UCLA Baseball Opens Postseason Friday Against San Francisco

UCLA Baseball Opens Postseason Friday Against San Francisco

June 2, 2011

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LOS ANGELES - The No. 1-seed UCLA baseball team opens its postseason schedule on Friday night against No. 4-seed San Francisco (31-23) at the NCAA Los Angeles Regional. The Bruins (33-22) enter this year's tournament as the Pac-10 Conference Champions. All games at this weekend will feature a live video stream from Jackie Robinson Stadium.

LOS ANGELES REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Friday, June 3
Game 1 (2 p.m., Video )
3-seed UC Irvine (39-16) vs. 2-seed Fresno State (40-14)

Game 2 (6 p.m., Video )
4-seed San Francisco (31-23) vs. 1-seed UCLA (33-22)

Saturday, June 4
Game 3 (2 p.m., Video ) - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 4 (6 p.m., Video ) - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2

Sunday, June 5
Game 5 (2 p.m., Video ) - Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
Game 6 (6 p.m., Video ) - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5

Monday, June 6 (if necessary)
Game 7 (6 p.m., Video ) - Rematch of Game 6

STARTING PITCHERS (Friday, Game 2 at 6 p.m.)
San Francisco - Kyle Zimmer, RHP, So. (5-3, 4.08)
UCLA - Gerrit Cole, RHP, Jr. (6-7, 3.28)

LISTEN, WATCH LIVE ONLINE (click here for live audio)
Each game of UCLA's baseball games at this weekend's NCAA Regional will feature a live audio broadcast along with a live video stream from Jackie Robinson Stadium. UCLA's John Ramey, Tim Wilhelm and Nick Theodorou will provide the call of the Bruins' postseason contests this weekend. In addition, fans can follow online through GameTracker, which provides pitch-by-pitch updates of the game in progress on uclabruins.com. To access the video stream, fans can either click on the links above, or use the video links on the baseball schedule.

TICKETS, PARKING INFORMATION
Tickets for this weekend's NCAA Los Angeles Regional are on sale through the UCLA Central Ticket Office (310-825-2101). Fans can purchase tickets online via tickets.ucla.edu (or by clicking here). Fans may purchase All-Session Reserved ($80 adult, $65 student) or All-Session General Admission packages ($55 adult, $50 student). The student prices apply to all grade school, high school and college students. If any all-session tickets remain on Friday morning, they will be sold as individual game tickets. The 2 p.m. game would be on sale at the stadium and all others would be available online via tickets.ucla.edu or by clicking this link.

BRUINS IN THE POSTSEASON
UCLA has advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season and fifth time in the last six years under seventh-year head coach John Savage. UCLA will host the NCAA Los Angeles Regional at Jackie Robinson Stadium for the second straight year after having won the Pac-10 Championship for the first time since 2000 (first outright conference title since 1986). The Bruins have earned their 17th berth to an NCAA Regional. Last June, UCLA advanced to the finals of the College World Series for the first time in school history.

REGIONAL AT A GLANCE
The Bruins open NCAA Regional play against San Francisco, the 2011 West Coast Conference Champion. UCLA swept a three-game series to open the season against USF at home. UCLA will send junior right-hander Gerrit Cole to the hill on Friday. The Bruins split a pair of midweek games against UC Irvine this season and won the NCAA Regional Final at home against the Anteaters last year. UCLA has not played Fresno State since opening the 2006 season against the Bulldogs, the 2011 Western Athletic Conference Champions.

PAC-10 CHAMPIONS
Last weekend, UCLA secured its first outright Pac-10 title since 1986 (none of UCLA's current players were born until 1987). The Bruins entered the weekend trailing Oregon State by one game. Oregon State was swept in a three-game series at Oregon. UCLA's series victory over Arizona State was its first against the Sun Devils since 2006 and first in Tempe, Ariz., since 2003. Since the Pac-10 was established in 1979, the Bruins have won outright Pac-10 titles in 1979, 1986 and 2011, while earning a split of the championship in 2000.

DOMINANT PITCHING
UCLA has relied on its pitching staff this season, as the Bruins have posted a Pac-10 best 2.45 ERA with a conference leading 533 strikeouts, the second-highest total by UCLA in the modern era (dating to 1965). Trevor Bauer has gone 12-2 with a 1.27 ERA and leads the nation with 189 strikeouts. Gerrit Cole has gone 6-7 with a 3.28 ERA, logging 108 strikeouts and 23 walks in 107.0 innings. Adam Plutko has served as the team's third starter, going 6-4 with a 2.16 ERA, recording 86 strikeouts in 100.0 innings.

CENTER STAGE
Sophomore Beau Amaral has batted .307 through the regular season, making 54 starts (50 in center field). The native of Huntington Beach, Calif., has compiled a season-high 15 game hitting streak, matching his longest such streak from his freshman season. Amaral has been among UCLA's sparkplugs at the top of the lineup, posting a .411 slugging percentage with two home runs, three triples, 16 doubles and a team-high 35 runs. Amaral led UCLA in 2010 with a .354 batting average, playing in 64 games (57 starts).

