March 2, 2004

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THIS WEEK: The Pepperdine baseball team begins possibly its most challenging portion of the schedule this week when hits the road to visit a pair of nationally-ranked Top 10 opponents. The Waves will travel to local rival Long Beach State on Tuesday at Blair Field beginning at 6:30 p.m. before traveling cross country to open a three-game series at Tulane beginning on Friday.

Long Beach State enters this week with a 9-3 overall record and is ranked No. 7 nationally by Baseball America and in the Sports Weekly / ESPN Poll. Tulane is currently No. 8 by Baseball America and No. 10 in the Sports Weekly / ESPN Poll.

WAVES ON THE INTERNET: A total of 37 regular-season Pepperdine baseball games will be broadcast live on the Internet at http:www.PepperdineSports.com with Darren Preston and Bill Schindler handing the play-by-play. Any post-season games that the Waves may participate in will also be broadcast on the Internet. Tuesday's game at Long Beach State can be heard live at PepperdineSports.com while all three games at Tulane will be aired live on the Internet at www.TulaneGreenWave.com. Live stats will also be available at www.PepperdineSports.com and following the links to the baseball schedule.

A LOOK AT THE WAVES: Pepperdine begins play this week on a season-high two-game winning streak after winning the final two games of the Battle At The Beach Tournament a Eddy D. Field Stadium over the weekend. After dropping a 5-0 decision to BYU last Thursday, the Waves bounced back to record victories over Cal State Northridge (7-4) and Nevada (14-2). Pepperdine tallied season-high totals of 14 runs and 19 hits in its win over the Wolf Pack.

BATTLE AT THE BEACH TOURNAMENT RECAP: Pepperdine was tabbed the Battle At The Beach champion after posting a 2-1 record. The Waves opened the tournament with a 5-0 setback to BYU on Thursday before regrouping to register a 7-4 win against Cal State Northridge on Friday and posting a 14-2 victory over Nevada on Saturday. Over the course of the three games, the Waves hit .375 as a team with 10 extra base hits and 18 RBI. Freshman center fielder Luke Salas led Pepperdine with a .625 average (5-for-8) with four runs scored, two home runs and six RBI while registering a 1.375 slugging percentage. The Waves outscored their opponents by a 21-11 count. On the mound, the Waves posted a 2.88 ERA. In Saturday's game against Nevada, junior right hander Kea Kometani established career-highs with 6.0 innings pitched and nine strikeouts.

ON DECK: Following Tuesday's game at Long Beach State, Pepperdine travels to New Orleans, Louisiana, to open a three-game series against No. 8 Tulane at Turchin Stadium beginning on Friday. The series continues Saturday and Sunday. The Green Wave is currently 8-1 on the season and prior to hosting Pepperdine will battle its arch-rival Louisiana State on Tuesday.

TUESDAY'S STARTER: Senior right hander Brandon Boesch will make fourth appearance and third start of the season against Long Beah State on Tuesday. Boesch is currently 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA. In 13.0 innings pitched, he has allowed 20 hits, 14 runs (nine earned), walked four and struck out 10. His last outing came on February 24 when he was a tough-luck loser at UCLA. In that 8-6 loss to the Bruins, Boesch worked 5.2 innings, scattered 10 hits, surrendered eight runs (five earned), walked three and struck out four.

ABOUTLONG BEACH STATE: Long Beach State enters this week with a 9-3 overall record and is ranked No. 7 nationally by Baseball America and in the Sports Weekly / ESPN Coaches poll. The 49ers, who have a 7-2 record against ranked opponents this season, are No. 10 in this week's Collegiate Baseball poll. Long Beach State is currently bating .265 as a team three players batting .300 or better. Junior Jason Vargas is the 49ers' leading hitter with a .395 average, while junior catcher Brad Davis is batting .391 with a team-leading 10 RBI. Pitching has keyed the 49ers' early-season success as they have a collective team ERA of 1.97 and have limited their opponents to just a .186 average. Junior All-American Jered Weaver has been virtually unhittable this season, compiling a 4-0 record and 0.96 ERA in four games. Weaver has struck out 40 and walked just three in 28.0 innings. Junior right hander Andrew Bowdish will make his first appearance of the season against the Waves on Tuesday. Head coach Mike Weathers is in his third year leading Long Beach State and has compiled an overall record to date of 89-44 (.669).

