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WCC Baseball Championship Series To Be Shown Exclusively On WCC All-Access
May 21, 2008
SAN BRUNO, Calif. - This weekend's WCC Baseball Championship Series showdown between No. 13 Pepperdine and No. 7 San Diego will be shown exclusively on WCCsports.com on WCC All-Access. Fans can catch the free live video webcast of the entire schedule of games by simply signing up for the WCC Free All-Access. WCC CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES SCHEDULE GAME 1 - MAY 23 GAME 2 - MAY 24 GAME 3 (if necessary) MAY 25 Pepperdine and San Diego will meet over Memorial Day weekend to determine the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in the 10th annual WCC Championship Series. It marks the second straight season that the Toreros will host the event, as USD claimed its third WCC Championship Series title at Cunningham Stadium last year. The Waves will make the program's ninth trip to the WCC Championship Series in 10 years, having secured a second place finish in the conference standings. Pepperdine edged Santa Clara for the chance to take on San Diego, knocking the Broncos out of WCC Championship Series contention by taking two-of-three in the final regular season series between the two programs last weekend.
San Diego ascended to a No. 7 listing in the Collegiate Baseball poll, and No. 11 in the Baseball America rankings after taking last week off for exams, while Pepperdine is ranked No. 13 in the Rivals.com poll. Scouting The Waves Pepperdine's pitching rotation is highlighted by three newcomers, as transfer Nathan Newman and freshmen Scott Alexander and Matt Bywater have led the way for the Waves. Newman has posted a 7-3 record with a 3.24 ERA, while Alexander and Bywater combined to post 14 victories during the regular season. Junior left-hander Robert Dickmann has made 15 mound appearances and 13 starts for the Waves, while Nick Gaudi emerged as one of the conference's top closers this season, nailing down 13 saves with a team-best 2.09 ERA during his senior campaign. Tyler Hess gives Pepperdine added depth in the bullpen, as the freshman right-hander has gone a perfect 3-0 in 21 relief appearances Pepperdine has won seven of its last eight contests, including taking two-of-three from Santa Clara last weekend to earn a berth in the Championship Series. The Waves are 5-6 against ranked opponents so far this season.
The Toreros boast one of the strongest starting pitching rotations in the nation, as Brian Matusz and Romanski, semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award, headline a four-man group that has combined to go 30-10 this season. Matusz, unanimously selected as the WCC Pitcher of the Year, has posted a 10-2 mark with a WCC-high 122 strikeouts, while Romanski has notched a perfect 9-0 mark, including a pair of complete game victories. Freshman right-hander Kyle Blair (6-4, 4.36) and junior left-hander Ricardo Pecina (5-4, 3.58) round out the starting rotation, while sophomore AJ Griffin leads the USD bullpen. Griffin set the Torero program record with 13 saves this season, and leads the WCC with a 2.04 ERA. San Diego's lineup has been led by sophomore outfielder James Meador, who enters the WCC Championship Series batting a team-best .380 (71-for-187) on the season. Meador also paces the team with 16 doubles and 49 RBI, while pounding out a team-best 71 hits on the year. Freshman Victor Sanchez emerged as one of the top power hitters in the conference during his first collegiate campaign, as the newcomer slugged a team-leading 11 home runs and tied for second on the team with 45 RBI during the regular season. Six Torero starters enter the week batting over .300, with Kevin Hansen (.349), Jose Valerio (.328), Josh Romanski (.317), Kevin Muno (.311), and Sean Nicol (.302) all batting .300 or better. USD put together a 16-game winning streak during April, which registered as the nation's longest. The streak included 12 straight victories against WCC opponents, a string that was halted by Pepperdine on May 2. USD took two-of-three from the Waves during their series in Malibu. WCC Championship Series Notes |
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