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What 2 Watch 4
Seven Big West squads will serve as hosts in the final weekend of non-conference play, while four are on the road.
UC Santa Barbara (6-5) hosts UConn (3-6) in a three-game set Fri.-Sun. UC San Diego (9-3) welcomes Pacific (2-10) for three, Fri.-Sun. Cal Poly (4-7) gets Ohio State (6-4) four times at home, Fri.-Mon. Holy Cross (3-7) will play four at UC Riverside (6-6), Fri.-Sun., with a doubleheader on Sat. Jacksonville (5-7) faces Cal State Fullerton (4-7) at Goodwin Field, four three games, Fri. and Sat., with a doubleheader on Sat. Cal State Bakersfield (2-10) faces NJIT (2-8) at home in a four-game set, Fri.-Sun., with a doubleheader on Sat. Rice (4-8) will play Hawai’i (7-5) four times, Fri.-Mon.
CSUN (9-2) heads to the Pacific Northwest for a four-game series, Thurs.-Sun., againt No. 6 Oregon State (11-1). UC Irvine (10-0) travels to the Central Valley for two games at Fresno State (8-3) and two neutral-site matchups against Columbia (3-3), Thurs.-Sun. Long Beach State (9-1-1) goes to Kansas for three at Wichita State (7-4), Fri.-Sun. UC Davis (7-5) gets Santa Clara (7-4) for a three games, Fri.-Sun., in the Bay Area.
Mid-week matchups will feature Utah Valley at UC Davis and Nevada at UC San Diego on Monday, Cal State Bakersfield at Pepperdine, UNLV at UC Santa Barbara, CSUN at San Diego, and UC Riverside at San Diego State on Tuesday, and UNLV at Cal Poly, Ohio State at Cal State Fullerton, UConn at UC Irvine, Dartmouth at Long Beach State, and Washington State at UC Riverside on Wednesday.
Weekly Highlights
Seven Big West teams won their respective weekend series.
UC Irvine went 3-0 at the Dodger Stadium Classic, taking care of San Diego (3-1) and Michigan (12-4) at home, before defeating UCLA (5-2) at Dodger Stadium. Nick Pinto had a stellar start against the Toreros, tossing seven innings with nine strikeouts and one run allowed on four hits. Caden Kendle slashed .583/.688 /1.167 with four runs and seven RBI to lead the Anteater offense.
Long Beach State swept all three games from Milwaukee at home, 5-4 in 11 innings, 4-1 and 6-0. Myles Patton had a strong outing in the opener, with 13 strikeouts through six innings of work in an eventual no decision. Adrian Lopez hit two home runs and recorded five RBI in the series.
CSUN took all three games from Nevada, 6-4, 16-1 and 6-5 in 10 innings. Jakob Simons hit 4-for-10 with four RBI, seven runs and a home run in the series.
UC San Diego showed off its offensive prowess, winning four against Stephen F. Austin by scores of 10-4, 4-2, 16-1 and 17-2. Benjamin Rosengard went 6-for-15 with eight RBI, five runs and two home runs against the Lumberjacks. Spencer Seid tossed five innings for no runs with six strikeouts in the series finale.
UC Santa Barbara won two games out of three in Eugene against Oregon. The Gauchos won the first two 6-1, 7-3, before dropping game three, 16-9. Matt Ager scattered just four hits and an unearned run over 6.1 innings with eight strikeouts in the opener. Ager downed the Duck side in order in the third, fourth and sixth innings. Brendan Durfee hit .400 with two runs and two RBI for the UCSB offense.
Hawai’i took three of four from Holy Cross, 12-1, 4-6, 7-4 and 9-2. Matthew Miura played in three of the four games and went 5-for-10 with eight RBI and three runs. Alex Giroux made appearances in game one and game three, pitching five combined innings with five total strikeouts and did not give up a run.
UC Riverside won its three-game series against Pepperdine. After falling in the first game, 5-4, in Malibu, the Highlanders came back on fire with 13-6 and 17-6 wins at home. Dominic Martinez led the Highlanders with a 6-for-13 weekend with four RBI and five runs.
Five Big West teams came away with victories in their mid-week matchup.