SERIES VERSUS LONG BEACH STATE: Tuesday's contest between Pepperdine and Long Beach State will mark the 79th meeting between the two programs since 1970 and the series is tied, 38-38-2. The Waves and 49ers met three times during the 2003 season and Long Beach State captured two of the three meetings. Pepperdine recorded a 6-2 victory in Malibu and the 49ers evened the season series with a 6-1 win at Blair Field. The two rivals met again in a first round game at the NCAA Long Beach State regional and the 49ers were victorious, 6-1.

NEWCOMERS MAKING AN IMPACT: Through the first 10 games this season, Pepperdine has received significant contributions from several of its new players. Freshman Luke Salas has led the charge as he posted a team-high .500 batting average (12-for-24) and leads the Waves with five multiple-hit games and is tied for the team-lead with two home runs. Rookie catcher Chad Tracy has also gotten off to a solid start as he ranks second on the club with a .407 average and has assumed the starting catching duties. Senior first baseman Brent Lewis, a transfer from Mississippi State, is batting .360 and is third on the team with five RBI.

AROUND THE HORN: In 10 games thus far this season, Pepperdine is batting .309 as a team, totaled 30 extra base hits and has outscored its opponents 57-53...The Waves are coming off their best offensive performance of the year after scoring a season-high 14 runs and 19 hits against Nevada on Saturday...The Waves have hit home runs in five of their 10 games and have a 4-1 record in those games...Junior Patrick Rooney has been Pepperdine's most consistent player at the plate, posting a .395 average with team-high totals of 15 hits and 11 RBI...Rooney, who is also tied for the team-lead with two home runs, has four multiple-hit games and a team-leading three multiple RBI games...Junior designated hitter Steve Kleen and sophomore second baseman David Uribes are working on team-high five-game hitting streaks...Kleen has a .462 average (6-of-13) and Uribes is batting .444 (8-for-18) with eight runs scored over the past five games...On the mound, senior right hander Jacob Barrack and junior right hander Kea Kometani are tied for the team-lead with 17 strikeouts. Barrack has worked 16.0 innings while Kometani has logged a team-high 20.0 innings.

Cory Brightwell CLOSING IN ON TOP 10 DOUBLES LIST: Senior outfielder Cory Brightwell is closing in on Pepperdine's all-time career Top 10 doubles list. After clubbing a pair of doubles in the Waves' season opener against UC Irvine on Tuesday, Brightwell currently has 38 doubles and is six away from tying Matt Howard (1986-89), who totaled 44 in his career, for 10th place on the Waves' all-time list.

PEPPERDINE MOVES TO COAST DIVISION: After five years of conference play with a two-division format, the West Coast Conference (WCC) will once again realign, swapping a pair of teams from division to division. The alignment for the 2004 season will carry over into 2005. Division opponents play a pair of home-and-home three-game series during the course of the season with non-division opponents playing one three-game series. The winners of the two divisions will meet in the best two-of-three WCC Championship Series to determine the conference champion and league's automatic entrant to the NCAA Championships. Home field advantage is determined by whatever team wins the season series between the two division winners. The division alignment for this year consists of Pepperdine, Portland, San Francisco and Santa Clara in the West and Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary's and San Diego in the Coast.

WAVES GARNER PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS: Senior pitchers Jacob Barrack and Brandon Boesch were named to the West Coast Conference's (WCC) preseason all-conference team by the league's coaches in a poll conducted by Baseball America. Barrack compiled a 9-3 record and 3.44 ERA as a junior, while Boesch recorded a 6-5 mark and 5.10 ERA. Sophomore shortstop David Uribes (.330-2-28) was also selected to the team along with senior first baseman/designated hitter Brent Lewis (.309-3-18) who transferred to Pepperdine after playing at Mississippi State last year.

PEPPERDINE WELL-TOOLED: In a poll of West Coast Conference (WCC) coaches conducted by Baseball America, sophomore second baseman Nick Kliebert and junior third baseman Patrick Rooney were labeled as the conference's best defensive players at their positions. Additionally, senior Brandon Boesch was picked as the WCC's best control pitcher.

MORE ACCOLADES: Junior right hander Kea Kometani was ranked as the West Coast Conference's (WCC) seventh-best pro prospect and sophomore shortstop David Uribes rated 10th in a poll of coaches conducted by Baseball America. Senior Brent Lewis, who transferred to Pepperdine from Mississippi State, was ranked as the second-best newcomer to the conference behind pitcher Jared Hughes of Santa Clara.

CHRIS KELLY, GREG RAMIREZ SELECTED IN 2003 FIRST YEAR PLAYER DRAFT: For the 29th consecutive year, Pepperdine had at least one player taken in Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft in 2003. Two players were selected bringing the all-time number of times a player has been drafted to 114. Junior first baseman / outfielder Chris Kelly was chosen in the sixth round in last June's draft by the Chicago White Sox and senior right hander Greg Ramirez was a 22nd round selection of the New York Mets.

