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Baseball Opens New Season Friday vs. Gonzaga

by uclabruins.com
Feb 15, 2024
Jack Holman

No. 22 UCLA (0-0) vs. Gonzaga (0-0)
Friday, Feb. 16, 2023 - 5:00 p.m. PT
Saturday, Feb. 17, 2023 - 2:00 p.m. PT
Sunday, Feb. 18, 2023 - 1:00 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Jackie Robinson Stadium)
Audio: UCLA Lean Player
Play-by-Play Talent: Nick Koop
Live Stats

No. 22 UCLA Opens 2024 Season on Friday vs. Gonzaga    
The UCLA baseball team — ranked as high as No. 18 in the preseason national polls — begins the 2024 season this weekend with a three-game set against Gonzaga at Jackie Robinson Stadium starting on Friday at 5 p.m. PT. The series continues with games on Saturday at 2 p.m. PT and Sunday at 1 p.m. PT. All three games will feature audio-only broadcasts via UCLABruins.com. Fans can also follow along with live stats (uclalivestats.com) and social updates (@UCLABaseball). 

UCLA Quick Hits    

  • UCLA is coming off a 28-24-1 camapaign 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, three points behind Stanford
  • UCLA is opening at home for the 14th consecutive season
  • 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

Projected Pitching Matchups
Friday, Feb. 16 - 5 p.m. PT 
UCLA - Jr. RHP Luke Jewett (1-1, 5.31 ERA in 2023)
Gonzaga - Jr. LHP Liam Paddack (2-2, 2.45 ERA at Spokane CC in 2023)
Saturday, Feb. 17 - 2 p.m. PT
UCLA - So. RHP Finn McIlroy (2-0, 4.50 ERA in 2023)
Gonzaga - So. RHP Payton Graham (0-4, 12.00 ERA in 2023)
Sunday, Feb. 18 - 1 p.m. PT
UCLA - So. RHP Michael Barnett (1-0, 3.97 ERA in 2023)
Gonzaga - RSo. RHP Nate Deschryver (4-6, 5.90 ERA in 2023)

UCLA on Opening Day    
UCLA is opening the season at home for the 14th consecutive season, and the 21st time in the last 22 seasons. The Bruins are 13-6 on Opening Day under head coach John Savage (since 2005) and have won their opening series in nine of the last 11 years. Last year, UCLA opened the season by sweeping Omaha in a three-game set in Westwood. The Bruins out-scored the Mavericks 47-2 for the weekend, including a 16-1 victory on Opening Day.

A Decade of Opening Day Starts

  • 2023 - Jake Brooks (Jr. ) - W, 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K vs. Omaha (UCLA W, 16-1)
  • 2022 - Jake Brooks (So.) - W, 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K vs. CSUN (UCLA W, 9-2)
  • 2021 - Jared Karros (So.) - L, 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K vs. San Francisco (UCLA L, 2-6)
  • 2020 - Zach Pettway (Jr.) - W, 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K vs. UC Riverside (UCLA W, 4-2)
  • 2019 - Zach Pettway (So.) - ND, 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K vs. St. John's (UCLA W, 3-2)
  • 2018 - Jake Bird (Jr.) - W, 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K vs. Portland (UCLA W, 7-2)
  • 2017 - Griffin Canning (Jr.) - ND, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K vs. San Jose State (UCLA W, 3-2)
  • 2016 - Grant Dyer (Jr.) - L, 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K vs. North Carolina (UCLA L, 0-4)
  • 2015 - James Kaprielian (Jr.) - W, 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K vs. Hofstra (UCLA W, 14-2)
  • 2014 - James Kaprielian (So.) - L, 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K vs. Portland (UCLA L, 0-1)

In The Polls    
UCLA enters the 2024 campaign ranked in four of five major national polls. The Bruins peaked as high as No. 18 (Perfect Game) while also checking in at No. 22 (D1Baseball, NCBWA) and No. 24 (Baseball America).

Jewett Draws Opening Day Start    
Junior right-hander Luke Jewett, who has been a key piece of the Bruin bullpen over the last two seasons, has been tabbed as the Opening Day starter by Coach Savage. Jewett becomes the first UCLA pitcher to have his first collegiate start come on Opening Day since James Kaprielian in 2014. A JSerra High School product, Jewett led the Pac-12 with 35 appearances as a freshman in 2022, and served as the team's closer in 2023 before absorbing a season-ending injury in early April. He fashioned a 3.68 ERA as a freshman, and led UCLA with a 21-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2023.

