University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
#3 UCLA Travels North to Face the Stanford Cardinal
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday, April 24, 7:00pm PT
UCLA - James Kaprielian, RHP, Jr. (7-3, 2.12 ERA)
STAN - Brett Hanewich, RHP, Sr. (2-3, 4.35 ERA)
Saturday, April 25, 7:00pm PT
UCLA - Grant Watson, LHP, Sr. (6-3, 2.15 ERA)
STAN - Marc Brakeman, RHP, Jr. (1-1, 3.15 ERA)
Sunday, April 26, 2:00pm PT
UCLA - Griffin Canning, RHP, Fr. (6-1, 2.63 ERA)
STAN - TBA
UCLA TRAVELS NORTH TO FACE STANFORD
The No. 3 ranked UCLA Bruins (29-8, 14-4) travel north to take on the Stanford Cardinal (17-21, 4-11) for a three-game weekend series beginning on Friday, April 24 at 7:00pm PT. The Bruins are currently first in the Pac-12 Conference and have not lost a series all season. Furthermore, UCLA holds a 10-2 road record in 2015.The Cardinal hold the all-time series edge, 196-144 over the Bruins, including going 16-14 over the last 30 games. UCLA has not taken a weekend series from Stanford since 2010.
WATCH PAC-12/WATCH ESPN/LISTEN LIVE
Friday and Sunday’s games will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks. JB Long (play-by-play) and JT Snow (color) will have the call live from Sunken Diamond. Saturday’s game will be broadcast live on ESPNU. Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play) and Mike Rooney (color) will have the call. The games will also feature a live audio broadcast online, free of charge, at uclabruins.com. John Ramey and Tim Wilhelm will have the call. This season, fans can listen to all 56 games live via Bruins TV Audio & Video.
SCOUTING THE CARDINAL
Stanford enters the weekend with an overall record of 17-21 and 4-11 in the Pac-12 Conference. The Cardinal are coming off of a midweek shutout of Cal, 4-0, taking a no-hitter into the ninth inning for the second time in two weeks. After going 0-9 to begin conference play, Stanford has taken two-of-three in each of its last two Pac-12 series, against Utah and Cal. On the mound Stanford has struggled without Cal Quantrill, who was lost for the season, posting a 4.95 staff ERA (10th in the Pac-12). Friday’s starter, Brett Hanewich, leads the team with eight starts, posting a team-high tying 38 strikeouts over a team-high 49.2 innings. The Cardinal have then dispersed the other 30 starts among 13 different pitchers, including Saturday’s starter, Marc Brakeman, who’s made four starts. Brakeman has gone 1-1 with a 3.15 ERA over those starts. At the plate, Stanford batters have combined for a .252 average, led by Mikey Diekroeger who’s hitting .315 with one home run, 18 runs and 15 RBI. Tommy Edman has also been productive for the Cardinal, scoring 35 runs on the year (4th in the Pac-12).
MIDWEEK MAYHEM
UCLA remained undefeated in midweek games, tallying a season-high tying 19 hits en route to taking down UC Irvine, 15-8, on Tuesday. Six UCLA players finished with multi-hit evenings, led by Christoph Bono (4-for-5, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI) and Kort Peterson (4-for-5, 2B, 4 R, 3 RBI) who each recorded a career-high four hits. The Bruins jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, only to allow a seven-run third inning to the Anteaters. However, UCLA responded to score runs in four of the next five innings to eventually earn the victory.
WEEKEND IN REVIEW
UCLA maintained its place atop the Pac-12 by taking two-of-three from Cal last weekend. The Bruins bounced back from an opening game loss to take the next two game, and the series. The series victory moves UCLA’s record to 9-0 in weekend series in 2015. On Thursday, James Kaprielian was excellent on the mound, striking out 11 batters over six innings of work. However, the Bruin offense could never get going and Cal took the opening game, 2-0. On Friday, UCLA exploded for seven runs on 11 hits to even the series at one with a, 7-1, victory. Luke Persico and Darrell Miller Jr. each had a pair of RBI, and Grant Watson turned in 6.1 innings of shutout ball to get the win. On Saturday, the Bruins scored two runs in the bottom of th eighth inning to complete a, 2-1, comback win over the Golden Bears. RBI-singles from Chris Keck and Ty Moore proved to be the difference.
UCLA PITCHING NOTES
Head Coach John Savage has molded his pitching staff into one of the best in the nation yet again this season. The staff has a combined 2.26 ERA which is 1st in the Pac-12 and 3rd in the nation among all Division I Collegiate teams. Among Pac-12 staffs, UCLA ranks 1st in opposing batting average (.214), 1st in least hits allowed (257), 1st in least sacrifice-bunts allowed (17) and 2nd in strikeouts (342). They’ve proven to be even better in conference play, recording a 1.80 staff ERA through 18 games.