Cal Poly downed Pepperdine 4-3, powered by Ryan Stafford’s 3-for-4 day with two RBI and one run. UC Santa Barbara defeated Villanova 10-1. The Gaucho pitching staff did not give up an earned run and combined for nine strikeouts, while Reiss Calvin and Jessada Brown had three hits apiece. Calvin and Corey Nunez each had three RBI. UC Irvine topped California Baptist 5-4. Woody Hadeen went 2-for-4 and Thomas McCaffrey had two RBI. Long Beach State’s pitching staff combined for 14 strikeouts and gave up only six hits in a 2-0 victory over UCLA. UC Davis downed local foe Sacramento State 10-5. Joey Wright had three RBI for the Aggies.
National Attention
Undefeated UC Irvine (10-0) is featured on several national rankings, coming in 19th in Baseball America, 22nd in Perfect Game, 22nd in NCBWA, 23rd in USA Today Coaches and 23rd in D1Baseball.
UC Santa Barbara (6-5) is ranked 25th in D1 Baseball and receiving votes by NCBWA, Perfect Game and USA Today Coaches. Long Beach State (9-1-1) is receiving votes in the NCBWA national poll.
• D1Baseball
• NCBWA
• Baseball America
• Perfect Game
• USA Today Coaches
Team Records and Stats
Eight Big West teams are at or above the .500 mark three weeks into the season. UC Irvine has yet to take a loss going into the weekend with a perfect 10-0 record. As a team, the Anteaters have a .299 batting average and a 3.00 ERA. Both rank second in The Big West.
Long Beach State has only taken one loss with a 9-1-1 record. The Beach are powered by a pitching staff that leads the league in ERA at 2.52 and strikeouts at 136.
UC San Diego is 9-3, leading the league in batting average at .309 and RBI at 94. The Triton pitching staff have a conference third-best 3.36 ERA and top the league in fewest walks with 32.
CSUN (9-2), Hawai’i (7-5), UC Davis (7-5), UC Santa Barbara (6-5) and UC Riverside (6-6) round out the teams above the .500 mark in The Big West.
Preseason Prognostications
UC Santa Barbara was picked by league head coaches to finish atop The Big West baseball race in 2024. It was the second year in a row that the Gauchos have been selected as the preseason favorites.
UC Santa Barbara earned nine of the 11 first-place votes to total 99 points. The Gauchos, who won two of the last four Big West titles (2019, 2022) under 13th-year head coach Andrew Checketts, finished 2023 at 35-20 overall and tied for fifth in The Big West standings with an 18-12 league record. UC Santa Barbara is expected to compete nationally this season, appearing on several media outlets’ preseason NCAA rankings (17th in D1Baseball, 18th in USA Today and 24th in NCBWA).
The Big West coaches also voted on an 11-player preseason team and the Gauchos had three representatives in junior right-handed pitcher Matt Ager, sophomore left-handed pitcher Hudson Barrett and junior third baseman Zander Darby.
Ager finished last season with a 5-4 record in 15 appearances, throwing 92.1 innings for a 3.12 ERA and 115 strikeouts, the latter two stats ranking second in the league. The righty earned NCBWA All-America Third Team, ABCA All-West Region Second Team and All-Big West First Team accolades. With expectations for a repeat performance, Ager’s name is also featured on numerous outlets’ preseason All-America teams including D1Baseball (First Team), NCBWA (Third Team), and Perfect Game (Third Team). The Pleasanton product will also begin the upcoming year on the watchlist of the prestigious Golden Spikes Award.
Barrett had a monstrous rookie campaign at Santa Barbara, going 5-1 with an ERA of 1.92 in 61.0 innings, and racking up 82 strikeouts and six saves. The lefty also earned numerous national awards including NCBWA All-America Third Team and Freshman All-America from NCBWA (First Team), Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, Perfect Game (First Team) and D1Baseball (second Team), and collected ABCA All-West Region First Team, All-Big West First Team and Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors as well. Barrett joins Ager on the Preseason All-America squads for NCBWA (Second Team), D1Baseball (Second Team) and Perfect Game (Second Team).
Darby was the catalyst of the Gaucho offense last season, leading the team in hits (62), triples (3), walks (30), at-bats (215), sacrifice flies (5), and runs scored (45).
