Teams:UC Davis vs.No.15CalStateFullerton
Records:Aggies,25-13 (6-3); Titans,24-14 (9-3)
Where:Goodwin Field – Fullerton,Calif.
When:Today at7p.m.; Saturday at6p.m.; Sunday at1p.m.
Who to watch:Senior right-hander Eddie Gamboa’s second complete game of the season last Friday earned him Easton Big WestConferenceCo-Pitcher of the Week honors.The Aggies will look to their ace for another qualityperformance to get an early leg-up in the crucial weekend series.
Did you know? Two Aggies are on the verge of cracking the school’s top-10single season lists.Junior closer Justin Fitzgerald needs just two more saves to move into a tie for thesingle-seasonlead while junior catcher Jake Jefferies needs just one more double and three more RBI to reach the10th spot in those lists.
Preview:For the Aggies,tests don’t get much harder than their upcoming schedule.
“No question,this is the toughest run since I’ve been here,” head coach Rex Peters said. “This is a very pivotal stretch for us with eight games against tough teams.We have to show we can compete with these teams if we have any chance to make a postseason run.“
This weekend,the Aggieswill look to stir up the standings and national rankings againstthe conference-leading Titans.
“We’re going to have to bring our ‘A‘ game if we want to compete with them,” Peters said. “[Fullerton] is a program with a lot of tradition and they step on the field every time believing they should win.“
The Aggies have felt that way about themselves this year whenever their ace is on the mound.In eight Friday contests this season,UC Davis is6-2.
Ranking fourth in the Big West in ERA,Gamboa (6-1,2.22) will duelanother six-gamewinnertoday –Titan right-hander Jeff Kaplan (6-1,4.79).
On Saturday,juniorAggieright-hander Brad McAtee (5-3,2.70) will look to bounce back from a tough outing against Cal Poly last weekend and will be opposed byfreshmanTitan right-hander Daniel Renken (4-2,2.87).
Cory Arbispo (7-2,4.45) will start the last game of the weekend for Cal State Fullerton.The junior right-hander,who leads the Big West in wins,will match up with a yet to-be-named Aggie starter.
