Teams: UC Davis vs. Pepperdine
Records: Aggies, 1-3; Waves, 2-1
Where: Dobbins Stadium
When: Friday at 2:30 p.m.; Saturday at 1 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m.
Who to watch: Kyle Mihaylo has been one of the few bright offensive spots for UC Davis so far.
The junior outfielder leads the team with a .357/.471/.786 vital line. Four of his five hits this season have been for extra bases, including a solo home run to left field in Tuesday’s home opener.
Did you know? UC Davis faced Pepperdine last year in the NCAA Division I West Regionals. Nate Simon and Denny Duron hit two-run homers in the second and eighth inning, respectively, in a 7-4 Waves win.
Preview: UC Davis coach Rex Peters figured his team’s inexperienced pitchers would get off to a slow start this season.
He didn’t expect his offense to follow suit.
UC Davis managed only three hits on Tuesday in a 7-1 loss to San Francisco. The top five batters in the order reached based just once in 18 plate appearances.
“That was probably the most disappointing thing of the day,” Peters said. “We knew we would struggle a little bit on the mound as we developed the pitching staff, but we were hoping that offensively we would be good enough to carry the pitching staff a little bit.
“Other than the Sunday game at UCLA, we’ve been pretty anemic as of late. Down at UCLA, those are good arms; that’s understandable. Out here today, this is average pitching, and we should be able to do better than three hits and one run.“
The Aggies carry a .194/.276/.284 team vital line on the young season, making them due for a breakout this weekend. Pepperdine’s pitching staff enters the series with a 3.67 ERA.
This will be the Waves‘ second straight series against a Big West Conference team. The Waves took two of three from Cal State Northridge last weekend, capturing the series win on Sunday with Simon’s walk-off home run in the 10th.
Simon batted .385 against the Matadors and hit three home runs.
– Michael Gehlken
