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Bruins Head to Malibu For Pepperdine Midweek

by uclabruins.com
Apr 29, 2024
JonJon Vaughns

UCLA (13-28) at Pepperdine (12-28)
Tuesday, April 30, 2024 - 3 p.m. PT
Location: Malibu, Calif. (Eddy D. Field Stadium)
Stream: ESPN+
Audio: UCLA Lean Player
Audio Talent: Nick Koop
Live Stats

UCLA Visits Pepperdine for Tuesday Tune-Up    
This Tuesday, the UCLA baseball team (13-28) makes the short drive to Malibu for a 3 p.m. midweek meeting at WCC-member Pepperdine (12-28). The contest marks the Bruins' penultimate midweek game of the 2024 season. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+, and Nick Koop will be on hand for an audio-only broadcast accessible through UCLABruins.com. Fans can also follow along with live stats (StatBroadcast) and X/Twitter updates (@UCLABaseball). 

UCLA Quick Hits    

  • UCLA is 13-28 overall on the season
  • The Bruins are 4-5 in midweek contests, with wins against Nevada, Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara, and LMU
  • The Bruins are 11-11 so far this season at home
  • UCLA is 6-18 in Pac-12 play, taking weekend series against Washington State and USC
  • The Bruins enter the contest with a plus-20 walk differential (190 drawn, 170 issued)
  • UCLA has an 83% success rate on stolen bases so far this year (34-41)
  • Duce Gourson had a 22-game reached-base streak snapped Apr. 9 ... he's reached in 37 of 40 games so far this year
  • The Bruins hit a season-high four home runs on Apr. 23 against UC Irvine, including a pair from Roch Cholowsky
  • UCLA has started multiple players at all nine defensive positions (plus DH)
  • UCLA is coming off a 28-24-1 campaign and a berth into the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament
  • It marked the program's 7th consecutive winning season and 15th overall in 19 seasons under HC John Savage
  • The Bruins' freshman class was the No. 1-ranked recruit class in the country (as was the junior class)
  • Junior 2B Duce Gourson earned Preseason All-America acclaim from Baseball America and Perfect Game
  • Gourson, Cody Schrier, and Luke Jewett were named to the 2024 Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference Team
  • The Bruins were picked to finish 3rd in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll
  • Bruin alum Gerrit Cole won the 2023 AL Cy Young, making UCLA the first DI school ever to have had multiple Cy Young winners on the same team
  • Nick Nastrini was called up by the White Sox on Apr. 15, making him the 92nd Bruin all-time to make his MLB debut

Projected Pitching Matchups
Tuesday, April 30 - 3 p.m. PT 
UCLA - Fr. RHP Luke Rodriguez (1-4, 4.78 ERA)
PEPP - Fr. RHP Jordan Cole (1-2, 6.00 ERA)

On the Road    
UCLA is in the middle of a stretch of playing 10 of 11 games away from Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins are scheduled to play road series against Pac-12 opponents Utah and Oregon State, and midweeks at Pepperdine and UC Irvine. In the middle of that, the Bruins will play a tri-venue series against Cal State Fullerton during the team's conference bye week (one apiece at Angel Stadium, CSF's Goodwin Field, and UCLA's Jackie Robinson stadium; the latter representing the Bruins' lone home game during this span). Prior to this stretch, UCLA had played just 15 true road games all season. 

Last Time Out Against Pepperdine    
UCLA allowed just five hits, but logged a 10-2 loss at home to Pepperdine on April 9 after issuing 10 walks, hitting three batters, and committing three errors. Frosh lefties Will Goldberg and Kaena Kiakona, two of seven pitchers used by UCLA, made their NCAA debuts in the game. AJ Salgado had two knocks and made a nice running catch in right field. Starter Luke Rodriguez was strong over three innings of work, allowing just one run on a first-inning solo homer.

The All-Time Series Against the Waves    
UCLA owns a 68-42-4 record in the all-time series against Pepperdine, including a 22-9 mark under head coach John Savage. The Bruins have accrued an 8-3 record in the last 11 meetings with the Waves, splitting the season series with Pepperdine in both 2022 and 2023.

Last Year Against Pepperdine    
UCLA split a home-and-home midweek series with Pepperdine last season:

  • Game 1 (Feb. 21, 2023 at UCLA) – UCLA finished off an unbeaten first week of the 2023 season with an 11-2 win over Pepperdine. The Bruins scored seven runs in the first inning to establish control, a rally which was capped off by an opposite-field two-run homer from JonJon Vaughns. UCLA allowed a run in just two of nine defensive innings, answering back to score in the bottom half both times. Seven pitchers saw the mound for UCLA, as Chris Aldrich (six-up, six-down in 2 IP) earned the win and Michael Barnett (2 IP, 1 ER, 4 K) looked solid in his first collegiate start. 
  • Game 2 (Apr. 11, 2023 at Pepperdine) – UCLA totaled 15 hits and fought back to tie the game on four occasions, but dropped an 8-7 result at Pepperdine. The Waves answered back to re-take the lead in each of the four innings UCLA tied it, walking off in the ninth on a hit-and-run bloop single that scored a runner from first base. Four different Bruins had multiple hits, including career days from Malakhi Knight (4-5, three RBIs) and Josh Hahn (3-5, two runs).

