No. 11 Pepperdine Opens 2006 Campaign Against UNLV Friday Afternoon
2/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 1, 2006
Malibu, Calif. -
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THIS WEEKEND: The Pepperdine baseball team begins what is hopes will be a special season this week when it opens its 2006 campaign against UNLV at Eddy D. Field Stadium.
The Waves' 56-game regular season schedule gets underway on Friday when they host the Rebels in the opener of a three-game series beginning at 2 p.m. The series continues with 1 p.m. contests on Saturday and Sunday.
WAVES ON THE INTERNET: A total of 42 regular-season games will be broadcast live on the Internet at www.PepperdineSports.com with live video webcasts for home games. Bill Schindler will handle the play-by-play. Gametracker will also be available at www.PepperdineSports.com.
NATIONAL POLLS: Pepperdine enters 2006 ranked in all the major college baseball preseason polls. The Waves are No. 11 by Baseball America, No. 12 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA), No. 13 by Collegiate Baseball and Rosenblatt.com, and No. 14 in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches poll.
A LOOK BACK: Pepperdine enjoyed a successful 2005 season as it posted a 41-23 overall record and concluded the year ranked No. 23 nationally. The Waves captured their second straight West Coast Conference (WCC) title and advanced to the championship game of the Long Beach Regional.
Pepperdine registered its 28th consecutive 30-win season and finished among the top two teams in the WCC for the 21st straight year. The Waves, who captured their second consecutive conference title, reached the regional championship game for the second year in a row.
Pepperdine had several players receive post-season honors as senior Steve Kleen was named a first team All-American, sophomore catcher Chad Tracy earned second team All-American honors and right hander Barry Enright was named a Freshman All-American.
Tracy also was tabbed the WCC's "Player of the Year" while Enright was selected the conference's "Freshman of the Year" and junior left-hander Paul Coleman was chosen WCC "Pitcher of the Year."
The Waves also received significant contributions from several members of the nation's seventh-best freshman class. Rookie shortstop Danny Worth was named second team All-WCC while center fielder Adrian Ortiz and right fielder Donald Brown received honorable mention All-WCC recognition.
ABOUT UNLV: UNLV finished 2005 with a 35-29 overall record, including a 23-7 mark in the Mountain West Conference (MWC), and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. After winning the MWC, the Rebels traveled to the Tempe Regional and went 1-2. UNLV returns senior outfielder Ryan Bird who was named first team all-conference after batting .343 with six home runs and 57 RBI. Also returning is junior first baseman Chris Bonnell who batted .342 with nine home runs and 59 RBI. Senior right hander Matt Luca (5-7, 4.94) and junior left-hander Koji Pupo (5-1, 6.45) pace the Rebels' pitching staff. Head coach Buddy Gouldsmith enters his fourth season at UNLV and has compiled an overall record of 72-53 (.576).
SERIES VERSUS UNLV: Friday's season-opener between Pepperdine and UNLV will mark the 29th meeting between the two programs since 1970 and the series is tied 14-14. The two teams last met during the 2003 season and the Rebels registered a 13-8 victory at Eddy D. Field Stadium. Prior to 2003, Pepperdine and UNLV last met during the 1999 season and the Waves swept a two-game series by scores of 7-1 and 9-8 (11) in Malibu.
FRIDAY'S STARTER: Senior left-hander Paul Coleman will start the season-opener for the Waves on Friday. Coleman is coming off an outstanding junior campaign in which he posted a 9-3 record and 3.35 ERA in 2005. He was named the West Coast Conference's (WCC) "Pitcher of the Year" after recording a 6-1 mark and 2.39 ERA in conference play. Coleman worked a career-high 110.0 innings and struck out a career-high 91 batters.
SATURDAY'S STARTER: Sophomore right hander Barry Enright, who earned freshman All-American honors last season, will start Saturday's game against UNLV. Enright registered a 10-1 record and 4.62 ERA en route to being named the WCC's "Freshman of the Year" and a second team all-conference selection. Enright posted an 8-0 record and 3.36 ERA in WCC action. He appeared in 18 games, all as a starter, and struck out 52 batters in 97.1 innings.
