among UCLA's most prolific power hitters in 2011. He leads the team with four home runs and 37 RBI. After batting .179 through the Bruins' first 14 games, Regis has since hit safely in 27 of UCLA's 34 contests, posting a .325 batting average in that span. The native of Glendora, Calif., leads all current UCLA ballplayers with 13 career home runs, 84 career RBI and 62 career walks.
NEWS AND NOTES
UCLA leads the Pac-10 Conference in ERA (2.33), opponent batting average (.199) and strikeouts (481) ... junior right-hander Trevor Bauer leads the nation in strikeouts (167) and strikeouts per nine innings (13.70) ... junior infielder Dean Espy is the only Bruin to have played in all 48 games this year ... junior infielder Tyler Rahmatulla has been suspended for the remainder of the 2011 season (academics).
SENIOR DAY
UCLA's baseball program will honor five seniors (a group that includes three redshirt juniors) on Sunday, as the Bruins host their final home game of the regular-season that afternoon. Seniors Chris Giovinazzo and Jordan Haver and redshirt juniors Mitchell Beacom, Brandon Lodge and Marc Navarro will be in uniform at Jackie Robinson Stadium for the final time during the regular season. Giovinazzo has played in 169 career games, entering Friday's series opener having compiled a .260 batting average with six home runs and 50 RBI.
CHASING HISTORY
UCLA was no-hit by Oregon State's Josh Osich on April 30, the first no-hitter against UCLA (and in a Pac-10 game) since May 8, 1994, when Stanford's Jason Middlebrook no-hit UCLA. This season, two Bruin starters have had a no-hitter intact through six innings. Gerrit Cole had a perfect game broken with two outs in the seventh at Nebraska (March 4) and with one out in the seventh against Georgia (March 11). Trevor Bauer had a perfect game with one out in the seventh at USC (March 26) and allowed his first hit with one out in the eighth.
SUCCESS ON THE MOUND
Five of the Pac-10 Conference's top 11 career strikeout leaders have been coached by UCLA seventh-year head coach John Savage. UCLA's Trevor Bauer ranks third on the list (424) and teammate Gerrit Cole is 11th overall (350) entering this weekend's Pac-10 series against California. Savage spent four seasons as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Southern California (1997-2000), where he coached Rik Currier (2nd, 449), Seth Etherton (4th, 420) and Mark Prior (10th, 352).
THIS WEEK'S POLLS
The Bruins are ranked in three of the five prominent college baseball polls this week. Collegiate Baseball has tabbed UCLA at No. 17, ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll has the Bruins No. 21 and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association has UCLA No. 21. Two Pac-10 teams have been ranked by Baseball America - Oregon State (3), Arizona State (8). Collegiate Baseball has ranked five Pac-10 teams in its top 30.
SIX-SEASON COMPOSITE
In conference games over the last five-plus seasons (2006-11), UCLA ranks second in both wins (87) and winning percentage (.596). Overall, the Bruins are fourth in total wins (206) and winning percentage (.584). UCLA finished second in the Pac-10 in 2010, after having posted a third-place finish the previous four years.