University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
#2 UCLA Travels South to Face Cal State Fullerton
Proabable Starting Pitchers
Tuesday, May 12, 6:00pm PT
UCLA - Cody Poteet, RHP, Jr. (4-1, 2.21 ERA)
CSUF - Connor Seabold, RHP, Fr. (2-3, 3.99 ERA)
UCLA GOES SOUTH TO FACE CAL STATE FULLERTON
No. 2 UCLA (36-12, 18-6) plays its penultimate non-conference game of the season Tuesday when they travel south to face Cal State Fullerton (28-21, 13-5). First pitch for May 12 is set for 6:00pm PT. The Bruins are 18-6 in non-conference play and 8-1 in midweek games this season. The Titans hold the all-time series edge, 65-33-2, but UCLA claimed the first game between the two sides this season, 7-2, on March 14. Despite losing both match-ups last season, the Bruins won both games against the Titans in the 2013 Super Regional on the way to the program’s first National Championship.
LISTEN LIVE
Tuesday’s game will feature a live audio broadcast online, free of charge, at uclabruins.com. John Ramey and Tim Wilhelm will have the call live from Goodwin Field. This season, fans can listen to all 56 games live via Bruins TV Audio & Video.
SCOUTING THE TITANS
Cal State Fullerton enters Tuesday with an overall record of 28-21 and 13-5 in the Big West Conference. The Titans are on a roll as of late, winning seven of their last eight games, and eight of their last 10. Fullerton is coming off of a, 2-1, series victory over No. 12 UC Santa Barbara which moved them into a tie for first place in the Big West with UC Irvine. Titans starting pitcher Thomas Eshelman was named the Big West Pitcher of the Week for his eight-inning, nine-strikeout win over the Gauchos on Friday. As a staff, Fullerton boasts a 3.06 ERA, led by Eshelman who is 6-5 with a 1.78 ERA. Tuesday’s starter, Connor Seabold, has made 16 appearances (five starts) this season, totaling 43 strikeouts over 38.1 innings. Out of the bullpen, Tyler Peitzmeier has a team-high 13 saves in 23 appearances. At the plate, the Titans are hitting .268, led by Josh Vargas who has a team-high .354 average with 33 runs and 12 RBI. David Olmedo-Barrera has also had a strong 2015, hitting .336 while leading the team in home runs (6), runs (34) and RBI (36).
WEEKEND RECAP
No. 2 UCLA traveled to Arizona State last weekend and claimed two-of-three games to solidify a three-game lead in the Pac-12 standings. On Friday, the Bruins were strong in all facets, recording the team’s seventh shutout, 9-0, over the Sun Devils. James Kaprielian earned his Pac-12-high ninth win, going seven scoreless innings, and Kort Peterson drove in two runs in the victory. On Saturday, UCLA & Arizona State played a marathon game that lasted 17 innings. The Bruins ended up victorious, scoring six runs in the 17th to clinch the series win. Trent Chatterton drove in a team-high four runs to help lead UCLA to the comeback triumph. On Sunday, the Bruins dropped the final game, 2-1. Hunter Virant made his first career start, going 4.1 innings, allowing just one run.
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 2.17 ERA which is 1st in the Pac-12 and 2nd in the nation among all Division I Collegiate teams. Among Pac-12 staffs, UCLA ranks 1st in strikeouts (423), 1st in least sacrifice-bunts allowed (24), 2nd in opposing batting average (.221) and 2nd in least hits allowed (355). They’ve proven to be even better in conference play, recording a 1.92 staff ERA through 24 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 .290 average, with a Pac-12 leading 109 doubles. The Bruins rank 1st in least strikeouts (280), 2nd in on base percentage (.377), 2nd in slugging percentage (.422), 2nd in RBI (266), 3rd in runs (300), 4th in hits (480) and 4th in batting average (.290) among Pac-12 teams. In conference play, the Bruins have a .286 average and have five batters hitting over .300 (Chatterton, Keck, Persico, Moore and Peterson).
TY MOORE NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UCLA junior left fielder Ty Moore has been named the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week for May 4-10.Moore led the Bruins to a 3-1 record last week, including the team’s 12th consecutive series win, making three starts in left field and one at designated hitter. The Mission Viejo, Calif. native helped UCLA take two-of-three at Arizona State to maintain sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 Conference. In total, Moore hit .389; going 7-for-18 with one home run, one double, three runs and six runs batted in. Moore led the team in slugging percentage (.611) and struck out just one time. Pushing his total to 22 multi-hit games this season, Moore recorded three such games last week. His performance pushes his season average to a team-high .360 (fourth in the Pac-12), with four home runs and a team-high 46 runs batted in (second in the Pac-12).
