Three weeks remain of the 2008 regular season and six teams own an above-.500 conference record with No. 12 Cal State Fullerton leading the way with a 13-5 mark. Defending Big West Champion UC Riverside sits in second with a 10-5 record, while UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis and Long Beach State are tied for third at 9-6. Rounding out the top six is No. 10 UC Irvine, who is 8-7 in league play.
The three-way tie for third place will be broken this week as Long Beach State hosts UC Santa Barbara in a weekend series May 9-11. Winning eight of the previous 11 contests and owning a 17-5 record at Blair Field, the 49ers enter the week on an upswing. The Gauchos, one of two Big West schools to reach the 30-win plateau last weekend, have dropped five of the last eight contests and are 10-10 on the road this season. This weekend's showdown at Blair Field pits the league's second-best pitching staff (LBSU - 3.32 ERA) against the league's second-best hitting team (UCSB - .317). Long Beach State has won the last four outings between the two teams, improving its all-time record versus the Gauchos to 81-67. Friday night’s game begins at 6:30 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday’s first pitches are slated for 6:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.
Also looking to get the edge among the front-runners are UC Riverside and UC Davis, who clash this weekend at the Riverside Sports Complex. The defending champions enter this week's matchup having won four consecutive Big West series, while UC Davis has claimed just one series victory over the past three weeks. The Highlanders hold the advantage in the all-time series with a 26-17 mark. First pitch is tossed at 6:00 p.m. Friday and 1:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Prior to the weekend series, UC Riverside puts its four-game win streak on the line when it hosts UC Irvine in a midweek nonconference matchup. The Aggies, 7-5 versus the top 25, also have a Tuesday-night tilt when they travel No. 16 California to play their eighth straight contest against a ranked opponent.
League-leading Cal State Fullerton returns home this week to kick off a season-long eight-game homestand, which begins with Pepperdine and Cal Poly. The Titans welcome the Waves to Goodwin Field Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. and follow that up with a three-game stint with the Mustangs Friday-Sunday. Friday’s contest with Cal Poly will be broadcast live on CBS College Sports Network, formerly known as CSTV, at 5:15 p.m. (PDT). Dating back to 1984, the Titans have dominated the series with the Mustangs, 42-7. Before heading to Orange County, the Mustangs pick up a midweek contest with USC Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
The Anteaters open the week playing their ninth road contests in 10 games when they visit UC Riverside Tuesday night in a nonconference meeting. Three days later, UC Irvine returns to the familiar confines of Anteater Ballpark to host Pacific in a three-game Big West series. UC Irvine looks to carry the momentum of a conference series win last weekend and a stretch of five victories over the course of seven games into this week’s lineup. Pacific, who put together a 1-11 mark over a span of 12 games, plays five contests this week. They visit No. 6 Stanford Monday evening and entertain Santa Clara Wednesday before heading to Southern California for the Anteater-Tiger showdown that gets underway Friday at 6:00 p.m.
Taking a break from Big West play are the Cal State Northridge Matadors, who currently sit eighth in the league with a 6-12 mark. The Matadors, 3-11 on the road this season, play a pair of contests at both UNLV (5/6-7) and USC (5/10-11).