April 5, 2004
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THIS WEEK: Winners of six of its last seven games, the Pepperdine baseball team will look to reach the .500 mark when it hosts local rival UCLA in a non-conference game at Eddy D. Field Stadium on Tuesday beginning at 2 p.m.
The Waves then travel to the Bay Area to open a three-game West Coast Conference (WCC) series against Saint Mary's at Louis Guisto Field beginning on Thursday, April 8 at 3 p.m. The series continues with a 3 p.m. contest on Friday and concludes with a 1 p.m. start on Saturday.
The Pepperdine-Saint Mary's series was moved up a day so the teams do not play on Easter Sunday.
WAVES ON THE INTERNET: Tuesday's contest between Pepperdine and UCLA can be heard live on the Internet at www.PepperdineSports.com with Darren Preston and Bill Schindler handling the play-by-play. There will be no Internet broadcast of the Pepperdine-Saint Mary's series.
A LOOK AT THE WAVES: Afterr completing a three-game sweep of San Francisco over the weekend at Eddy D. Field Stadium, Pepperdine has won six of its last seven games and is 14-15 overall and 8-1 in West Coast Conference (WCC) play. The Waves currently lead the WCC's West Division by three games over Santa Clara, which owns a 5-3 conference mark.
The Waves enter their series against Saint Mary's with seven straight WCC victories after winning the series finale against Santa Clara three weeks ago and sweeping Portland and San Francisco.
SAN FRANCISCO RECAP: Pepperdine swept its second straight series after winning all three games of its weekend series against San Francisco at Eddy D. Field Stadium. The Waves won the opener 8-4 on Friday, rallied for a 3-2 victory on Saturday and completed the sweep with a 10-4 win on Sunday. Pepperdine batted .337 during the series and outscored the Dons 21-10 while posting a 3.00 ERA. Junior designated hitter Steve Kleen led the Waves offensively on Friday as he went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBI. He had the big blowof the game when he hit a three-run homer of the left field wall. Senior right hander Jacob Barrack pitched seven innings, allowed eight hits, three runs, walked two and struck out six to earn the victory. On Saturday, Pepperdine rallied for two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and junior right hander Kea Kometani tossed his first career complete-game to lead the victory. Junior shortstop Patrick Ronney doubled into right center field to drive home the tying run and sophomore third baseman Nick Kliebert and an infield single that plated the eventual winning run. Freshman left fielder Mike Craig went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI to lead Sunday's win over the Dons. The Waves ponded out 15 hits in the game as every starter had at least one hit. Senior right hander Brandon Boesch worked five innings to record the victory.
ON DECK: Following this weekend's series at Saint Mary's, Pepperdine completes a four-game road trip when travels across town to visit local rival USC at Deaduex Field beginning at 7 p.m. The Trojans enter play this week with a 15-15 overall record, including a 2-1 mark in Pacific-10 Conference play. USC hosts California this weekend before entertaining the Waves next week.
TUESDAY'S STARTER: Tuesday's starter is to be determined.
FRIDAY'S STARTER: Senior right hander Jacob Barrack will make his 10th appearance and start of the season against Saint Mary's on Thursday. He is currently 5-2 with a 2.32 ERA. In 50.1 innings, Barrack has allowed 50 hits, 13 earned runs, walked 16 and struck out a team-leading 54. His last outing came on Friday against San Francisco when he pitched seven innings, scattered eight hits, allowed three runs, walked two and struck out six in an 8-4 Pepperdine victory. His six strikeouts pushed his career total to 209 and moved him into a tie with Patrick Ahearne (1991-92) for ninth place on school's all-time career Top 10. The victory was also the 22nd of his career and moved him to within two of cracking Pepperdine's all-time Top 10 list.
SATURDAY'S STARTER: Junior right hander Kea Kometani will make his 10th appearance and ninth start of the season on Friday at Saint Mary's. He is currently 3-4 with a 4.64 ERA. In a team-leading 52.1 innings, Kometani has surrendered 63 hits, 27 earned runs, walked 18 and struck out 40. His last outing came on Saturday against San Francisco when he pitched his first career complete-game during a 3-2 Waves win. Kometani scattered eight hits, two runs, walked one and struck out three.
SUNDAY'S STARTER: Senior right hander Brandon Boesch will make his 12th appearance and eighth start of the season at Saint Mary's on Saturday. He is currently 2-3 with a 5.27 ERA. In 42.2 innings, Boesch has allowed 54 hits, 25 earned runs, walked 16 and struck out 26. His last appearance came on Sunday when he started against San Francisco and pitched five innings, allowed eight hits, four runs (three earned), walked two and struck out one in a 10-4 victory.
TRACY NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Freshman catcher Chad Tracy was named the West Coast Conference's (WCC) Player of the Month for March. Tracy batted a team-high .449 (31-for-69) in 16 games for the Waves and helped lead Pepperdine to the top of the WCC West Division. He paced the conference with seven home runs, while hitting five doubles, a triple, and driving in 20 runs. Tracy also scored 16 runs during the month and posted an .855 slugging percentage. The freshman had 10 multiple-hit games and seven multiple-RBI games, while hitting safely in 14-of-16 contests. He had five games with three or more hits, recording four hits on two occasions and totaled a career-high four RBI at Portland on March 27. During a seven-game hitting streak, Tracy batted .393 (11-for-28) with six runs scored, three home runs and nine RBI. In a 12-11 win over then-No. 8 Tulane, Tracy went 4-for-5 with two home runs, three RBI, and three runs scored. Tracy had a pair of two-home run games during the month.
