Teams: UC Davis vs. No. 15 California
Records: Aggies, 16-19; Golden Bears, 23-14
Where: Dobbins Stadium
When: Today at 2:30 p.m.
Who to watch: When the Aggies need a spark on offense, they look to one of their speedy outfielders.
One of those weapons is Daniel Cepin.
The junior who hails from Coronado, Calif. torched Cal the last time the two teams faced each other. While going 5-for-5 from the plate, Cepin also delivered three RBI and scored a run.
The outfielder lends his success against the Bears to a change in approach at the plate.
“Our coaches have been talking to us a lot about discipline,” Cepin said. “You just need to wait for a good pitch and put a good swing on it.”
Did you know? Sophomore southpaw Antony Kupbens will miss the remainder of the 2010 season due to injury.
The San Jose, Calif. local finishes the season with a 6.98 ERA and 21 strikeouts in seven appearances.
Preview: No. 15 Cal will be looking for revenge.
In the fourth game of the season, the Aggies traveled to Berkeley and trounced the Golden Bears by a score of 8-0.
At the time, the win was big for UC Davis as it had defeated a tough opponent on the road to set the tone for the season.
“Everything went right against Cal,” said coach Rex Peters. “To beat a formidable Pac-10 opponent like that is big.”
In the win, the Aggies relied upon timely hitting and a strong pitching performance from Nathan Slater. This time around, UC Davis will have to battle out of their midseason funk if they hope to repeat against a Cal team that has improved since the beginning of the year.
This time around, the Aggies will give the ball to freshman CJ Blom who will be making just the third start of his young career. Charged with the task of holding the Golden Bear bats at bay, Blom will need to do what he does best – throw strikes.
One huge roadblock to success for the Aggies will be Golden Bear slugger Mark Canha. The junior outfielder sports a tremendous .379 batting average to go along with a .473 on base percentage and a .586 slugging percentage.
The Aggies will look to give it their all to sweep this season series today at Dobbins Stadium.
– Mark Ling
