No. 24 UCLA Baseball Set for Two Midweek Games

No. 24 UCLA Baseball Set for Two Midweek Games

May 9, 2011

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LOS ANGELES - The No. 24 UCLA baseball team plays at Long Beach State (23-22) on Tuesday night before hosting UC Santa Barbara (20-21) on Wednesday evening. Freshman Zack Weiss will start for the Bruins at Blair Field on Tuesday.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Tuesday, May 10 (6:30 p.m., Blair Field)
UCLA - Zack Weiss, RHP, Fr. (5-1, 1.99)
Long Beach State - Shawn Stuart, RHP, Jr. (2-3, 4.09)

Wednesday, May 11 (6 p.m., Jackie Robinson Stadium)
UC Santa Barbara - Nick Loredo, RHP, Sr. (3-2, 4.03)
UCLA - Scott Griggs, RHP, So. (1-0, 5.68)

LISTEN LIVE ONLINE (click here)
UCLA's remaining 13 regular-season games will feature a live audio broadcast online, free of charge, at uclabruins.com. Fans can listen to Tuesday's game against Long Beach State (from Blair Field) and Wednesday evening's home game versus UC Santa Barbara 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.

HIGH FIVE
Looking to extend their season-long five game winning streak, the Bruins play five games this week, starting with a pair of midweek contests at Long Beach State (Tuesday) and at home against UC Santa Barbara (Wednesday). UCLA defeated Long Beach State, 6-4, in both teams' only other meeting on April 12 at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Wednesday night's contest against UC Santa Barbara was added to the schedule after one of UCLA's games at Cal Poly the weekend of March 19-21 was canceled due to rain.

TUESDAY SUCCESS
UCLA has gone 6-2 through eight midweek games, having won each of its last four. Freshman right-hander Zack Weiss, slated to start Tuesday against Long Beach State, has posted a 5-1 record with a 1.29 ERA in midweek games (4-1 as a starting pitcher in that role). The Bruins have recorded a .311 batting average on Tuesdays, with Pat Valaika (7-for-15) and Kevin Williams (6-for-13) each hitting above .460 in those games.

WEEKEND IN REVIEW
The Bruins swept a three-game Pac-10 series at Oregon last weekend, outscoring the host Ducks by a 14-2 margin. Freshman right-hander Adam Plutko threw a two-hit complete game shutout on Sunday in UCLA's 4-0 victory. Junior right-hander Trevor Bauer hurled his fifth consecutive complete game on Saturday, leading the Bruins to a 3-1 win. Junior right-hander Gerrit Cole limited Oregon to one run and six hits through 7.1 innings on Friday night, as UCLA downed Oregon by a 7-1 margin in the series opener.

BAUER POWER
Junior right-hander Trevor Bauer leads the nation in strikeouts (154), strikeouts per nine innings (13.76) and hits allowed per nine innings (4.38), through May 8. He has thrown six complete games this spring (including each of his last five starts) and has logged at least 10 strikeouts in 11 of his 12 starts. He has been named Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week on four occasions and Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week five times.

TWO-HIT SHUTOUT
Freshman right-hander Adam Plutko fired UCLA's second complete game shutout of the season on Sunday, limiting Oregon to two hits and three baserunners. He secured the victory for the second consecutive start, improving to 4-3 on the season with a 1.59 ERA (second-lowest in the Pac-10). Plutko has pitched six innings or more in 11 of his 12 appearances and has limited the opposition to two runs or fewer in nine outings.

ON A ROLL
UCLA has won 10 of its last 14 games, including each of its last five. Through their last six games, the Bruins have surrendered just six runs, collecting 59 strikeouts and 11 walks in 54.0 innings on the mound. UCLA outscored its opposition, 24-2, in four wins last week. Not only does UCLA lead the Pac-10 with a 2.27 ERA, the Bruins are also tops in the conference with a .197 opponent batting average.

THE COLE FILE
Junior right-hander Gerrit Cole has started each of UCLA's series-opening games this season, going 5-5 with a 3.25 ERA and three complete games. He has collected 81 strikeouts and 16 walks in 75.2 innings and has limited the opposition to under two runs in six of his 12 starts.

GIVE HIM AN ESPY
Junior first baseman Dean Espy leads UCLA with a .315 batting average and is second on the team with 29 RBI. Hailing from Mesa, Ariz., Espy is tied for the team lead in multiple-RBI games (six) and has registered a team-best 16 multiple-hit games.

POINT BLANK
UCLA has thrown nine shutouts, the most for the Bruins since 1978 (nine). UCLA's vaunted pitching staff hurled just one shutout last spring. The Bruins opened this season with six shutouts in their first 18 games. UCLA's 1969 ballclub hurled a school-record 10 shutouts.

RECORD WATCH
Trevor Bauer has become UCLA's career leader in strikeouts (411) and wins (30), posting a career 30-8 record (28-5 as a starter). Bauer's 411 strikeouts is fourth all-time among Pac-10 pitchers. He ranks second on UCLA's career innings list (337.1). His nation-best 154 strikeouts this season ranks second on UCLA's single-season strikeouts list.

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.

360 FEET Last Tuesday, sophomore Cody Regis recorded UCLA's first inside-the-park home run since March 22, 2008, when shortstop Brandon Crawford accomplished the feat in the second game of a doubleheader against Long Beach State at Blair Field. Regis' deep fly ball to right field short-hopped off the wall. Pepperdine right fielder Harrison Kain injured himself slamming into the fence, allowing Regis to round the bases.

BACK FROM EUGENE
Freshman Kevin Williams went 4-for-6 with one walk and a key two-RBI single in two games at Oregon las weekend. Sophomore Cody Regis went 5-for-10 with four RBI and two walks, and sophomore Cody Keefer went 5-for-12 (.417) with one run and two RBI. While UCLA's pitching staff shut down Oregon, holding the Ducks to just two runs and 13 hits, the Bruins' offense posted a .306 batting average (30-for-98) with five doubles and four stolen bases in five attempts.

NEWS AND NOTES
UCLA's weekend starters (Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer, Adam Plutko) have logged 308 strikeouts in 262.2 innings, averaging 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings ... that trio has posted a 2.06 ERA, limiting the opposition to 10.1 hits and walks allowed per nine innings (WHIP) ... first baseman Dean Espy is the only Bruin to have played all 43 games ... second baseman Tyler Rahmatulla is unable to play, pending the resolution of an academic issue.

CHASING HISTORY
UCLA was no-hit by Oregon State left-hander Josh Osich on April 30, marking the first no-hitter against UCLA (and in a Pac-10 game) since May 8, 1994, when Stanford's Jason Middlebrook no-hit UCLA in the second game of a doubleheader in Palo Alto, Calif. UCLA pitchers have had a no-hitter through six innings three times this season. Gerrit Cole had a perfect game broken with two outs in the seventh inning 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 and had his no-hit bid broken with one out in the eighth inning that night (March 26).

THIS WEEK'S POLLS
The Bruins are ranked in four of the five prominent college baseball polls this week. Collegiate Baseball has tabbed UCLA at No. 13, ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll has the Bruins No. 19, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association has UCLA No. 20, and Baseball America has tabbed the Bruins No. 24. Three Pac-10 teams have been ranked by Baseball America - Oregon State (3), Arizona State (6) and UCLA (24).

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 (87) and winning percentage (.590). Overall, the Bruins are fourth in total wins (201) 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.