MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine Baseball Head Coach Steve Rodriguez announced the team’s 2015 schedule this week and it includes 26 non-conference contests to go along with the full slate of WCC action.
The defending WCC champs start the year playing 11 of their first 12 games at home, before going on the road against perennial title contender Cal State Fullerton and then heading north for a three-game showdown at Pac-12 foe Washington.
Pepperdine finished last year 43-18, winning both the WCC regular-season and tournament titles en route to the program’s 32nd postseason appearance. The Waves swept the Cal Poly regional to make it to their first NCAA Super Regional since the round was instituted in 1999.
“We have some really good teams scheduled right off the bat, so we’re going to have to be ready to go,” said Rodriguez, who begins his 12th season at the helm for the Waves. “We played Hawaii last year so we know how tough they are, and we also have Tulane and Butler who are a couple of teams from outside of our region that will provide a real challenge for us. There are no breaks on this schedule.”
Pepperdine opens the season against Tulane (Feb. 13-15) and will play 17 non-conference games before opening WCC play on March 12 at BYU.
Following home series against Tulane, Butler (Feb. 20-22) and Hawaii (Feb. 26-March 1), the Waves head out on the aforementioned trip to Fullerton (March 3) and Washington (March 6-8), before facing UCLA at home prior to the start of conference action. Pepperdine has home and away midweek series against UCLA (March 10, May 6), USC (March 24, April 14), Cal Poly (March 31, April 7), UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 24, April 21) and Cal State Northridge (March 17, May 12) as well this year.
The Waves host WCC series against Loyola Marymount (March 20-22), Santa Clara (April 10-12), St. Mary’s (April 17-19) and Gonzaga (May 15-17), and will travel to BYU (March 12-14), Portland (March 27-29), Pacific (April 2-4), San Francisco (May 2-3) and San Diego (May 8-10).
“We have a group of guys coming back who know how tough our conference is and what we have to do to get it done,” said Rodriguez, whose teams have won five WCC titles during his tenure. “It’s always tough in conference play, but even more so when you’re the defending champs and everyone is gunning for you, so we need to be ready every week.”
This year’s schedule features four NCAA Tournament teams from last year, and seven teams that have made it in the past two seasons. The WCC tournament will be held May 21-23 in Stockton, Calif. and NCAA Regional play begins May 29.
2015 Pepperdine Baseball Schedule
