Game Notes

THIS WEEK FOR THE WAVES: The Pepperdine baseball team plays one road game this week at Long Beach State on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and then comes home for a three-game series against Butler over the weekend. Friday's game will be a 2 p.m. start and Saturday and Sunday's games will be at 1 p.m.

COVERAGE: All Pepperdine home games will be broadcast live on WaveCasts, with audio broadcasts also available for selected road games.

FOLLOW AND LIKE WAVES BASEBALL: Be sure and join Pepperdine's growing communities on Facebook and Twitter today. Follow and like Waves baseball on Facebook (Pepperdine Baseball) or Twitter (@PEPPBASEBALL).

SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Feb. 16 - 6 p.m. (PT)
Friday, Feb. 13 - 2 p.m. (PT)
Saturday, Feb. 14 - 1 p.m. (PT)
Sunday, Feb. 15 - 1 p.m. (PT)

OPENING AT HOME: Tuesday's game is the Waves' only home game in the month of January as the team plays 11 of its first 12 games at home.

HOME SWEET HOME: In 41 years of baseball at Eddy D. Field Stadium, the Waves own a 887-359-13 (.710) record. Last year the Waves went 22-7 in Malibu, matching the lowest home loss total since 2008 and marking the 27th time in program history the team has notched at least 20 home victories. The program record for home wins was set back in 1985 when the Waves went 31-4 at Eddy D. Field Stadium and the record for home winning percentage was set in 1992 (.942, 24-1-1).

WALK-OFF WIN: The Waves scored a dramatic victory on Sunday to cap its series against Tulane, getting a walk-off, two-run homer from Jordan Qsar. Qsar's long ball was one of two hits on the day for Pepperdine. It was the first career home run for the freshman outfielder.

FRESHMAN HURLERS: A pair of freshmen pitchers led the Waves to the win on Sunday. Ryan Wilson got the start and went 6.0 innings, scattering four hits and giving up just one run. Max Gamboa then came in and tossed the next 3.0 innings, giving up just two hits and no runs.

COACHES POLL: With the release of the 2015 WCC Preseason Coaches Poll, Pepperdine was picked to finish second in the conference. The Waves tallied 72 total points in the coaches poll, with three first-place votes, to sit behind cross-town rival LMU (77 points, 6 first place). San Diego received the remaining first-place vote. The defending champion Waves were picked second in the preseason poll last year as well. Pepperdine also placed one player on the preseason all-conference team with Hutton Moyer making the list as an infielder.

WAVES ROSTER BREAKDOWN: This year's Waves squad features a good balance of veterans and young talent, with 18 returners and 15 newcomers on the roster. The Waves have two seniors, six juniors, 12 sophomores and 15 freshmen. Two of the four Waves' probable starting pitchers are returners and six of the probable starting position players were with the team last season as well.

WCC CHAMPS: The Waves won the regular-season WCC Championship last year, making it the program's 17th regular-season title and second in the past three years after winning the 2012 title. Pepperdine also grabbed the conference tournament title, going 3-0 in Stockton, Calif. to lock up the WCC's automatic bid. It was just the second year the WCC has used the four-team format and the first time the Waves have won it.

POSTSEASON HISTORY: The Waves have made their 28th appearance in NCAA postseason play last season, advancing to the first ever NCAA Super Regional since the round was instated in 1999. Pepperdine advanced by winning the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Regional, defeating Cal Poly and Arizona State to move on. The Waves eventually fell to TCU, two games to one in the best of three series. Pepperdine won a College World Series title in 1992 and has appeared in the College World Series twice (`79, `92).

WCC COACH OF THE YEAR: Head Coach Steve Rodriguez earned his second WCC Coach of the Year award this season after leading the Waves to a regular-season title. The regular-season title was the 17th overall for the program and the fifth in Rodriguez's 11 seasons at Pepperdine. It was also the 14th Coach of the Year award for a Waves coach.

IN THE RANKINGS: The Waves were at least receiving votes in the national rankings for 13 of the 15 weeks last regular-season and finished ranked in all of the major national polls. Of the four major ranking outlets, the Waves finished the season rated No. 12 by three of them and No. 14 by one. The NCBWA, Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball all had Pepperdine ranked 12th in the country, while the USA Today Coaches Poll had the Waves at No. 14. The No. 12 final ranking was the highest the Waves had finished a season since their NCAA Championship season in 1992, when they ended the year as the No. 1 team in the country. Pepperdine was ranked as high as No. 11 in the polls last year.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY: Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports - one of just 16 schools to have accomplished this feat - and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment and is the only school not affiliated with a BCS-level conference. The Waves have earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #57 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.