Bruins Head North for Critical Pac-12 Series at Oregon

UCLA (22-11, 9-6 Pac-12) at No. 13 Oregon (22-8, 8-4 Pac-12)
Friday, Apr. 23, 2021 - 6:00 p.m. PT
Saturday, Apr. 24, 2021 - 2:00 p.m. PT
Sunday, Apr. 25, 2021 - 12:00 p.m. PT
Location: Eugene, Ore. (PK Park)
Stream: Pac-12 Now App / Pac-12.com
Live Stats

UCLA Heads North For Pac-12 Set at Oregon    
UCLA (22-11, 9-6) finishes up a road swing this weekend with a critical Pac-12 set at No. 13 Oregon (22-8, 8-4), starting on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. and continuing on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday at 12:00 p.m. This weekend marks the first time this season that UCLA has left the state of California. All three games will be live streamed by Oregon, accessible through Pac-12.com/live. Fans can also follow along with live updates from the team Twitter account, @UCLABaseball. 

UCLA Outdoor Home Sporting Events Open to Team Guests    
In compliance with state and county public health guidance, UCLA outdoor home sporting events will be open to a limited number of team guests. Seating at these events will be limited in order to comply with updated state public health guidance for higher education and college athletics that has been adopted by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, as well as city, county and campus COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Tickets will not be available to the general public, and non-ticketed guests should not come to the competition venues. UCLA's campus remains closed to the general public.

Projected Pitching Matchups
Friday, Apr. 23 - 6:00 p.m. PT 
UCLA - Zach Pettway, RHP, Sr. (1-2, 3.72 ERA)
ORE - Robert Ahlstrom, LHP, Jr. (2-3, 2.57 ERA)
Saturday, Apr. 24 - 2:00 p.m. PT 
UCLA - Sean Mullen, RHP, Jr. (7-1, 2.56 ERA)
ORE - Cullen Kafka, RHP, Jr. (4-1, 2.44 ERA)
Sunday, Apr. 25 - 12:00 p.m. PT 
UCLA - Jesse Bergin, RHP, Jr. (4-2, 4.29 ERA)
ORE - Brett Walker, RHP, Jr. (4-1, 3.53 ERA)

The Week In Review    
UCLA is coming off a 4-0 week, sweeping league rival Utah in a home series before posting a road midweek win at Pepperdine on Tuesday. 

• The Bruins opened the Utah series with a 20-0 win, setting season-highs in both runs and hits (also 20). Kevin Kendall went 4-5 with seven RBIs to lead the offensive explosion. UCLA produced all its offense with five consecutive crooked numbers starting in the second inning, highlighted by a seven-run fourth that featured four UCLA home runs. All nine UCLA starters had a hit, and five had multiple hits. Besides Kendall, offensive standouts included JT Schwartz (3-3, 4 R), Kyle Karros (3-4, 4 R), and Michael Curialle (1-2, 3 RBIs). Meanwhile, Zach Pettway took care of Utah on the pitching side, tossing seven innings of shutout ball with a season-high 11 strikeouts. 
• UCLA clinched the series with a 13-3 Saturday win. The Bruins recorded eight extra-base hits for the second consecutive day, holding leads of 4-0 and 11-1 before Utah added some offense late. Michael Curialle (two triples, three RBIs) and Kevin Kendall (3-4, HR) paced the Bruins' offense, and Josh Hahn had an 11-pitch, pinch-hit home run in the sixth inning as part of a 2-2 day. Sean Mullen limited Utah to one earned over 5 1/3 innings, retiring 12 of 13 batters from the second through fifth innings. 
• The Bruins finished off the sweep with a 9-2 Sunday win. UCLA scored early and often, producing a run in six of the team's eight offensive frames. Eight of nine starters collected a hit in the win. Josh Hahn (3-3, 3 RBIs) had the biggest offensive day, while Matt McLain (2-3, 2 R, 3 RBIs) and Kyle Cuellar (2-4, 2 R) also stood out with the bats. Jesse Bergin surrendered just two earned while pitching into the seventh, and the UCLA bullpen closed it out with three scoreless frames. 
• The Bruins' 42 runs against Utah were their most in a series since scoring 43 against Hofstra from Feb. 13-15, 2015.
• UCLA opened a four-game road swing by eking out a 5-4 win at Pepperdine on Tuesday. The Bruins trailed 3-1 at the end of the first inning, but went ahead for good with a three-run third. The Bruin bullpen posted 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball, with that one run coming on a solo homer in the ninth inning. Daniel Colwell was the first man out of the pen and faced the minimum over a career-high four innings. Kyle Cuellar (4-5) and Matt McLain (3-3) both had big days offensively, and Mikey Perez provided the key hit of the go-ahead rally, hitting a grounder off the third base bag for a two-run double in the third.  

Kendall, Pettway Sweep Pac-12 Weekly Awards    
After leading UCLA to four wins in four games last week, redshirt junior center fielder Kevin Kendall was named Pac-12 Player of the Week and senior right-hander Zach Pettway was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week. It was Kendall's first career weekly honor, and the fourth for Pettway. Kendall slashed .588/.611/1.294 last week with five extra-base hits and 10 RBIs. Pettway had arguably his best start of the year on Friday against the Utes, striking out 11 while walking none and allowing just five hits over seven shutout frames. 

Bruins Score 42 Runs Against Utah During Jackie Robinson Weekend    
The Bruins posted exactly 42 runs last weekend in its series against the Utes, the same weekend the team was wearing its "42" hats to honor Jackie Robinson Day, which is celebrated annually by MLB on Apr. 15. In a further coincidence, UCLA notched 47 hits during the three-game set (Robinson broke MLB's color barrier in 1947). 

In This Week's Polls    
UCLA appeared in three of five major national polls on Monday, ranking as high as No. 19 (Collegiate Baseball) and remaining top-25 in the NCBWA Poll (No. 25). The Bruins also received votes in this week's USA TODAY Coaches Poll.  

The All-Time Series Against Oregon    
UCLA is 31-14 all-time against Oregon, including a 20-12 mark under head coach John Savage. UCLA has won the last four series over the Ducks, and six straight games overall in the series. UCLA has won five of six series in Eugene under Savage, dropping a three-game set back in 2015. 

Last Time Out Against the Ducks    
The Bruins went 2-0 in their last trip to PK Park, taking a 4-2 Thursday decision before eking out a 6-5 win on Friday to clinch the series. The final game of that series, and the regular season, was rained out. UCLA's win in the series opener, paired with other results around the conference, clinched the 2019 Pac-12 title for the Bruins. Among Bruins still on the roster, Noah Cardenas was the biggest contributor in that series win, driving in three with a bases-loaded double to make it 5-0 before scoring the game-winning run himself in the Friday victory. He was 3-5 overall on the weekend with four RBIs. 

Through the Quad and Into the Gymnasium    
The Bruins are streaking, having won their last six games. That matches their season-high of six consecutive wins (Feb. 28 - Mar. 9). During the streak, UCLA is outscoring its opponents 65-12 and outhitting them .384 to .170. On the mound, UCLA has a 2.00 ERA over its last six games, compared to a 10.08 mark for its opponents. Every regular is hitting .350 or higher during the six-game spree, with the biggest contributors including Josh Hahn (7-14, 7 RBIs), Kevin Kendall (10-24,11 RBIs, five XBH), and Kyle Karros (11-26, 7 RBIs). The Bruins are averaging 10.8 runs per game during the streak compared to an average of 2.0 runs against.