MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine baseball team, the defending West Coast Conference champion, has set dates for its popular Blue and Orange World Series this November.

Team captains will divide the Waves into two teams for the series. Dates and start times are as follows:

Game 1 is Monday, Nov. 3, at 2:30 p.m. ... Game 2 is Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 2:30 p.m. ... Game 3 is Saturday, Nov. 8, at 1 p.m. ... Game 4 is Sunday, Nov. 9, at 1 p.m. ... Game 5 is Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 2:30 p.m.

"The Blue and Orange World Series is important because the players get to run the games themselves," Pepperdine Coach Steve Rodriguez said. "They get to see things through a coach's eye. They have to understand the importance of execution and all the little things that will allow their team to win."

The Waves are coming off a season in which they went 43-18 overall, won the WCC's regular-season title with an 18-9 record and captured both the WCC Tournament and NCAA San Luis Obispo Regional championships. It's an important fall for the Waves as they must replace a few key players from the 2014 squad.

"We need to maintain the high level of play and intensity that our team created last year," said Rodriguez, the 2014 WCC Coach of the Year. "We have to focus on playing the game correctly and doing all the little things right. All that added up to a great season last year.

"It's great that we have the majority of our team back from last year, and our goal is that the returners can show the freshmen the correct way to do things so that it leads to a successful season, both on and off the field."

Among Pepperdine's top returning position players are sophomore catcher Aaron Barnett (2014 Freshman All-American), junior second baseman Hutton Moyer (2014 All-WCC first team), sophomore shortstop Manny Jefferson (2014 WCC All-Freshman) and sophomore outfielder Brandon Caruso (2014 WCC All-Freshman). Junior RHP Jackson McClelland is the lone starting pitcher back.