UCLA HITTING NOTES
The UCLA offense has been equally as impressive as the pitching staff so far in 2015. The team has a combined .293 average, with a Pac-12 leading 81 doubles. The Bruins rank 2nd in on base percentage (.383), 2nd in slugging percentage (.437), 3rd in runs (238), 3rd in RBI (215), T-4th in home runs (24), 4th in hits (365) and 4th in batting average (.293) among Pac-12 teams. In conference play, the Bruins have upped their average to .295 and have five batters hitting over .300 (Kramer, Keck, Chatterton, Bono and Persico).
UCLA’s LEADING LEFTY CLIMBS RECORD BOOK
Grant Watson became UCLA Baseball’s winningest left-handed pitcher in school history on March 28, earning his 26th career win in a victory over Washington State. The Bakersfield, Calif. native passed Jim Parque (25) on the all-time list among left-handers. Watson has since recorded his 27th and 28th wins to move into sole possesion of third on the school’s career wins list. The Bruins’ all-time leader in career wins is Trevor Bauer, who amassed 34 wins in three seasons in Westwood. Bauer is followed by Adam Plutko (29). Watson holds a career record of 28-17 with a 3.47 ERA and 212 strikeouts in 80 appearances (57 starts).
BATTERS KAN’T KATCH KAPRIELIAN
Junior ‘ace’ right-handed pitcher James Kaprielian is off to a dominant start for the Bruins. One season after leading the Pac-12 with 108 strikeouts, the Tustin, Calif. native is again leading the conference with 81 strikeouts through 10 starts. Of his 81 strikeouts, 33 have been caught looking (1st in the Pac-12), accounting for 41%. His strikeout total ranks him T-10th among all Division I Collegiate players. Kaprielian has also registered seven wins, which ties for the lead in the Pac-12 and ranks T-11th in the nation.
CANNING CONTINUES FANNING OPPONENTS
Freshman right-handed pitcher, Griffin Canning, has been having a terrific rookie campaign so far for UCLA. To date, the Santa Margarita High School alumnus has posted a 6-1 record with a 2.63 ERA in 13 appearances (nine starts). Spanning over three appearances earlier this season (3/10, 3/14 & 3/22), Canning retired 28 consecutive batters before Utah’s AJ Young broke the streak. Canning currently ranks third on the team in innings (54.2) and second in strikeouts (57). Among all Pac-12 pitchers, Canning is T-5th in strikeouts and 3rd in opponent batting average (.209).
BERG DOMINATING PAC-12 PLAY
Senior All-American closer David Berg has proven his dominance across his four-year career, and this season is no different. In Pac-12 Conference play, Berg has made 13 appearances, allowing zero runs and striking out 24 batters in 22.0 innings pitched. Over that span, the Covina, Calif. native has racked up six saves and three wins. For the season, Berg owns a 0.96 ERA (1st in the Pac-12) and eight saves (3rd in the Pac-12), and is currently riding a 15-inning scoreless streak overall. His appearance on March 29 marked the 150th of his UCLA career. Berg also finds himself on the verge of breaking the NCAA career records for appearances (three from tying), relief appearances (three from tying) and saves (nine from tying).
BONO SPARKING THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE
Redshirt junior outfielder Christoph Bono has begun to heat up for the UCLA offense. In the past 10 games (making nine starts), Bono is hitting a team-high .520 with one home run, two triples, three doubles, ten runs and seven RBI. Additionally, the Palo Alto native has walked seven times, leading the team in that category. Bono has recorded at least one hit in eight of ten games, including a career-high four-hit performance on Tuesday which saw him finish a home run shy of the cycle. The recent outburst has raised Bono’s average by 69 points and he currently leads the Pac-12 with six triples.
KRAMER & MOORE EQUAL DYNAMIC DUO
Juniors Kevin Kramer and Ty Moore have been pacing the offense for UCLA in 2015. Moore leads the team with a .360 average to go with 3 HR, 30 R and a team-high 36 RBI. Kramer is not far behind, hitting .351 with 4 HR, a team-high 37 R and 22 RBI. Among Pac-12 hitters, Kramer ranks within the top-10 in five different categories (3rd in R, 4th in H, 5th in OB%, 6th in TB and 7th in AVG), while Moore ranks within the top-10 of four different categories (T-3rd in RBI, 5th in AVG, 7th in H and 8th in OB%).