Outside of the trio that made the preseason team, UC Santa Barbara is reinforced by two returning 2023 All-Big West honorees in junior outfielder Ivan Brethowr (First Team) and sophomore right-handed pitcher Tyler Bremner (Honorable Mention), as well as the return of sophomore right-handed pitcher Ryan Gallagher, the 2022 Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year, who missed all last season due to injury.
UC Irvine is second in the poll with 89 points and received the remaining two first-place votes. Last year, the Anteaters went 38-17 for all games and placed fourth in the conference with a 19-11 league mark. UC Irvine joins the Gauchos in the preseason national polls, being rated No. 25 by Baseball America and receiving votes by USA Today and NCBWA.
The Anteaters took three slots on the Big West preseason team with junior third baseman Dub Gleed, senior outfielder Caden Kendle and sophomore first baseman Anthony Martinez.
Gleed hit .300 with 65 hits, 17 doubles, one triple, five home runs, 49 RBIs, and 36 runs scored en route to an All-Big West Second Team selection last year.
Kendle was the 2023 Big West Co-Field Player of the Year and an All-Big West First Team member after leading the league in runs (69), and being second in hits (77), RBI (56) and hit-by-pitches (16-tied), fifth in on-base percentage (.434), to go with a .355 batting average, .969 OPS, 16 doubles, eight home runs, 29 walks and seven stolen bases. The ABCA All-West Region Second Team honoree even caught the eye of pro scouts and was drafted in the 10th round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals but decided to return for a fourth season at UCI.
Martinez, last year’s Big West Freshman Field Player of the Year, led the conference in several offensive categories as a true rookie, including batting average (.394), on-base percentage (.471), hits (91), RBI (60), total bases (143) and sacrifice flies (eight-tied), was second in OPS (1.090) and hit-by-pitches (16-tied), and third in slugging (.619), runs (54) and doubles (19-tied). The Anteater first baseman was named an All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (Third Team) and Freshman All-American by D1Baseball (First Team), Baseball America (First Team), NCBWA (First Team), and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. The sophomore collected national Preseason All-America accolades from the NCBWA (Second Team) and D1Baseball (Third Team).
Outside of the three on the preseason squad, the Anteaters return multiple 2023 All-Big West performers with senior second baseman Jo Oyama (Second Team), junior outfielder Chase Call (Honorable Mention), and senior catcher Thomas McCaffrey (Honorable Mention). Ben Orloff, the 2021 Big West Coach of the Year after guiding UC Irvine to the conference crown that year, begins a sixth season in charge at the alma mater.
Entering its fourth and final year of the reclassification period, reigning conference champion UC San Diego is predicted to finish third with 78 points. The Tritons finished last season 34-18 overall and 21-9 in league play and won its athletics department the first ever Big West title in any sport. UCSD was not eligible to compete in the postseason due to the NCAA transition rule.
Three Tritons were placed on the preseason team in junior right-handed pitcher Ryan Forcucci, junior third baseman Matt Halbach and senior left-handed pitcher Izaak Martinez.
Forcucci went 4-1 in 14 appearances and nine starts last year. UCSD’s Friday night starter towards the end of the season recorded a 3.86 ERA with a team-best 68 strikeouts in 53.2 innings and earned All-Big West Second Team honors.
Halbach was a 2023 All-Big West First Team performer that slashed .306/.406/.500 with 63 hits, 15 doubles, a league-leading five triples and five home runs, and collected 41 runs and 39 RBIs.
Martinez was an all-conference first team selection last season. The UCSD closer compiled a league second-best nine saves, with a 6-1 record, a 2.84 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 57.0 innings.
Bolstering the Triton lineup for 12th year head coach Eric Newman, last year’s Big West Coach of the Year, are sophomore outfielder Patrick Hackworth (2023 All-Big West Honorable Mention) and junior catcher Emiliano Gonzalez (2022 All-Big West Second Team).
Hawai’i (70), CSUN (65), Cal State Fullerton (59), Cal Poly (46), Long Beach State (42), UC Davis (25), Cal State Bakersfield (21) and UC Riverside (11) round out the poll.