SUNDAY'S STARTER: Sophomore right hander Adam Olbrychowski will start for the Waves on Sunday. Olbrychowski went 2-1 with a 4.15 ERA in 11 appearances in 2005. He logged 17.1 innings and struck out 16 batters. He made his first career start against USC in the championship game of the Long Beach Regional and pitched 1.1 innings, allowed two runs, walked four and struck out three.
PEPPERDINE IN SEASON OPENERS: Pepperdine has an all-time record of 34-16-1 in season openers and has won five in a row and seven of its last eight. The Waves recorded an 8-4 victory in last season's opener at UC Santa Barbara. Pepperdine is also 28-8 in home openers dating back to 1970. The Waves had their four-game home-opening winning streak snapped last year as they fell 12-9 to the Gauchos in 11 innings.
COLEMAN AND TRACY ON BROOKS WALLACE AWARD WATCH LIST: Senior left-hander Paul Coleman and junior catcher Chad Tracy were among a group of 120 players named to the 2006 Brooks Wallace Award Watch List. The Brooks Wallace Award is presented annually by the College Baseball Foundation to the national college baseball player of the year. Nebraska third baseman Alex Gordon won the award in 2005. Both Coleman and Tracy are coming off outstanding seasons in 2005 in which they were named the West Coast Conference's (WCC) Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively. The Wallace Watch will be trimmed to 12 semi-finalists by late May. Then the selection committee will narrow the list to three finalists following the NCAA Super Regionals at a press conference in Omaha, Neb.. The finalists, their head coaches, and their parents will be invited to Lubbock, TX, for a schedule of special events tied to the award banquet, which will again be nationally televised by the Fox Sports Network.
TRACY NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN: Pepperdine junior catcher Chad Tracy was named a first-team preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball, second teamer by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA) and a third pick by Baseball America. Tracy is coming off a tremendous sophomore campaign in which he was named second team All-American by Collegiate Baseball and was tabbed the West Coast Conference's (WCC) "Player of the Year" and a first team All-WCC selection. Starting all 64 games, Tracy led the WCC with a .367 average, 94 hits, 12 home runs, 22 doubles and 61 RBI. Tracy, who was invited to last summer's USA Baseball National Team Trials, is also expected to be a candidate for the Johnny Bench Award that is awarded to college baseball's top catcher.
PEPPERDINE TABBED AS "SLEEPER" TO REACH COLLEGE WORLD SERIES: Coming off a 41-23 season in which it advanced to the championship game of the Long Beach Regional and returning 24 letterwinners from last year's squad, the Pepperdine baseball team was chosen as the sleeper to make an appearance in the 2006 College World Series, according to Baseball America's Will Kimmey. Kimmey picked the eight favorites to reach Omaha this June, with Pepperdine listed as a contender to steal one of those top spots. Defending national champion Texas was picked to repeat in 2006. The Longhorns return their top four starting pitchers from last season. Among the other teams chosen by Baseball America to advance to Omaha were Rice, Clemson, Florida, Oregon State, Cal State Fullerton, Nebraska, and Florida State.
MORE PRESEASON ACCOLADES: Several Pepperdine baseball players garnered preseason accolades and honors in the most recent issue of Baseball America. Left-hander Paul Coleman was named the 11th-best pro prospect among college seniors, while center fielder Adrian Ortiz was tabbed the 18th best sophomore prospect, catcher Chad Tracy was ranked 25th-among juniors and rookie Chase d'Arnaud was selected the 36th-best prospect among freshmen. Tracy and Coleman were also named to the WCC's preseason all-conference team along with sophomore shortstop Danny Worth and junior first baseman/catcher Justin Tellam in a poll of league coaches conducted by Baseball America. Tellam begins his first year at Pepperdine after transferring from UNLV. The battery of Tracy and Coleman were also picked to repeat as WCC "Player of the Year" and "Pitcher of the Year", respectively.
