Thanks to a 4-1 week, which included a sweep over conference foe UC Riverside, UC Irvine (26-10, 11-1) now occupies the top spot in two national polls, Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. This marks the first time in Big West Conference history that two different schools have captured the No.1 ranking in the same season. Cal State Fullerton entered the week of March 23 as the top team in the country.
UC Irvine, sweeping three conference opponents in a season for the first time, continues to sit atop the league standings with a near-perfect 11-1 record. The Anteaters take a break from Big West action this week with a five-game nonconference schedule that features Oregon and Utah. Former Big West coach George Horton and his Oregon Ducks visit Anteater Ballpark for a pair of contests. Monday’s first pitch is slated for 6:00 p.m., while Tuesday’s outing begins at 3:00 p.m.
Two days later the Anteaters leave the Golden State for a showdown versus Utah. The Anteaters are a perfect 7-0 all-time versus the Utes. The three-game series, which is slated for Thursday-Saturday, has a game time of 5:00 p.m. (PDT) the first two days and an 11:00 a.m. start the final day.
No. 12 Cal Poly claimed its third straight conference series to improve to 8-4 in the Big West Conference, good enough for second place. The Mustangs have a light week ahead, playing just a weekend series against central coast foe UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos entertain the Mustangs at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium Friday at 2:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Cal Poly holds a 34-32 edge in the tightly-contested series with UC Santa Barbara.
The Gauchos also play a midweek nonconference contest at Cal State Bakersfield. Tuesday’s meeting marks the third time the two teams have faced off this season with UC Santa Barbara winning both contests by scores of 10-0 and 8-7.
Last week the Pacific baseball team recorded its first-ever series win over Cal State Fullerton which elevated them to third in the in the Big West with a 7-5 record. The Tigers look to carry that momentum into this week’s matchups with Nevada and Long Beach State. Pacific visits former Big West member Nevada Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. before returning to Klein Family Field to host Long Beach State. The two teams have played each other 90 times and the 49ers hold a 69-21 advantage in the all-time series. Game times for the weekend series are 5:30, 5:30 and 1:00 p.m.
Long Beach State slips in a nonconference contest at San Diego State Tuesday evening before making the trek to northern California. The Aztecs, who lead the all-time series 75-45-1, won the previous game versus the 49ers, 4-3, back on April 7.
Nationally-ranked Cal State Fullerton begins the week with nonconference contests against West Coast Conference members San Diego and Pepperdine. The Titans welcome the Toreros to Goodwin Field for a Tuesday-night tilt starting at 6:00 p.m. Dating back to 1976, Cal State Fullerton owns a 48-7-2 series mark. The following night the Waves and Titans battle in Malibu, Calif., at 3:00 p.m. These two teams have been evenly matched over the years with the Titans holding a 49-39 edge over the Waves.
Cal State Fullerton returns to Big West play Friday afternoon when it visits Dobbins Stadium for a three-game stint versus the UC Davis Aggies. The Aggies have dropped five straight contests since picking up its lone conference win of the season back on April 11. The Titans have won 10 of the 12 games in the short-lived series with the Aggies. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Friday and 1:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
UC Riverside, who had the daunting task of playing both then-ranked No. 1 Cal State Fullerton and No. 3 UC Irvine in the opening weeks of conference play, has posted a 2-7 mark to sit in seventh place. This week they entertain UCLA in a Tuesday night contest and visit Cal State Northridge for a weekend series. Matador Field also plays host to a Cal State Northridge-Pepperdine showdown Tuesday evening.