GU Takes on #2/2 UCLA in Non-Conference Series
4/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Gonzaga (20-21) at #2/2 UCLA (31-10)
Jackie Robinson Stadium | Los Angeles, Calif.
Friday, May 1; 6:00 p.m. - RHP Andrew Sopko vs. James Kaprielian
Saturday, May 2; 2:00 p.m. - RHP Brandon Bailey vs. LHP Grant Watson
Sunday, May 3; 1:00 p.m. - RHP Eli Morgan vs. RHP Griffin Canning
Links to live stats and audio may be found on the baseball schedule page of GoZags.com
Game Notes: Gonzaga | UCLA
STORY LINES
- The Bulldogs wrap up their second-longest road trip of the season with three non-conference games at UCLA. The Zags began the trip at Portland and then ventured south to Santa Clara. The Zags' longest trip of the season was a 17-game stint away from Spokane to begin the year.
- Gonzaga is 10-10 in non-conference action, getting wins over Utah Valley, UC Davis, Purdue, Tulane, Arkansas, and Washington State. They've played four games against Pac 12 opponents so far this season, winning one of the two contests against local foe WSU and losing to Arizona State, Washington, and the away game the Cougars. Also, the Zags will play two at Oregon in the final week of the season.
- This will be the first series in 13 years between the two squads. UCLA leads the series 13-4, taking two of three from the Zags in the most recent series, held in Los Angeles in 2002. The Bruins won the first and last games of that three-game set by scores of 5-2 and 12-6, but the Zags won the middle contest, a high-scoring affair at 14-10. All 17 games in this series have been played in southern California.
ABOUT GONZAGA
- Gonzaga is 20-21 on the year, coming off a 1-2 series in Santa Clara. Gonzaga started the weekend with a big 14-1 win, scoring 12 runs in the last two innings to take the commanding lead. Santa Clara took game two 5-2 with both GU runs coming off a Joey Harris single in the third inning, and the Broncos won game three 6-5. The Broncos scored five runs in the first two frames and the Zags tried to claw back. They got the tying run on third base with two out in the ninth inning, but the comeback fell just short as the Zags just ran out of time.
- Ever since permanently breaking into the starting lineup against BYU, first baseman Taylor Jones has led the team with a .426 batting average, .461 on base percentage, and .649 slugging percentage. He's also tied for first with four home runs and third with 22 RBIs. Justin Jacobs leads the team with 30 RBIs while nine different Zags have 10 or more RBIs on the year. Mitchell Gunsolus has also had a standout senior campaign, leading the team with three triples, 35 runs scored, 18 extra-base hits, and is tied for first with four home runs.
- As a staff, the Gonzaga pitchers have posted a 3.38 ERA, the lowest in the West Coast Conference. Andrew Sopko leads the crop of regular starters with a 2.17 ERA, fourth best in the conference, while David Bigelow leads the bullpen with a 2.00 ERA. Bigelow, the team's closer, has eight saves and a team-leading 17 appearances. Brandon Bailey leads the squad with 78 strikeouts, and reliever Eli Morgan is on an 11.2 inning scoreless streak.
ABOUT UCLA
- The Bruins are 31-10 on the year and are ranked either No. 2 or No. 3 by numerous media outlets. Most recently they dropped a 2-1 decision in 13 innings at Long Beach State on April 28, but they're also coming off a series win at Stanford where they beat the Cardinal 10-0 and 9-3 after falling 6-1 in the series opener. GU and UCLA have three common opponents - CSUN, Washington, and Washington State - and the Bruins are 7-1 against those foes while GU is 1-4.
- Outfielder Ty Moore leads the squad with a .346 batting average and 38 RBIs while also scoring 32 runs and getting on base at a .424 clip, second on the team. Three other players have started all 41 games for the Bruins, including slugging and home run leader Chris Keck, an infielder who's hit six homers and slugging .510. Infielder Kevin Kramer is adding 56 hits, 38 runs scored, and seven stolen bases, while infielder Brett Urabe gives the Bruins a strong bat off the bench, hitting .344 in 36 games despite only eight starts. As a team, UCLA is hitting .286 with 259 runs scored, an average of 6.3 runs a game.
- Right hander and closer David Berg leads the Bruins with a 0.87 ERA in 41.1 innings and 29 appearances, making nine saves on the year. Friday night starter and RHP James Kaprielian has fanned 85 batters this year, the most in the Pac-12 and among the top 20 in the nation. He's 7-4 on the year with a 2.64 ERA and has the lowest winning percentage among the three starters GU will face this season. LHP Grant Watson has the lowest ERA of the three starters at 1.94, and he's also thrown 65.0 innings so far, just four off Kaprielian's pace. As a staff, UCLA hurlers have allowed 126 runs (92 earned) in 373.2 innings of work for a 2.22 ERA, good for third in the nation. Opposing hitters are batting .220 off them.