FORMER WAVE DAN HAREN NAMED TO TEAM USA ROSTER: Former Pepperdine All-American and current Oakland Athletics pitcher Dan Haren is one of 52 U.S. players named to Team USA's provisional roster for the World Baseball Classic that will be held March 3-20 in the United States, Japan and Puerto Rico. The World Baseball Classic is the first international tournament to boast Major League players and includes such U.S. players as Roger Clemens, Ken Griffey, Jr., Derek Jeter and Alex Gonzalez. The final Team USA 30-man roster will not be determined until five days prior to its first game. Team USA opens play in the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday, March 7 at 2 p.m. local time vs. Mexico at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ.
Steve Kleen RECEIVES JOHN SCOLINOS AWARD: Steve Kleen, who was named a first team All-American as a senior in 2005, was honored with the 2006 John Scolinos Distinguished Player Award following the Pepperdine baseball team's annual alumni game on January 28. The award, in its second year, is given annually to a Pepperdine baseball player in recognition of exemplary behavior during a season or career in the name of the legendary Scolinos, who was Pepperdine's head coach from 1946-1960. The recipient will be honored for demonstrating strong character traits, including humility, resourcefulness, loyalty, honesty, work ethic, Christian behavior and sportsmanship, which contribute to outstanding performance and dedicated efforts both on and beyond the baseball diamond. Cory Brightwell was the first recipient of the award in 2005.
WAVES POST ANOTHER 20-WIN CONFERENCE SEASON: After taking two of three from San Francisco over the weekend, Pepperdine registered its seventh 20-win West Coast Conference (WCC) season in the last nine years and 16th in the last 19 seasons while playing a 30-game league schedule. The Waves completed WCC action with a conference-best 21-9 mark. Pepperdine also posted a conference-record 25-5 in 2001.
URIBES CLIMBING CAREER CHARTS: Entering his senior season, second baseman David Uribes is working his way up Pepperdine's career offensive lists. Uribes is fifth on Pepperdine's all-time runs scored list with 179. He is one shy of tying Brad Bierley (1982-85) for fourth place. Current Waves assistant coach Rick Hirtensteiner (1986-89) is the all-time leader in runs scored with 228. Uribes also enters 2006 No. 6 on the school's all-time base hits chart with 243 and fifth in at-bats with 759.
TRACY MOVING UP HOME RUN LIST: Junior All-American catcher Chad Tracy begins 2006 tied for ninth place with Chris Martin (1987-90) on Pepperdine's all-time home run list with 24. He is two home runs shy of tying Scott Shockey (1986-89) for eighth place with 28. Tracy has hit 12 home runs in each of his first two seasons in Malibu.
CLOSE GAMES: Pepperdine was involved in a number of close games during the 2005 season as 37 of 64 games were decided by three runs or less. In those games, the Waves were 23-14. Pepperdine played 14 1-run games (6-8), 11 two-run games (8-3) and 12 three-run games (9-3).
THREE WAVES SELECTED IN 2005 MLB DRAFT: For the 31st consecutive year, Pepperdine had at least one player taken in Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft in 2005. Junior left-hander Paul Coleman was chosen in the ninth round by the Detroit Tigers, while senior utility player Steve Kleen was an 11th round selection by the Oakland A's and senior right hander Kea Kometani was picked in the 15th round by the Texas Rangers. With Kometani's selection in the 15th round, Pepperdine has had players drafted a total of 118 times since the first year of the draft in 1966.
SIX FORMER WAVES ON MAJOR LEAGUE ROSTERS: As teams begin to prepare to open Spring Training, a total of seven former Pepperdine players are on Major League Baseball 40-man rosters. Dan Haren (Oakland Athletics), Noah Lowry (San Francisco Giants), David Newhan (Baltimore Orioles), Will Ohman (Chicago Cubs), Dane Sardinha (Cincinnati Reds), Matt Wise (Milwaukee Brewers) and Randy Wolf (Philadelphia Phillies) will be heading to Arizona and Florida with their big league teams.
WAVES POST 28TH STRAIGHT 30-WIN SEASON: For the 28th straight season, Pepperdine posted a 30-win season in 2005. The Waves posted a 41-23 overall mark. Dating back to the 1978 season, the Waves have totaled at least 30 wins every year, 40 wins 12 times and posted two-50-win campaigns.