ABOUT UCLA: UCLA enters Tuesday's game against Pepperdine with a 15-13 overall record and is 2-1 in Pacific-10 Conference play. The Bruins salvaged the final game of its three-game conference-opening series against top-ranked Stanford, posting a 6-5 victory. UCLA is batting .281 as a team and has a collective team ERA of 4.72. The Bruins have three players batting .300 or better and are led by junior outfielder Billy Susdorf, who is hitting .338 with two home runs and eight RBI. Junior right hander David Johnson, who will start for UCLA, is 0-1 with a 3.48 ERA while pitching 10.1 innings. Head coach Gary Adams is in his 30th season leading the Bruins and has compiled an overall record to date of 964-807 (.544).
SERIES VERSUS UCLA: Tuesday's contest between Pepperdine and UCLA will mark the 67th meeting between the two schools since 1970, with the Bruins leading the all-time series36-27-3. The two clubs met earlier this season at Jackie Robinson Stadium and UCLA registered an 8-6 victory on February 24.
ABOUT SAINT MARY'S: Saint Mary's begins play this week with an 8-22 overall record and is 3-6 in WCC play. The Gaels have lost four in a row, including being swept in a three-game series at Loyola Marymount over the weekend. Prior to hosting the Waves, Saint Mary's will play at Nevada on Tuesday. The Gaels are batting .254 as a team and have a collective ERA of 5.46. Sophomore third baseman Bryan Byrne is leading Saint Mary's in batting with a .325 average and three home runs. Junior Jordan Simo leads the Gaels' pitching staff with five wins. Head coach Jedd Soto is in his first season at Saint Mary's after spending the previous six seasons as the head coach at Feather River College in Quincy, California.
SERIES VERSUS SAINT MARY'S: Thursday's series opener between Pepperdine and Saint Mary's will mark the 111th meeting between the two programs, with the Waves leading the all-time series, 87-23. The two teams met six times last season and Pepperdine won five the six contests, including five in a row.
PEPPERDINE DOMINANT FORCE IN WCC: Since the West Coast Conference (WCC) implemented divisional play in 1999, Pepperdine has been the conference's dominant team, compiling a five-year WCC record of 109-41 (.727), an average of 21.8 wins per season, captured five divisional crowns and appeared in the WCC Championship Series each year of its existence. Over that same time period, San Diego has the second-best league mark, registering an 83-66-1 (.557) record, claiming two divisional titles and winning two WCC Championship Series.
FRESHMEN MAKING AN IMPACT: Through 29 games this season, Pepperdine has received significant contributions from several of its new players. Freshmen Luke Salas, Chad Tracy and Mike Craig have been at the forefront. Tracy leads the Waves with a .407 average, 44 hits, seven home runs, 24 RBI, .713 slugging percentage, 14 multiple-hit games and seven multiple-RBI games. Craig ranks second on the club with a .396 average, has three home runs and 14 RBI in 53 at-bats. Salas, who had his team-high 15-game hitting streak snapped last Tuesday at Cal State Northridge, is batting .393 with two home runs and 15 RBI.
AROUND THE HORN: Through 29 games this season, Pepperdine is batting .321 as a team and has totaled 100 extra base hits...The Waves have eight players batting .300 or better . . .Tied with Salas for third on the team in batting is sophomore left fielder Taylor Klosowski, who is hitting .393 (22-for-56) . . . Junior designated hitter Steve Kleen is hitting at a .337 clip (30-for-89) and ranks second on the club with 26 runs scored and seven doubles . . . Senior first baseman Brent Lewis (.317), senior outfielder Cory Brightwell (.309) and sophomore second baseman David Uribes (.308) are also batting over .300 . . . Uribes, who is batting .386 (17-for-44) over his last 10 games, leads the Waves with 36 runs scored, 16 walks and is 12-for-12 in stolen base attempts . . . Pepperdine has been adept at running the bases this season as it is 19-for-25 (.760) in stolen base attempts . . . The Waves have sound success thus far against WCC pitching as they have posted a .376 average, 39 extra base hits and outscored their opponents 85-32 . . . Pepperdine has also out-homered league opponents, 14-1 . . . The pitching has also been solid in conference play as the Waves' staff has compiled a 2.67 ERA and kept opponents to a .272 average in nine games.
HOME RUN DERBY: Pepperdine has enjoyed the long ball thus far, totaling 32 home runs in 29 games. That total is three shy of the Waves' total output from a year ago as they totaled 35 in 61 games. Freshman Chad Tracy leads the Waves with seven as 12 different Pepperdine players have left the yard this season. The Waves have hit a home run in each of their last seven games and in eight of nine. The Pepperdine record for home runs in a season is 74 set in 1987.
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. With four two-baggers thus far this season, Brightwell currently has 40 doubles and is four away from tying Matt Howard (1986-89), who totaled 44 in his career, for 10th place on the Waves' all-time list.
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 681-253-13 (.726) 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 a 23-12 record in 2003. The Waves have had 26 straight winning records at home. Pepperdine finished .500 (11-11-2) in 1977. Pepperdine is 9-6 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.
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 1,652-1,161-22 (.586). 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 756-393-11 (.661), including a 417-134-2 (.756) 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 157-70 (.692) 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 678-253-13 (.725). Pepperdine finished 18-14 at home in 2002 and concluded the 2003 season with a 23-12 mark. The Waves are 6-6 in 2004.
WAVES ON THE ROAD: Since 1997, Waves are 111-104 (.516) 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 5-9 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.
