After three weeks of Big West Conference play, third-ranked UC Irvine is the frontrunner in the league standings with an impressive 8-1 record. The Anteaters are followed by No. 6 Cal State Fullerton, No. 15 Cal Poly, UC Santa Barbara and Pacific, who are tied for second with a 5-4 mark.
In order for UC Irvine to collect its fourth consecutive conference series, the Anteaters will have to battle UC Riverside on its home field, where they are 9-3 this season. UC Irvine swept nationally-ranked Cal Poly and co-defending conference champion Long Beach State and took two-of-three from then-ranked No. 1 Cal State Fullerton. On the flip side, the Highlanders are searching for their first league series victory of the 2009 season after going 1-2 against both the Titans and 49ers. Friday and Saturday’s first pitch at the Riverside Sports Complex is slated for 6:00 p.m. while Sunday’s outing begins at 2:00 p.m. The Anteaters enter the series with a 29-17 advantage over the Highlanders.
Prior to the weekend’s action, UC Irvine plays two nonconference opponents. The Anteaters entertain Loyola Marymount Monday at 6:00 p.m. and visit San Diego Tuesday afternoon for a 3:00 p.m. start. UCI holds the edge in the all-time series with LMU (34-32-3) and San Diego (44-38-1). UC Riverside gets its turn against LMU when it hosts the Lions in a Tuesday-evening showdown.
Cal State Fullerton, who picked up its second series win of the year last weekend, faces USC and Pacific this week. The Titans close out a four-game road trip with a Tuesday evening tilt against the USC Trojans, a series they lead 40-35-1. Following their midweek contest, the Titans return to the familiar confines of Goodwin Field to host Big West foe Pacific in a three-game series beginning Friday, April 17. Game times for the series running Friday-Sunday are 7:00, 6:00 and 1:00 p.m.
The Tigers are coming off their second straight conference series loss and have dropped six of their last eight games. Pacific hopes to turn things around this week when it opens its road trip with a visit at San Jose State for a nonconference contest beginning at 3:00 p.m. The Tigers and Spartans faced off in a home-and-home series early in the season with San Jose State being the recipient of a series sweep.
Continuing to inch up the top 25 rankings are the Cal Poly Mustangs, who own an overall mark of 24-8 and a conference record of 5-4. The Mustangs, who picked up their second straight series win with a 2-1 record over Pacific, returns to the diamond Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. for a showdown with the Santa Clara Broncos. The Broncos hold a 12-11 advantage over the Mustangs. Three days later, Cal Poly returns to Baggett Stadium where it has been dominate all season with a near-perfect 14-1 record. The Mustangs entertain UC Davis Friday-Sunday with game times of 6:00, 6:00 and 1:00 pm.
The Aggies picked up their first league win of the season last weekend and look to add to the victory this week in San Luis Obispo. Prior to making the trip to the central coast, UC Davis makes a quick stop in Moraga, Calif., for a meeting with the Saint Mary’s Gaels, and hosts the California Golden Bears Wednesday.
Cal State Northridge, who enters the week with an 0-11 road mark, looks to get the monkey off their back with their first victory away from Matadors Field. They get that chance this weekend when the Matadors visit Blair Field for a league series against Long Beach State. The 49ers, who own an all-time home winning percentage of .688, currently holds an 8-8 home record this season. The three-game series opens Friday at 6:30 p.m., followed by a 2:00 p.m. start Saturday and a 1:00 p.m. start Sunday.
The 49ers and Matadors each play a midweek nonconference contest with Long Beach State visiting Pepperdine (4/13) and Cal State Northridge hosting Cal State Bakersfield (4/14).
UC Santa Barbara takes a break from league play with four nonconference games on its docket. The Gauchos open the week hosting Cal State Bakersfield Wednesday afternoon. Two days later UC Santa Barbara entertains San Jose State for a weekend series beginning Friday, April 17 at 2:00 p.m.