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 seven-year WCC record of 149-61 (.709), an average of 21.3 wins per season, captured seven divisional crowns, two conference titles 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 a 118-91-1 (.564) record, claiming two divisional titles and winning two WCC Championship Series.
WEST COAST CONFERENCE FORMAT CHANGES IN 2006: After seven years of conference play with a two-division format, the West Coast Conference (WCC) will move away from divisional play in 2006 and will play a 21-game round-robin schedule. The first and second place winners will advance to a best-of-three championship series, with the winner being declared the WCC Tournament winner and earning the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Championships. The three-game series will be played at the site of the first-place finisher.
WAVES CAPTURE 16TH WCC CHAMPIONSHIP: Pepperdine captured its 16th West Coast Conference (WCC) title after taking two of three at Loyola Marymount over the weekend. It marked the Waves second straight after sweeping the Lions last year. Pepperdine's 16 conference titles are the most by any of the eight teams in the league. Since the WCC was re-instituted for baseball prior to the 1985 season, the Waves have either won or shared 12 of the last 21 league championships. Additionally, since the WCC went to a two-division format in 1999, Pepperdine is the only member to appear in all seven conference championship series. Last year's WCC title was the Waves' second straight and third overall since 1999. Pepperdine also captured the conference title in 2001 when it went 42-18 and finished the year with a national Top 20 ranking. Pepperdine captured back-to-back titles for the first time since winning three straight between 1991 and 1993.
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 705-269-12 (.721) and registering just one losing season in 33 years. The Waves were 9-12 in the inaugural season of 1973 and since then has produced 31 winning seasons in the last 33 years, including a 19-9 record in 2005. The Waves have had 28 straight winning seasons at home. Pepperdine finished 19-9 at home in 2005.
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 2006 season. The Waves have registered a 1,047-546 (.657) record and made 16 NCAA Tournament appearances during that time. Cal State Fullerton has compiled an overall record of 1,204-511 (.702) and made 22 NCAA appearances. Pepperdine's 16 NCAA Tournament appearances are second behind the Titans and tie USC.
THE PROGRAM: Entering its 67th season of intercollegiate competition, the Pepperdine baseball program has compiled an all-time mark to date of 1,709-1,201-22 (.587). The Waves have advanced to the NCAA Championships on 22 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 28 seasons dating back to 1978, and surpassed the 40-win mark on 12 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 12 of the last 21 league championships. Dating back to the start of the 1985 campaign, Pepperdine has compiled a cumulative record of 813-433-11 (.651), including a 451-153-2 (.746) 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 third season as the Waves' head coach. Rodriguez was hired on June 18, 2004 after serving as an assistant for four years under Frank Sanchez. In two seasons, Rodriguez has led the Waves to a 71-55 (.564) record, two West Coast Confrence (WCC) titles, two NCAA Regional berths and one national Top 25 ranking. He guided Pepperdine to a 30-32 overall record and into the championship game in 2004 Fullerton Regional Championship game, becoming the fifth head coach in program history to lead his club to post-season play in his rookie season, joining Gary Marks (1963), Dave Gorrie (1979), Andy Lopez (1989) and Pat Harrison (1995). In 2005, the Waves compiled a 41-23 overall record, reached the championship game of the Long Beach Regional and concluded the year ranked No. 23 nationally. During Rodriguez' four seasons as an assistant, the Waves compiled an overall record of 145-98 (.597), including an 88-32 mark in WCC play, captured the conference title in 2001 and made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2001 and 2003. Rodriguez, who earned All-American honors in 1991 and 1992, became 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 it to the major league level 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 his .367 career average ranks second all-time in Waves' history.
WAVES AT HOME: Since 1997, the Waves are 182-87 (.676) 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 705-269-12 (.721). Pepperdine concluded the 2005 season with a 19-9 home mark.
WAVES ON THE ROAD: Since 1997, Waves are 138-129 (.517) in games played on the road. Pepperdine completed the 2005 campaign with a 22-14 road record. The Waves have registered winning road records in six of the last nine seasons.
ON THE WEB: For updated information concerning Pepperdine athletics on the World Wide Web, please bookmark the following address: http://www.PepperdineSports.com
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.