BERG THE RECORD BREAKER
Senior All-American closer David Berg has proven his dominance across his four-year career, and this season is no different. Berg has already broken the NCAA records for career appearances and career relief appearances and finds himelf on the verge of breaking the career saves (seven from tying) record as well. For the season, Berg owns a 0.86 ERA (1st in the Pac-12, 3rd in the nation) with ten saves (3rd in the Pac-12). The Covina native has allowed just one earned run in his last 19 appearances (29.2 IP). In Pac-12 Conference play, Berg has made 17 appearances, allowing one runs while striking out 26 batters in 31.2 innings pitched. Over that span, Berg has racked up seven saves and three wins.
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, 28th and 29th wins to move into a tie for second place in career wins among all UCLA pithcers. The Bruins’ all-time leader in career wins is Trevor Bauer, who amassed 34 wins in three seasons in Westwood. Watson is even with Adam Plutko (29) in the second place position. Watson holds a career record of 29-18 with a 3.41 ERA and 220 strikeouts in 83 appearances (60 starts). His mark of 60 starts is the all-time career record in UCLA history.
BATTERS KAN’T KATCH KAPRIELIAN
Junior ‘ace’ right-handed pitcher James Kaprielian has been dominant for the Bruins. One season after leading the Pac-12 with 108 strikeouts, the Tustin, Calif. native is again leading the conference with 94 strikeouts through 13 starts. Of his 94 strikeouts, 36 have been caught looking (1st in the Pac-12), accounting for 38%. His strikeout total ranks him T-22nd among all Division I Collegiate players. The right-hander has struck out eight or more batters six times, including two double-digit strikeout performances. Kaprielian has also registered nine wins, which leads the Pac-12.
UCLA IRON MEN
Chris Keck, Kevin Kramer, Ty Moore and Luke Persico have started all 48 games for the Bruins this season. Dating back to last season, Moore has started all 104 games in the past two seasons, Persico has started 102 games and Keck has started 82. (Kramer missed last season due to injury).
THE MOORE OFFENSE, THE BETTER
Ty Moore is having a career-best year at the plate for UCLA in 2015. The Bruin left fielder currently leads the team in batting average (.360), runs batted in (46) and on-base percentage (.436). The Mission Viejo, Calif. native is currently hitting 66 points higher than his season average from a year ago and ranks inside the top-5 in four key hitting statistics among Pac-12 batters (T-2nd in RBI, 4th in AVG, T-4th in H and 5th in OB%). Moore has been especially hot as of late, slashing .436/.500/.590 with 9 RBI, including a home run and three doubles over his last nine games.
KRAMER CATCHING FIRE
UCLA shortstop Kevin Kramer is beginning to heat up for the Bruins. He has reached base in eight-straight games and recorded a hit in six-straight, including five multi-hit games over that span. Getting the offense going from the top of the order, he has hit .333 over those eight games with five runs and two RBI.
BERG & CANNING K/BB RATIO RANKINGS
Griffin Canning and David Berg have been exceptional limiting walks while piling up strikeouts this season. Canning currently ranks 3rd in the country (11.00/1) and Berg ranks 4th (10.20/1) in strikeout to walk ratio.
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 48 games, the Bruins have scored in the first inning 18 times, posting an 17-1 record in those games. Furthermore, when UCLA scores the game’s first run, the team is 26-3. 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 27-0 record when leading after six innings, 28-0 after seven and 31-0 after eight. From the sixth inning on, the Bruins have out-scored opponents, 154-59.
UCLA IN THE RANKINGS
The Bruins highest ranking in the current polls is from the Basball America poll which has UCLA ranked No. 2. The Bruins rankings in the other polls are as follows: No. 3 in the D1Baseball.com poll, No. 4 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ poll, No. 4 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, No. 4 in the NCBWA poll and No. 5 in the Perfect Game USA poll. Additionally, the Bruins have the No. 2 RPI ranking and No. 3 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.
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 an NCAA record 166 appearances, breaking the previous mark of 161 set by David Teasley of Mercer University. He has also posted a 20-6 record with a 1.18 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 (46). 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.
FOLLOW UCLA BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Don’t miss out on all of the latest UCLA Baseball news and behind the scenes coverage on the Bruins’ official social media accounts. Get around the clock coverage of everything UCLA Baseball, both at home, and on the road. You can find us on Twitter (@UCLABaseball), Facebook (UCLA Baseball), Instagram (@UCLABruinsBaseball), Vine (UCLA Baseball) and Periscope (UCLA Baseball).