Baseball to take advantage of extra practice day before Stanford series
Freshman infielder Michael Toglia and the UCLA baseball team didn’t have its typical Tuesday game this week, but it has the first of three games against Stanford Thursday evening. (Isabelle Roy/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Dylan Sanders
April 12, 2017 11:46 p.m.
This week is an odd one in the Bruins’ schedule.
Following last weekend’s conference series against Washington, UCLA will forego a typical Tuesday matchup for an added day of practice to prepare for the next leg of the Pac-12 season.
“You don’t get that many opportunities during the season,” said coach John Savage. “It’s always a coach’s dream to have three practices where you can sharpen some things up.”
With time to recuperate after a two-loss weekend, UCLA (14-15, 7-5 Pac-12) is using the extra practice to regroup for its upcoming road series against Stanford (18-10, 4-5). The games will take place from Thursday to Saturday because of the Easter holiday.
The Bruins fell from second to fifth place in the Pac-12 standings over the weekend after struggling at the plate. They collectively hit only .196 in the first two games, before recovering on Sunday with a 12-hit, six-run victory.
“Clearly offensively we’ve been a little bit of a roller coaster,” Savage said. “Last week, we came to a screeching halt. I think you get that with young guys.”
Several UCLA freshmen were shut down by Washington pitchers over the weekend, including second baseman Chase Strumpf, short stop Ryan Kreidler and right fielder Michael Toglia. The trio amassed just six hits and two RBI over 27 at-bats in the series.
These same hitters will have to face a Cardinal pitching staff that boasts a 3.30 ERA, identical to the Huskies and third-best in the Pac-12. Stanford’s ace, senior southpaw Chris Castellanos, has only allowed 12 earned runs in 46.2 innings.
“This is an experienced team,” Savage said. “It’s likely we’ll face three left-handed pitchers. We’re going to be challenged, no question.”
Such challenges will occur not only for the Bruin batters, but for their pitchers as well. Junior Griffin Canning and sophomore Jon Olsen allowed a combined nine earned runs in their starts last weekend. Canning gave up 10 hits through 5.2 innings, and Olsen was pulled in the middle of the fourth. Despite these poor performances, Savage said he will not make any changes to the rotation.
The extra day of practice gives the UCLA starters time to adjust for a Stanford team currently hitting .267.
“Obviously, the pitchers get to rest their arms a little bit more,” said redshirt sophomore catcher Daniel Rosica. “It kind of breaks it down more and allows us more time to work on things.”
The Bruins need to polish up their defense this week as well, according to Savage. Although they maintain a No. 19 nationally ranked .980 fielding percentage, Savage cited several hits last weekend as plays that should have been made.
Above all else, the unusual schedule builds suspense for a Bruin team eager to regain its position in the Pac-12 after a momentum-shifting comeback victory on Sunday.
“After three practices in a row you think, ‘OK, I’m ready to play now. I want to do something else,’” Toglia said. “It’s going to get everyone excited.”
