MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine baseball head coach Rick Hirtensteiner released the Waves’ 2018 schedule this week as the team will start regular season action at home on February 16.
The schedule is highlighted by home non-conference series against Michigan State and Louisiana Tech, a trip to East Carolina for the LeClair Classic, as well as the full West Coast Conference slate. Pepperdine has a total of 52 games on the schedule, with 29 of those contests coming at home.
Pepperdine Logo NON-CONFERENCE SERIES
The Waves open the season with 17 non-conference games before getting to WCC play, 11 of which come at home. Pepperdine starts the season with six of its first seven contests in Malibu, including a season-opening four-game series against Louisiana Tech starting on Friday, February 16 and a three-game set against Michigan State, February 23-24. The Waves will play a doubleheader on the Saturday of the Louisiana Tech series.
Pepperdine makes an East Coast swing later in the year, playing at Campbell on February 28 and then competing in the LeClair Classic hosted by East Carolina, March 2-4. In addition to playing ECU at the classic, the Waves will take on Saint Joseph’s and Missouri State.
Pepperdine also has a split series with Cal State Northridge, playing Friday and Saturday contests in Malibu (March 9-10) and then the Sunday game in Northridge. The teams also play a Tuesday (April 3) game in Northridge later in the season.
Pepperdine Logo MIDWEEK MATCHUPS
The Waves host midweek non-conference games against Arizona State (March 6), New Mexico (March 13), Fresno State (March 20), UC Santa Barbara (March 27) and Cal Poly (April 17) this year. Pepperdine travels to UCLA (Feb. 20), Campbell (Feb. 28), Cal State Northridge (April 3), Cal State Fullerton (April 10), Fresno State (May 1), UC Santa Barbara (May 8) and Cal Poly (May 15). That gives the Waves home and home series with Fresno State, UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly this year, as well as the split four games between Pepperdine and Cal State Northridge.
Pepperdine Logo WCC ACTION
The Waves play five of their nine conference series at home this year.
Pepperdine starts WCC play with its first six games on the road, heading to Gonzaga (March 16-18) and then crosstown rival Loyola Marymount (March 23-25). The Waves also have road series at Santa Clara (April 13-15) and Saint Mary’s (May 11-13).
The team will host WCC series against BYU (March 29-31), Pacific (April 6-8), San Diego (April 20-21), San Francisco (May 4-6) and Portland (May 18-20). Three of the Waves’ last four series will be played at home this year.
The WCC Tournament will once again be held in Stockton, Calif. at Banner Island Ballpark. The conference tournament will continue to host the top four teams in the WCC standings, with the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line.
Pepperdine Logo TOUGH COMPETITION
Pepperdine faces four teams that made the NCAA Postseason last year in UCLA, Cal State Fullerton, Missouri State and BYU. Two of those four (Cal State Fullerton and Missouri State) advanced to a Super Regional and Cal State Fullerton made its 18th appearance in the College World Series.
In addition, 15 of the Waves’ 22 opponents had winning records last year, with 12 teams winning at least 30 games and eight winning 35 or better.
Pepperdine Logo EXHIBITIONS
The Waves will play their annual Blue and Orange World Series November 10-15 this year, with five games currently on the schedule. The series may be adjusted based on pitchers’ availability. The Blue and Orange World Series is a yearly inter-squad competition that serves as the culmination of the fall practice season.
Pepperdine will also host its annual Scolinos Alumni Game on February 3. Named after legendary Pepperdine coach John Scolinos, the alumni game pits the current Waves against former Pepperdine greats at beautiful Eddy D. Field Stadium.
Both the Blue and Orange World Series and Scolinos Alumni Game will be open to the public and are listed on the Pepperdine schedule page.