FAST START & SHUTDOWN BULLPEN KEY FOR UCLA
Getting the UCLA offense started early has been a key to the team’s success so far this season. Through 37 games, the Bruins have scored in the first inning 17 times, posting an 16-1 record in those games. Furthermore, when UCLA scores the game’s first run, the team is 21-2. The Bruins have been excellent maintaining late leads as well, thanks to a reliable back-end of the bullpen (Tucker Forbes, Grant Dyer and David Berg), posting a perfect 22-0 record when leading after six innings, 23-0 after seven and 26-0 after eight.
UCLA IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA is ranked no lower than 4th in all of the major college baseball polls. The Bruins highest ranking in the current polls is from the Collegiate Baseball poll, NCBWA poll and USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ poll which all have UCLA ranked No. 2. The Bruins are ranked in the other polls as follows: No. 3 in the Baseball America poll, No. 3 in the D1Baseball.com poll and No. 4 in the Perfect Game USA poll. Additionally, the Bruins have the No. 1 RPI ranking and No. 2 strength of schedule (as ranked by www.warrennolan.com).
HEAD COACH JOHN SAVAGE
Through 10 seasons as UCLA’s head coach, John Savage has established the Bruins as a consistent national championship contender. Savage helped UCLA reach college baseball’s pinnacle in 2013, as the Bruins won their first-ever NCAA baseball title. Under his guidance, UCLA has advanced to the postseason in seven of the last nine seasons, hosting four consecutive NCAA Regionals from 2010 through 2013. Savage has begun his 11th season as UCLA’s head coach in 2015. He is currently the third longest-tenured head coach in UCLA baseball program history. UCLA has gone 349-254-1 under Savage the past 10 seasons. In seven trips to the postseason at UCLA, Savage has compiled a 32-14 record (.696 winning percentage), recording the most postseason victories of any head coach in program history. With Savage at the program’s helm, UCLA advanced to the College World Series in 2010, 2012, and 2013, and reached the best-of-three championship series in 2010 and 2013. UCLA defeated Mississippi State, two games to none, at the 2013 College World Series. In 2010, the Bruins advanced to the championship series for the first time in school history, falling two games to none to South Carolina. Savage’s strong work with UCLA’s program has been equally evident in player development and the MLB Draft. Over his 10 seasons in Westwood, UCLA has produced 69 draft selections. In addition, he has coached 10 players at UCLA that have competed in the major leagues. Savage is one of just five head coaches in college baseball history to have guided his team to a College World Series title, produced the first overall pick in the MLB Draft, and coached at least one Golden Spikes Award winner.
SAVAGE REACHES MILESTONE
UCLA Head Coach John Savage earned his 450th career win on Friday, March 13, when the Bruins defeated the Washington Huskies, 2-0. Savage has led his team to 33 or more wins in nine of 13 season entering 2015, including seasons of 48, 49 and 51 wins. 378 of Savage’s 466 career wins have come as the coach of the UCLA Bruins.
ALL-AMERICAN CLOSER
Senior closer David Berg has enjoyed as fine a career as any reliever in the history of college baseball. In three -plus seasons, Berg has made a school record 158 appearances, breaking the previous mark of 119 set by Bill Wenrick from 1984-87 and leading all active players in Division I baseball. He has also posted a 19-5 record with a 1.21 ERA in his career. Berg owns the NCAA single-season record for saves with 24, set in 2013 and tied the NCAA record for most appearances in a season with 51, also set in 2013. Additionally, he became the first reliever in conference history to win Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year in 2013 and was UCLA’s first recipient of the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, given out to the nation’s top relief pitcher. Berg was named to the All-Pac-12 Team for the third time in his career in 2014, making him just the fifth UCLA player all-time to receive all-conference acclaim in three straight years. Berg is the only pitcher in UCLA history to lead the conference in ERA in back-to-back seasons and is UCLA’s all-time record holder for most postseason appearances (17), postseason saves (6) and career saves (44). In 2014, Berg threw 48 innings in 31 appearances, all while logging a 3-2 record, 11 saves and a team-leading 1.50 ERA. Berg’s 11 saves were the fourth-most in the conference and he concluded the season by being selected in the 17th round of the MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers.
BERG & WATSON NAMED CANDIDATES FOR SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Senior pitchers David Berg and Grant Watson were each named candidates for the annual Senior CLASS award, it was announced. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Berg and Watson are two of 30 players who were selected as candidates.
UCLA SELECTED AS PAC-12 PRESEASON FAVORITE
In a polling of the Pac-12 coaches prior to the season, UCLA was selected as the preseason favorite to win the conference title in 2015. The Bruins recieved six of a possible 10 first place votes and totaled 96 points.