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES
Infielder Taylor Jones has roared into the starting lineup, hitting .463 (37x80) since breaking into the lineup 20 games ago (since March 20 vs. BYU). He's set or equaled career highs in hits and RBIs (4 hits twice; 3 RBIs twice) in that stretch as well, and he's ripped four of his five career home runs as well. The sizable junior is absolutely crushing WCC pitching this season too, topping all hitters with a .478/.500/.710 slash line in conference play. He's added 14 RBIs and 12 runs against WCC opponents, among the squad's top three in both categories. Just as importantly, he's given the Zags solid defense at first base too, with a .988 fielding percentage in WCC play and the ability to collect both high and low throws to the bag. After last week's games, he finally met the NCAA minimums (3.0 PAs per game, 75% of game). He's now officially fourth in the NCAA with a .426 season batting average, 29th with a .649 slugging percentage, and 75th with a .461 on base percentage.
TAKING THE BULL BY THE HORNS
Much of the Bulldogs' late-game success hitting the ball (they're outscoring opponents 87-47 past the sixth inning and 61-20 in innings 8 and 9) has come thanks to their ability to hit opposing bullpens. Gonzaga has hit .285 against non-starting pitchers this season and billed them for 100 runs (82 earned) in 143.1 innings, a 5.15 ERA. More than half of GU's walks (73 of 144) have come off relief pitchers, and opposing relievers have suffered six losses at the hands of Gonzaga hitters. In fact, the Zags have batted around in an inning six times this season, and all six times came against relief pitching. The Bulldogs were particularly brutal to the Broncos bullpen last week, scoring 15 runs in 11.0 innings off Santa Clara relievers, a 9.82 ERA. Twelve of those 15 runs came in the last two innings and off five different relievers on April 24.
STARTING LINES
Gonzaga will send RHPs Andrew Sopko, Brandon Bailey, and Eli Morgan to the mound this weekend...Sopko is 7-3 on the year, winning his last five starts. He threw 7.0 innings April 24 at Santa Clara, allowing just one run on six hits while striking out seven batters. He helped the Zags cling to a 2-1 lead through the first seven innings before blowing it open in the eighth. Over his five-game win streak, Sopko's allowed five runs in 33.2 innings (a 1.34 ERA) while a striking out 32 batters. Throughout the entire year, he's allowed two or fewer runs in eight of his 11 starts and has seven quality starts. He's one of three pitchers in the WCC with seven wins and fourth in ERA...on April 26, Bailey went 4.2 innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on nine hits and striking out three batters. The typical Friday night starter, Bailey was pushed off schedule by strep throat against Saint Mary's, but he bounced back from the sickness to through his first complete game shutout against the Gaels April 12, allowing just four hits and striking out nine. The ace already has six ultra-quality starts of 7.0+ innings pitched and two runs or less allowed...Morgan will be making his first career start with Gonzaga. He's made 11 appearances on the year, allowing seven runs in 25.0 innings for a 2.16 ERA. He hasn't allowed a run in the last 11.2 innings he pitched, however, dating back to the final two outs of an outing at Arkansas March 11. During that stretch, he's fanned 11 batters. His longest outing of the year is 5.2 innings in relief at UC Davis Feb. 22, but he also went 5.1 at Tulane March 8.
ZAGS VERSUS RANKED TEAMS
Gonzaga's played three different ranked teams this season, playing a series at then-No. 25 Tulane, hosting then No. 25/27 San Diego for a series, and playing a single game at then-No. 9/8 Arizona State. The Zags are 4-3 in those games, winning two games in both series. The GU pitching has stepped up against ranked squads, posting just a 1.92 ERA with 13 earned runs (21 total) and a .249 average against in 61.0 innings. Brandon Bailey's put up a 0.54 ERA in starts at Tulane and versus San Diego, allowing one run and 11 hits while fanning 16. The bullpen's allowed just seven runs - four earned - in 22.1 innings against ranked squads. On offense, Justin Jacobs is hitting .333 (9x27) with six RBIs against ranked squads, and Mitchell Gunsolus is hitting .280 with five runs, three RBIs, and a home run in such contests. Jones has played in five of those games, starting three. He's 6-for-12 with a run scored and two RBIs against top foes. Additionally, the Zags went 2-5 against ranked foes in 2014 and 3-4-1 in 2013.
THREE ON TWO
This will be the third year in a row in which Gonzaga has played a team ranked No. 2 in the nation. In 2013, the Zags took down No. 2 Arkansas 3-0 to begin the Coca-Cola Classic in Surprise Ariz. Marco Gonzales threw a complete-game shutout and fanned nine batters while Cory LeBrun collected two hits, scored a run, and brought one in for the Bulldogs. Last season, the Zags began the year with a game against No. 2 Oregon State, falling to the Beavers 4-3. Brandon Bailey went 5.0 innings in the start, allowing one run and striking out four in his collegiate debut. Cory LeBrun once again collected two hits and scored a run, while current Zags Mitchell Gunsolus, Sam Brown, Caleb Wood, Taylor Jones, and Joey Harris also hit safely.
NO RUNNING ALLOWED
Catcher Joey Harris has been very strict with base runners lately, throwing 10 of his last 14 attempted base runners out dating back to the seventh inning against Washington State March 31. Harris threw out all six attempted crooks against San Diego April 2-4 and nabbed both Gaels who tried to steal against him April 10-12. He's currently second in the nation with 24 runners caught stealing and .533 caught stealing percentage. Additionally, Harris is the first GU catcher to throw out 24 runners since at least 2008. For the pitching staff, opponents are only stealing 27% of the time on Brandon Bailey has he's seen eight of 11 runners thrown out. Sean-Luke Brija has 100% throw-out success rate, but only one runner has run on him.