Current Bruins Against Pepperdine    
Active Bruins with strong career numbers against Pepperdine include: Chris Aldrich (4 apps, 1.69 ERA, 5.1 IP, 0 BB, 7 K), Duce Gourson (5-18, 4 R, 4 RBI, 3 XBH in 5 GP), Malakhi Knight (8-14, 3 R, 5 RBIs in 4 GP), and Daylen Reyes (6-15, 5 R, 3 RBIs in 4 GP). 

UCLA Hits Four Homers in UCI Midweek    
The Bruins went yard four times in an April 23 midweek game against UC Irvine, including the first-career multi-homer game from Roch Cholowsky and one roundtripper apiece from Duce Gourson and Jack Holman. The four dingers were a season high, the most for the Bruins in a single game since the opening weekend of the 2023 campaign (Feb. 18, 2023 vs. Omaha), and just the fourth four-HR game for the program in the 2020s (two in 2021, one apiece in 2023 and 2024).

Friendly Confines    
The Bruins are off to a solid start in home games so far this season, going 11-11 at Jackie Robinson Stadium. UCLA holds advantages in on-base percentage (.383-.366) and walks drawn (125-103). The Bruins went 19-9-1 at JRS a season ago, including a 13-game home winning streak to open the campaign. UCLA had a plus-63 run differential (207-144) in home games last year. 

Midweek Notes    

  • UCLA is 37-16 in midweek contests since the start of 2019
  • The Bruins are 4-5 so far this year in midweeks, defeating Nevada, LBSU, and UCSB at home, and LMU on the road
  • In 2023, UCLA went 6-4 with wins coming against Pepperdine, Michigan, Long Beach State (2), LMU, and CS Fullerton
  • The Bruins had two midweek games rained out last year, and have had one rained out so far this year
  • Payton Brennan (.357/.438/.536), Duce Gourson (.581 SLG), Roman Martin (.308/.357/.615), JonJon Vaughns (7.2 IP, 3.52 ERA), and Cody Delvecchio (6.2 IP, 2.70 ERA) have been standouts in midweeks so far this year for the Bruins
  • Last season, the Bruins outscored their midweek opponents 77-68 and outperformed them in several stats including OBP (.414-.350), ERA (4.83-6.52), and home runs (12-6)
  • Standouts in midweek games last year included Malakhi Knight (.410 BA, 10 RBIs), Jarrod Hocking (.435/.606/.565), Darius Perry (.487 OBP), Luke Jewett (0.00 ERA, 10 K in 8.2 IP), and Charles Harrison (0.00 ERA, 10 K, 7 IP)
  • The Bruins went undefeated in midweeks in 2019 (11-0) and 2021 (8-0)
  • UCLA won seven straight midweeks from Mar. 1 to Apr. 19, 2022

The Week In Review    
UCLA is coming off an 0-4 week, dropping a home midweek to UC Irvine and a road Pac-12 series at Utah:

  • TUE — UCLA hit a season-high four home runs, but absorbed a 9-7 loss to No. 12-ranked UC Irvine. The Bruins looked to be in the driver's seat late, as Duce Gourson hit a game-tying solo homer in the eighth before Roch Cholowsky put the Bruins ahead with a two-run shot of his own to make it 7-5 in UCLA's favor, but UCI responded with a decisive four-spot in the ninth punctuated by a Chase Call three-run homer.
  • FRI — Luke Jewett turned in one of the best starts of his career, but it turned out to be not enough as Utah took a 3-2 decision in 12 innings to open the series. Hunter Antillion plated the game-winning run for the hosts, doubling and later scoring on a Kai Roberts single. Jewett allowed just one run over a career-long seven innings, and his seven strikeouts were the second most he's had in a start. Rashad Ruff put up four consecutive high-leverage zeroes out of the bullpen before Utah's 12th-inning rally. Roman Martin had three hits and three RBIs to lead UCLA's bats.
  • SAT — Utah used a six-run bottom of the fifth to record a 7-3 win in game two. All nine starters reached base for the Bruins, including multi-hit days for Jack Holman and JonJon Vaughns. Freshman catcher Blake Balsz drew a pair of walks out of the nine-hole. Michael Barnett cruised through his first four innings before running into trouble in the fifth. The last three runs in that decisive rally were unearned. 
  • SUN — Utah finished off the sweep with a 12-7 win in the finale. The Utes scored five runs in the bottom of the first, and that would turn out to be decisive as the two teams would score seven runs apiece from then on out. Cody Schrier and Duce Gourson had three hits apiece, and Schrier was one of two Bruins (Roch Cholowsky) to homer. Jack Holman added a double and two RBIs. Eight of nine starters had a hit for Utah, and five Utes had multiple RBIs. 

Bruins On the National Leaderboards    
UCLA enters the contest ranked in the upper-third nationally in the following team stats:
BB/9 - 4.18 (5th in the Pac-12 / 78th in the NCAA)
Sac Bunts - 20 (4th / 88th)
WHIP - 1.53 (8th / 95th)
Triples - 11 (6th / 74th)
ERA - 5.40 (8th / 98th)

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