DAVIS, Calif. — A total of 14 games against five NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago highlights the 2015 schedule for the UC Davis baseball team, as Head Coach Matt Vaughn announced his club’s 57-game slate.
Four of the five NCAA Tournament opponents will come from the Aggies’ own conference, as three-game series against regional participants Cal State Fullerton (April 10-12) and Big West Conference regular season champion Cal Poly (May 21-23) will be contested at Dobbins Stadium, while UC Davis will travel to face Long Beach State (May 15-17) and College World Series participant UC Irvine (April 17-19).
The annual home-and-home series against regional qualifier and Western Athletic Conference champion Sacramento State is also scheduled, with the Aggies hosting their Causeway rival on April 7, before the two face off, once again, at Raley Field in Sacramento on May 5.
“Right off the bat, with four NCAA Tournament teams in the Big West, that’s enough of a challenge in itself,” Head Coach Matt Vaughn said. “I think outside of that we have a very good schedule this year.”
For the first time since taking on nationally ranked UCLA in Los Angeles in 2009, the Aggies will open the 2015 season on the road, traveling to San Marcos, Texas, for a three-game series at Texas State on Feb. 13-15. The Bobcats finished 30-28 overall and 16-14 in the Sun Belt Conference, advancing to the league tournament and winning a pair of games before falling to top-seeded Louisiana.
After its trip to the Lone Star State, UC Davis returns to Northern California to open a season-long six-game home stand against a trio of opponents, welcoming Bay Area rival Santa Clara to Dobbins Stadium on Feb. 17 for the first of two non-conference meetings with the Broncos. The Aggies’ 25-game home schedule continues with a four-game series against Gonzaga on Feb. 20-22, before a pair of mid-week contests against Eastern Michigan on Feb. 24-25 closes out the home stand.
Two trips to the Pacific Northwest follow, part of a run that will see UC Davis play 11 of its next 12 games away from the friendly confines. The Aggies sandwich three-game series at Portland (Feb. 27-March 1) and Seattle (March 6-8) around a trip to Reno for a single game at Nevada on March 3. UC Davis hosts the Wolf Pack on March 10, before returning to the road for a series at Fresno State (March 13-15) and a single game at San Francisco (March 24) prior to the start of Big West Conference play.
“We had some issues with our opening weekend, but Texas State had an opening and we’re going to go down there to start the season,” Vaughn said. “That’s a challenge because we’ve been kind of used to being at home, and with that change, four of our first five weekend series are on the road.
“Texas State, come home for Gonzaga, and then at Portland and at Seattle — two places where you’re probably going to be dodging rain drops — I think, that alone, will pose a big challenge early in the year. On the other hand, it’s also a nice chance to start out the year, RPI wise, if we can win some games.”
The Aggies, who finished 7-17 overall in league play a season ago, open conference action against UC Riverside (March 27-29), and will host league series against the perennial power Titans, CSUN (May 8-10), and the Mustangs. Other single-game non-conference contests at Dobbins Stadium include Saint Mary’s (March 31), San Francisco (April 14), San Jose State (April 21), and Pacific (April 24) — the latter as part of a three-game non-conference series against the Tigers that concludes with contests in Stockton, California, on April 25-26.
“I think the Big West, in any given year, there’s a lot of teams that can win this conference,” Vaughn said. “You used to say Cal State Fullerton is going to be up there — and they are still going to be up there, especially with the way they pitch right now — but, I think, the conference is evening out a little bit. It will be a challenge and, hopefully, our non-conference schedule, with us being on the road a lot, will toughen us up a little bit and get us ready for that fight.”
UC Davis returns a bevy of position starters and 19 letter winners off of last season’s squad that finished 23-31 overall — an improvement of four games in the win column from the Aggies’ 2013 campaign. Three of the team’s top six hitters return to the lineup as junior Tanner Bily (.372/.442/.481) joins senior sluggers Kevin Barker (.335, 10 doubles, 21 RBI) and Nick Lynch (.308, 11 doubles, four home runs, and 34 RBI).
“I think our pitching and defense will be a lot better this year,” Vaughn said. “We got better last year, especially defensively, and I think we’ll make another jump this year. I think we’ll throw a lot more strikes. Offensively, with today’s bats and the way the game is played, you’ve got to be ready to take advantage of every opportunity you have with runners in scoring position. We’ve struggled with that a little bit, but we’ve worked on that throughout the fall, and we’ll be better at that this year.”
On the mound, senior right-hander Spencer Koopmans is the lone hold-over from last season’s weekend rotation, looking to improve on a season that saw him finish 4-3 overall with a 2.84 ERA and a .258 average against. The sophomore trio of LHP Orlando Razo (2-4, 1.34 ERA, .246 average against), RHP Zach Stone (3-4, 3.14 ERA, 9 saves, .202 average against), and RHP Justin Mullins (1-0, 2.97 ERA, .205 average against), bolster a staff that held opposing hitters to a .259 average.
“We had three freshmen throw significant innings for us last year — Mullins, Razo, and Stone — those guys all threw strikes last year, they went out this summer and threw strikes, and those guys are going to step in and fill some of those spots nicely,” Vaughn said. “I would say we’ve got six or seven guys, right now, that are challenging for a starting role. Spencer is going to be the guy we build around, he had a good year last year and he didn’t do anything to lose that spot — in fact, he solidified that spot this fall — so he’ll be in the mix somewhere, and we’ll be working the rest of the fall, into January and early February to fill those spots.”
The Aggies’ roster was rejuvenated with an influx of 13 newcomers, including a pair of junior college transfers; a group that looks to make an immediate impact and give UC Davis some depth as they enter the 2015 campaign.
“I think those guys are catching on quickly and, in some cases, they are challenging the seniors,” Vaughn said. “There’s some good, young, middle infielders battling for some playing time. There are some freshmen in the program that can help us right off the bat. It’s close, and we have a little bit of depth, but it’s time for the seniors to step up and make their mark.”