Hawai’i finished 2023 at 29-20 overall and tied for fifth in The Big West with an 18-12 league mark. The Rainbow Warriors bring back three all-conference performers from the previous season in sophomore left-handed pitcher Harrison Bodendorf (First Team), senior infielder Stone Miyao (Honorable Mention) and senior infielder Kyson Donahue (Honorable Mention). Bodendorf was also a Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Freshman All-American last year. In 2022, Miyao (Second Team), Donahue (Honorable Mention) and senior catcher Dallas Duarte (Honorable Mention) were All-Big West members. Rich Hill enters a third year as the head coach at Hawai’i and 37th season overall in the NCAA (1998-93 at Cal Lutheran, 1994-98 at San Francisco, 1999-2021 at San Diego).
CSUN head coach Eddie Cornejo looks to build off a maiden voyage where the Matadors tied for second in The Big West with a 20-10 conference record and went 34-17 overall. CSUN graduate outfielder Jakob Simons earns a spot on the preseason team after earning Big West Co-Field Player of the Year, all-league First Team and ABCA All-West Region Second Team accolades last year. The Matador center fielder led The Big West in OPS (1.115), ranked second in slugging percentage (.665), tied for third in home runs (14), and was fourth in batting average (.356), on-base percentage (.450) and runs scored (51).
Outside of Simons, the Matadors return senior right-handed pitcher Joshua Romero, a 2023 All-Big West Second Team and ABCA All-West Region First Team honoree, and junior second baseman Shunsuke Sakaino, an all-conference honorable mention last year. Romero caught the eyes of the NCBWA with last season’s play and is expected for a repeat performance, being named to its Preseason All-America Second Team.
Cal State Fullerton was the lone Big West team to taste the postseason last year after tying for second in the conference standings with a 20-10 record and went 32-24 overall. The Titans earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship due to UC San Diego being ineligible and winning the tiebreaker over CSUN. The Titans went 1-2 at the Stanford Regional, getting a 9-5 win over San Jose State. Cal State Fullerton third-year head coach Jason Dietrich looks to rebuild after losing all eight of last year’s All-Big West honorees to graduation or the professional ranks.
Cal Poly junior catcher Ryan Stafford takes the final seat on the preseason team. Stafford hit .313 with a team-leading 20 doubles, seven home runs and 44 RBIs to earn an all-league second team selection. On defense, the Mustang backstop threw out 11 would-be base stealers and picked off three other runners and played on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team over the summer. Stafford earned Freshman All-American accolades from Collegiate Baseball News and Baseball America in 2022.
Ten of the 11 preseason honorees were 2023 All-Big West performers, with Ager, Barrett, Halbach, Kendle, Simons, Anthony Martinez and Izaak Martinez on the first team on the first team, and Forcucci, Gleed and Stafford on the second team. Anger, Kendle and Stafford were all-league performers in 2022 as well.
Outside of Stafford, Larry Lee, the league’s longest-tenured head coach with 22 seasons at the reigns, returns senior first baseman Joe Yorke (2022 All-Big West First Team), senior shortstop Aaron Casillas (2023 All-Big West Second Team), junior second baseman Ryan Fenn (2023 All-Big West Honorable Mention) to the Cal Poly lineup.
Long Beach State will be under new leadership in 2024 as Bryan Peters, who spent the previous four years as associate head coach, was named interim head coach this past summer after the resignation of Erik Valenzuela.
UC Davis head coach Tommy Nicholson, Cal State Bakersfield head coach Jeremy Beard and UC Riverside head coach Justin Johnson are in their third, eighth and fourth years, respectively, at their schools.
Aggie junior third baseman Alex Gouveia and Roadrunner junior utility Matt Kurata were All-Big West Second Team honorees last season and return for their 2024 campaigns.
History of Big West at College World Series
The Big West has sent at least one team to the Men’s College World Series in 21 seasons, including a stretch of eight consecutive years from 1988-95 and four in a row from 2014-17. Four current members have represented The Big West at the MCWS - Cal State Fullerton (1975, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2017), Long Beach State (1989, 1991, 1993, 1998), UC Irvine (2007, 2014) and UC Santa Barbara (2016).
In 2007, CSUF and UCI played in the longest game in MCWS history - a five-hour-and-40-minute marathon that lasted 13 innings and ended in a 5-4 Anteater victory. The Big West has won two national titles, both by the Titans, in 1995 and 2004.
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