FIVE FORMER WAVES MAKE MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT IN 2003: The 2003 season proved to be a memorable year for five former Pepperdine baseball players as infielders Danny Garcia, David Matranga, pitchers Dan Haren and Noah Lowry along with catcher Dane Sardinha made their Major League Baseball debuts. Garcia, Haren, Lowry and Sardinha were teammates during the 1999 and 2000 campaigns. Sardinha was a second round pick of Cincinnati, while Garcia, Haren and Lowry were part of a school-record nine players selected in the 2001 draft. Haren was a second round draft pick of the Cardinals, and after being called up in June, finished his rookie season with a 3-7 record, 5.08 ERA and struck out 43 in 72.2 innings. Garcia, a fifth round pick of the New York Mets, collected two hits in his major league debut. Lowry, a first round pick by the Giants, made his major league debut against Arizona and pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Matranga, who played at Pepperdine from 1996-98, made an impressive big league debut as he homered in his first major league at-bat against the Texas Rangers on June 27.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: Since Eddy D. Field Stadium opened in 1973, Pepperdine has been a tough team to beat at home, compiling an overall record to date of 674-247-13 (.728) and registering just one losing season in 31 years. The Waves were 9-12 in the inaugural season of 1973 and since then has produced 29 winning seasons in the last 31 years, including a23-12 record in 2003. The Waves have had 26 straight winning records at home. Pepperdine finished .500 (11-11-2) in 1977. Pepperdine is 3-2 at home in 2004.

WAVES POST 26 STRAIGHT 30-WIN SEASONS: The 2003 campaign marked the 26th consecutive season that Pepperdine has won at least 30 games. The Waves were 26-25 in 2003. Dating back to the 1978 season, the Waves have totaled at least 30 wins every year, 40 games 11 times and posted two-50-win campaigns during that time.

PEPPERDINE IN SEASON OPENERS: Pepperdine has compiled a 33-16-1 (.670) record in season openers dating back to the 1954 season and have won four in a row, including an 8-7 victory over UC Irvine on Tuesday. The Waves have also won four straight home openers dating back to the 2001 campaign and have opened at home in each of the previous 16 seasons, compiling a 14-2 mark.

WAVES AMONG TOP TEAMS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Since 1979, Pepperdine is the second winningest program in Southern California, trailing only Cal State Fullerton heading into the 2004 season. The Waves have resgistered a 976-491 (.665) record and made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances during that time. Cal State Fullerton has compiled an overall record of 1,111-471 (.702) and made 20 NCAA appearances. Pepperdine's 14 NCAA Tournament appearances are third behind the Titans and USC (15).

Steve Rodriguez VICTORIOUS IN HEAD COACHING DEBUT: Steve Rodriguez, a two-time All-American at Pepperdine and a Waves' assistant coach the last four seasons, is beginning his first season as the program's 16th head coach. He replaced Frank Sanchez who compiled a 257-161 (.615) in seven seasons in Malibu. Rodriguez was victorious in his head coaching debut as Pepperdine registered an 8-7 victory over UC Irvine in the season opener on Tuesday. He became become the Waves' sixth head coach since 1954 to win his head coaching debut, joining Walter Glass (1961), Gary Marks (1963), Wayne Wright (1969), Andy Lopez (1989) and Pat Harrison (1995). Rodriguez is one of 27 rookie head coaches in Division I baseball this year. He is also one of three first-year head coaches, joining Gonzaga's Machtolf and Saint Mary's Jedd Soto.