Gourson Draws Preseason Buzz    
UCLA junior infielder Duce Gourson received the most preseason acclaim of any Bruin this winter. He was tabbed a Preseason All-American by Perfect Game (Second Team) and Baseball America (Third Team), was selected to the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference Team, and ranked No. 4 on D1Baseball's preseason power rankings for second basemen. Gourson (.319/.438/.515, 10 HR, 48 RBIs) led UCLA in nearly every offensive category a season ago, earning an invite to the United States Collegiate National Team over the summer. 

UCLA Imports the No. 1-Ranked Recruit Class    
The freshman class on this year's Bruin squad was ranked the No. 1 recruit class in the country by Baseball America, marking the second time in three years that UCLA has brought in the top-ranked class in the country. More broadly, UCLA has signed a top-10 class in 12 of the last 18 years under John Savage, including eight groups that garnered top-five status. Infielder Roch Cholowsky was the highest-ranked high school position player in the country to make it to campus from Baseball America's draft rankings. Other ranked players to make it to Westwood included Grant Gray, Justin Lee, Phoenix Call, Cameron Kim, Dean West, and Luke Rodriguez.

Bruin Trio Named to Preseason All-Pac-12 Team    
Junior infielder Duce Gourson, junior right-hander Luke Jewett, and junior infielder Cody Schrier were all named to the 2024 Preseason Pac-12 All-Conference Team. Both Schrier and Jewett repeated as preseason all-league picks after being selected as sophomore ahead of the 2023 campaign. 

Ruff Selected to Stopper of the Year Watch List    
UCLA closer and grad transfer Rashad Ruff was named to the 2024 NCBWA Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List ahead of the new campaign. The award honors the top relief pitcher in college baseball. UCLA has had two pitchers win the award a total of three times in David Berg (2013, 2015) and Holden Powell (2019). Berg remains the lone pitcher to win the award multiple times. Ruff is coming off a strong senior season at Coppin State, where he had five saves, a 3.82 ERA, and an 11.2 K/9 ratio in 33 innings as the team's primary closer.

The All-Time Series Against Gonzaga    
UCLA leads the all-time series against Gonzaga, 19-6. This weekend marks the first meeting between the two schools since the Minnesota Regional in 2018, and the first meeting in the regular season since 2017. Under John Savage, the Bruins hold a 6-2 record against Gonzaga. UCLA took two-of-three from the Bulldogs at home in both 2015 and 2017, and defeated No. 3-seeded Gonzaga twice in as many tries to eliminate them from the 2018 Minnesota Regional. Every matchup in the head-to-head series, barring the 2018 Regional meeting, has taken place in Los Angeles.

Bruins In The D1Baseball Preseason Positional Power Rankings
UCLA was represented by seven players in the preseason D1Baseball positional power rankings:

  • Second Base: Duce Gourson (No. 4)
  • Shortstop: Cody Schrier (No. 12)
  • Starting Pitcher - Luke Jewett (No. 91)
  • Relief Pitcher - Cody Delvecchio (No. 45)

2023 in Review    

  • UCLA went 28-24-1, securing the program's seventh consecutive winning season
  • However, the Bruins missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016
  • UCLA went 12-16-1 in Pac-12 play
  • Injury bug: starters Cody Schrier, Malakhi Knight, Alonzo Tredwell, Kyle Karros, and Luke Jewett all sustained season-ending injuries and/or missed significant time
  • The Bruins went 16-3 over their first 19 games, and rose as high as No. 7 in the national rankings
  • Then-senior RHP Kelly Austin (5-4, 3.39 ERA, 104 Ks in 82.1 IP) earned All-America honors
  • Duce Gourson (.319/.438/.515) had a breakout season offensively while filling in at SS for Schrier
  • Jack Holman (13 HR), Jarrod Hocking (.298/.444/.474), Josh Hahn (.326 BA) all had career years offensively
  • UCLA had the No. 33 team ERA (4.50) in the country, as well as the No. 9 K-BB ratio (2.9) and No. 12 BB/9 rate (3.3)
  • Then-freshman righty Cody Delvecchio led the Pac-12 with 36 pitching appearances

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