Game Notes

THIS WEEK FOR THE WAVES: The Pepperdine baseball team continues play at home this week, hosting No. 22 UC Santa Barbara for a non-conference matchup on Tuesday and then San Francisco for the three-game West Coast Conference series starting on Friday.

SCHEDULE
Tuesday, March 29 - 3 p.m. (Eddy D. Field Stadium)
Friday, April 1 - 3 p.m. (Eddy D. Field Stadium)
Saturday, April 2 - 1 p.m. (Eddy D. Field Stadium)
Sunday, April 3 - 1 p.m. (Eddy D. Field Stadium)

COVERAGE: Watch all four games live on TheW.tv. Live statistics will be available at PepperdineSports.com.

TICKET INFO: Tickets for home games cost $8 for adults and $5 for alumni, children, seniors and students. Tickets are free for Pepperdine students, faculty and staff with a valid Pepperdine ID.

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).

LAST WEEK: The Waves dropped two of three games to San Diego last week. Pepperdine won the opener 8-0, but dropped the next two in Malibu.

PROBABLE STARTERS
Tues: (PEP) RHP Chandler Blanchard vs. (UCSB) LHP Kyle Hatton
Fri: TBA
Sat: TBA
Sun: TBA

RECENT DOMINANCE: The Waves' ace A.J. Puckett hasn't allowed an earned run in his last three starts, lowering his ERA to 1.88, good for second in the conference. Puckett tossed 7.0 shutout innings in his start against San Diego last week, striking out nine batters and walking none. In his last three starts Puckett has allowed just 13 hits, while striking out 23 batters.

STREAK STOPPERS: The Waves ended a 35-game regular-season non-conference winning streak for Texas A&M last week, beating the then-No. 4 Aggies 7-5 in the opening game of the teams' three-game series. Pepperdine got a game-tying three-run homer from Brad Anderson in the third inning and then got the go-ahead two-run homer from Manny Jefferson in the sixth. A.J. Puckett picked up the win in the game. After giving up four runs through the first four innings, the Waves' ace kept Texas A&M off the board into the eighth inning, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings and setting down 11 Aggies in a row at one point.

BREAKOUT ROOKIE: Freshman outfielder Matthew Kanfer had a breakout weekend for the Waves against Columbia, leading the team with nine hits in four games, 11 RBI, five runs scored, a double, triple and homer. Kanfer now leads the team with a .348 batting average.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 22/10
Starters Returning/Lost (lineup): 7/2
Starters Returning/Lost (pitchers): 2/1
Newcomers, Off Redshirts: 14
Class: SR-3, JR-9 (1-RS), SO-10 (2-RS), 14-FR (2-RS)

STAT RANKINGS
Team:
Fielding Percentage: .975 - 3rd WCC, 50th NCAA
Home Runs: 20 - 2nd WCC, 45th NCAA
Slugging Percentage: .399 - 3rd WCC
Triples: 6 - 3rd WCC
Individual:
ERA: A.J. Puckett 1.88 - 2nd WCC
Hits Allowed/9 innings: Puckett 6.34 - 3rd WCC
Home Runs: Manny Jefferson 5 - 3rd WCC, Anderson 4 - 6th WCC
RBI/Game: Matthew Kanfer 1.06 - 6th WCC
K/BB Ratio: A.J. Puckett 5.71 - 5th WCC
Strikeouts: A.J. Puckett 40 - 6th WCC
Triples: Matt Gelalich 2 - 3rd WCC
AB/K: Aaron Barnett 12.6 - 3rd WCC
WHIP: A.J. Puckett 0.89 - 2nd WCC, 51st NCAA

TOP RETURNERS:
Pitchers - RHP A.J. Puckett (7-5, 4.35 ERA, 81 K, 31 BB), LHP Ryan Wilson (8-3, 3.78 ERA, 69 K, 42 BB), RHP Max Gamboa (6-2, 2.89 ERA, 8 SV, 41 K, 20 BB), RHP Chandler Blanchard (4-4, 4.99 ERA, 4 SV, 33 K, 16 BB)
Hitters - OF Brandon Caruso (.309 BA, 26 RBI, 3 HR, 19 2B, 2 3B), C Aaron Barnett (.303 BA, 27 RBI, 10 2B), Brad Anderson (.278 BA, 41 RBI, 10 HR, 8 2B)

2016 COACHES POLL: With the release of the 2016 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 San Diego (76 points, 6 first place). LMU received the remaining first-place vote. The defending conference tournament champion Waves were picked second in the preseason poll last year as well. Pepperdine also placed three players on the preseason all-conference team with Aaron Barnett, Brandon Caruso and Ryan Wilson all on the list.

2015 SEASON CAPSULE: The Waves finished 2015 with a 32-29 overall record and a 17-10 WCC mark. The Waves finished the regular season second in the conference standings, but went on to win a second straight WCC Tournament title to secure the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Waves drew the #4 seed in the Fullerton Regional, but advanced to the regional final after knocking off Clemson and Arizona State. Pepperdine would eventually fall to host Cal State Fullerton, ending the Waves' season.

MOVING ON: Pepperdine lost four key contributors from last year's squad, including two graduated seniors and two draftees. Kolten Yamaguchi, a catcher and designated hitter for the Waves last year, and reliever Mat Snider graduated. Hutton Moyer was selected in the seventh round of the MLB Draft by the Angels and Jackson McClelland was picked in the 15th round by the Blue Jays. Yamaguchi is still with the team serving as a graduate manager.

2015 ALL-WCC: Pepperdine had seven players honored on the WCC postseason awards last season. Hutton Moyer and Brandon Caruso took home All-WCC first team accolades, while Jackson McClelland was named to the All-WCC second team, and Jordan Qsar and Ryan Wilson grabbed All-Freshman Team honors. Aaron Barnett and Matt Gelalich received honorable mention.

COACHING STAFF: 2016 marks the first season of Head Coach Rick Hirtensteiner's tenure at the helm for Pepperdine. Hirtensteiner served as an assistant on the Waves' staff for 17 years prior to taking over for Steve Rodriguez, who left for Baylor this past summer. Hirtensteiner hired Cooper Fouts, who previously served as a volunteer assistant with the Waves from 2011-12, to serve as the team's recruiting coordinator and hitting coach. Hirtensteiner tabbed Rolando Garza to fill the team's role as pitching coach, after former pitching instructor Jon Strauss also left to fill the same role with Rodriguez at Baylor. Fouts was previously an assistant at Utah Valley, while Garza served as the pitching coach at Riverside Community College.

POSTSEASON HISTORY: The Waves made their 29th appearance in NCAA postseason play last season, advancing to the NCAA Fullerton Regional final. In 2014 Pepperdine made its first ever NCAA Super Regional after winning the San Luis Obispo Regional Tournament. 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 (1979, 1992).

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.