2004 SCHEDULE: Pepperdine's 56-game regular season schedule includes five non-conference opponents who advanced to post-season play last year plus a three-game home series against defending West Coast Conference (WCC) champion San Diego. Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, Oral Roberts, Tulane and UC Riverside all competed in NCAA Regional play last year and Cal State Fullerton advanced to the College World Series where it finished third. Additionally, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, San Diego, Tulane, UC Riverside and USC are pre-season ranked in the national Top 50 by Baseball America. The Waves open their season on February 10 when they host UC Irvine at Eddy D. Field Stadium beginning at 2 p.m. Pepperdine is scheduled to host two tournaments, including the Second Annual "Battle At The Beach" and the inaugural Yellow Book USA Classic. BYU, Cal State Northridge, Nevada and Pepperrdine will comprise the field for the "Battle At The Beach" tournament slated for February 26-29. The Yellow Book USA Classic field includes Oral Roberts, Pepperdine, UC Irvine and Washington State and will be played March 12-15. The Waves are also scheduled to play home-and-home games against Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UCLA and USC. Additionally, Pepperdine will play three-game series at Cal Poly and Tulane. The Waves and UC Santa Barbara will play a three-game series with the first and third games at UC Santa Barbara and the second game in Malibu. Pepperdine begins its 30-game WCC schedule on March 20 when it hosts Santa Clara in the first of a three-game series. The conference schedule calls for each team to play its divisional opponents six times, with home-and-home three-game series, and each team from the other division three times. A three-game divisional playoff series between the West and Coast Champions will be played on May 28-30 to determine the WCC's automatic entrant into the 64-team NCAA Championships. A total of 16 four-team regionals will be played on the campuses of participating institutions or at neutral sites June 4-6. The winners of those 16 regionals will advance to eight, two team, best-of-three super regionals (June 11-13), with the eight winners advancing to Omaha for the College World Series scheduled for June 18-28.

THE PROGRAM: In the midst of its 65th season of intercollegiate competition, the Pepperdine baseball program has compiled an all-time mark to date of 1,642-1,152-22 (.587). The Waves have advanced to the NCAA Championships on 20 occasions, and Pepperdine has participated at the College World Series twice-finishing third in 1979 and winning the national title in 1992. Pepperdine has won 30 or more games in each of the last 26 seasons dating back to 1978, and surpassed the 40-win mark on 11 occasions during that time span. Since the West Coast Conference was re-instituted for baseball prior to the 1985 season, Pepperdine has either won or shared 10 of the last 19 league championships. Dating back to the start of the 1985 campaign, Pepperdine has compiled a cumulative record of 746-384-11 (.659), including a 409-133-2 (.753) mark against league opponents.

Steve Rodriguez: Steve Rodriguez, a former collegiate All-American and a member of Pepperdine's 1992 College World Series Championship team, begins his first season as the Waves' head coach. Rodriguez was hired on June 18 after serving as an assistant for four years under Frank Sanchez, who took a permanent medical leave of-absence on June 5th after seven seasons as Pepperdine's head coach. During Rodriguez' four seasons as an assistant, the Waves compiled an overall record of 145-98 (.597), including an 88-32 mark in West Coast Conference (WCC) play, captured the WCC title in 2001 and made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2001 and 2003. Rodriguez, who earned All-American honors in 1991 and 1992, becomes only the third former Pepperdine player to assume the head coaching duties for the Waves in the program's 64-year history. Gary Marks became the first Pepperdine player to pilot the program when he skippered the program from 1963-67. Gail Hopkins, who played at Pepperdine from 1962-64, coached the Waves during the 1968 season. Rodriguez was a fifth-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 1992 after helping the Waves' to the national championship and being named the WCC's "Player of the Year." He played professionally for seven years with the Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Montreal Expos organizations. Rodriguez made the major league leve with the Red Sox and Tigers in 1995. As a sophomore in 1991, Rodriguez batted .419, the second-highest single-season average in school history. His 104 base hits in 1991 are a Pepperdine record and .367 career average ranks second all-time at Pepperdine.

WAVES AT HOME: Over the last seven years, the Waves are 154-66 (.700) in games played at Eddy D. Field Stadium. The Waves' all-time home record at Eddy D. Field Stadium, dating back to the start of the 1973 season, currently stands at 675-249-13 (.727). Pepperdine finished 18-14 at home in 2002 and concluded the 2003 season with a 23-12 mark. The Waves are 3-2 in 2004.

WAVES ON THE ROAD: Since 1997, Waves are 107-99 (.519) in games played on the road. Pepperdine completed the 2001 campaign with an 18-12 road record, including a 2-1 mark in neutral site contests. The Waves were 13-18 on the road, including 2-3 in neutral games, in 2002. They concluded last season with a 13-12 record. Pepperdine is 1-4 this season.

SPORTS INFORMATION HOTLINE: For updated information concerning Pepperdine athletics, including results and a schedule of upcoming events, please contact the Pepperdine Sports Information Hotline at 310-506-7373. The hotline will be updated on a regular basis throughout the course of the 2002-2003 school year.

ON THE WEB: For updated information concerning Pepperdine athletics on the World Wide Web, please bookmark the following address: http://gowaves.pepperdine.edu/athletics.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information on the baseball program, or to arrange interviews with players and the coaching staff, please contact Al Barba at the Pepperdine Sports Information Office by calling (310) 506-4455.