Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal State Bakersfield
Records: Aggies, 6-7; Road Runners 8-4
Where: Dobbins Stadium — Davis, Calif.
When: Friday at 2:30 p.m.; Saturday at 1 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m.
Who to Watch: Sophomore Nick Lynch continues his hot hitting streak to start the season. He played two of the three games against Oklahoma State last weekend, going 4-7 from the plate.
He pushed his batting average up to .429 on the season, which leads the team. Lynch leads the regular players in hits with 18, slugging percentage with .548, and on-base percentage with .510.
The first baseman has started twelve games this year and usually bats in the middle of the order.
Did you know? Senior Paul Politi had a 17-game hitting streak going into Friday’s game against Oklahoma State. He could not extend it, as he went hitless on the day.
Politi has started all thirteen games this season and plays at third base. He leads the team with two home runs and 13 runs batted in. He is also batting .314 on the season.
Preview: After salvaging only one game during the three game series against Oklahoma State, the Aggies dropped their game against Sacramento State on Tuesday by a score of 0-14.
The Aggies got off to a hot start this season, winning four of their first five games. However, they have gone 2-6 since.
For the last two series, the Aggies have won only the series finales. Getting off to a good start and winning the first game will be a big plus for the team.
“You anticipate they’re going to be there. You’re going to be a little bit psyched and pumped up,” Politi said. “You just kind of get ready for that and feel and recognize it and check in and try to get focused on what you need to do and get really directed towards what you really need to accomplish.”
UC Davis comes into the series batting .305 as a team with a small-ball mentality — making sure to run the bases well and steal bases when possible — to win games.
The Aggies have a team-earned run average of 5.26 and have had strong starting pitching from junior Evan Wolf (1-0) and sophomore Robert Parucha (1-0). Wolf has started three games and holds a 2.40 ERA. Parucha has come in to relieve the starters and has done a nice job in his four appearances accumulating a 1.54 ERA.
The Aggies are currently seventh in the Big West Conference standings, but have yet to play any conference games. Cal State Fullerton leads the league with a record of 10-1.
UC Davis will be playing at home, where it holds a 5-5 record. It looks to improve from a 27-30 record last year, which consisted of an impressive home record of 17-11. Its conference record was even at 12-12 and finished fifth in the Big West in 2012.
CSU Bakersfield comes into the series with a record of 8-4 and is second in the Western Athletic Conference. It has played its first 11 games at home and has matched up with Nebraska and USC, two teams in major conferences.
It traveled for the first time to play UC Irvine on Tuesday, losing 1-6. Now, the Roadrunners are ready for their second road trip of the season against the Aggies.
CSU Bakersfield is led by senior Dylan Christensen, who is batting .413 and has started all 12 games. He is among the leaders in every offensive statistic for his team.
As a unit, the Roadrunners are batting .282 on the season. Their pitching has been solid thus far, maintaining a 3.11 ERA. Christensen pitches as well as he hits and has two saves with a 1.08 ERA.
—Luke Bae