WELL AWARDED
Junior right-hander Trevor Bauer has been named Collegiate Baseball's National Player of the Year and the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year. He has thrown eight consecutive complete games, totaling nine this season. In a 7-0 win at Arizona State last Saturday, Bauer struck out 14 and walked one, scattering just five hits through nine frames. He stands atop the UCLA career record book in strikeouts (446), wins (33) and innings (364.1). Bauer's 14 career complete games is tied with two former pitchers for second place on UCLA's all-time list.

COLE'S IN CONTROL
Junior right-hander Gerrit Cole has notched 108 strikeouts and just 23 walks (two intentional) in 107.0 innings this season. Sporting a 6-7 record and 3.28 ERA as the Bruins' regular Friday night starter, Cole earned the victory in UCLA's 10-3 series-opening win at Arizona State last Friday. He struck out nine hitters, allowing three runs and nine hits through eight innings. The resident of Santa Ana, Calif., ranks second on UCLA's all-time strikeouts list (365) and fifth in career innings pitched (315.0).

POINT BLANK
UCLA has tied the school record for shutouts in a single season with 10. The Bruins' 1969 ballclub also fired 10 shutouts en route to earning the program's first-ever appearance to that season's College World Series. UCLA tallied nine shutouts in 1978, eight in 1967 and five in 2008, 1992 and 1977. Last season, UCLA's staff hurled just one shutout. The Bruins opened this season with six shutouts through their first 18 games. Trevor Bauer has hurled three complete-game shutouts, and Gerrit Cole and Adam Plutko each have one.

DIGGING THE LONG BALL
While home run totals have dropped around the nation this season, sophomore Cody Regis leads UCLA with six round-trippers and 43 RBI. Regis and Dean Espy led the team with nine home runs on year ago. Regis opened the 2011 campaign hitting .179 through 14 games before heating up, posting a .312 batting average with all six home runs and 38 of his 43 RBI in UCLA's last 51 games. Similar to his freshman year in 2010, Regis has belted four homers in the last 16 games. Last season, he did not hit any of his nine homers until May 7.

NATIONAL WATCH LISTS
Junior right-hander Trevor Bauer has been named one of 30 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award, as announced by USA Baseball on May 31. Three finalists for the award will be announced Monday, June 6. The Golden Spikes Award is presented at the conclusion of each season to the nation's top amateur baseball player. 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. In addition, Bauer has been selected as one of 36 semifinalists for the annual Dick Howser Trophy.

BRUINS VERSUS DONS
UCLA opened the 2011 regular season by sweeping a three-game series against San Francisco during a rainy weekend at Jackie Robinson Stadium . The Bruins outscored the Dons, 8-1, in that series, limiting USF to one unearned run and 12 hits through 27 innings. Jeff Gelalich keyed UCLA's offense, going 5-for-9 (.559) with one triple and one double. Gerrit Cole threw a complete-game shutout, striking out 11 batters and walking only one, in a 1-0 victory on Opening Day. Despite hitting just .233 against USF, the Bruins posted a .327 on-base percentage.

HISTORY WITH THE `EATERS
John Savage assumed UCLA's head coach position in July 2004 after having spent three seasons as UC Irvine's head coach (2002-04). Savage posted a 4-0 record against UCLA during those three years and has since gone 11-6 against UC Irvine in seven seasons as UCLA's head coach. He arrived at UC Irvine during the 2000-2001 school year to resurrect a previously-dormant baseball program after having spent four seasons (1997-2000) as USC's pitching coach under then-USC head coach Mike Gillespie, now UC Irvine's third-year skipper.

AGAINST FRESNO STATE
UCLA has not faced Fresno State since opening the 2006 season with three games against the Bulldogs at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins won one of three contests in that season-opening series, dropping the first two games before salvaging the weekend with a 12-2 victory on Sunday. Since that meeting, Fresno State has earned four trips to the NCAA Tournament (2006-09) and won the title at the 2008 College World Series. Dating back to 1956, UCLA has posted a 26-22 all-time record against Fresno State.

NEWS AND NOTES
UCLA has limited the opposition to two runs or fewer in 31 games (26-5 record) and to one run or less in 18 games (18-0 record) ... the Bruins lead the Pac-10 Conference in ERA (2.45), opponent batting average (.205), strikeouts (533) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.73) ... UCLA's pitchers have limited the opposition to six hits or fewer in 30 of 55 games this season ... UCLA had a season-high 21 strikeouts against Nebraska (March 5).

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 (446) and teammate Gerrit Cole is fifth overall (365) entering this weekend's NCAA Regional. 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 (11th, 352).

THIS WEEK'S POLLS
The Bruins are ranked among the top 25 in each of this week's updated four prominent college baseball polls. Collegiate Baseball has tabbed UCLA at No. 12. The Bruins are ranked No. 17 by Baseball America and the NCBWA (Writers' Association). The ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll has UCLA ranked No. 18. Four Pac-10 teams have been ranked by Baseball America - Arizona State (10), Oregon State (15), UCLA (17) and Stanford (24). Collegiate Baseball has ranked six Pac-10 teams in its top 30 selections.