THIS WEEK...
GAME 16: Stanford (10-5) at UC Davis (5-10)
Monday, March 21, 2016
Dobbins Stadium (Davis, Calif.)
2:30 p.m.
Game Coverage: Live Stats

GAMES 17-19: Air Force (10-4) at UC Davis (5-10)
Thursday-Saturday, March 24-26, 2016
Dobbins Stadium (Davis, Calif.)
2:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Game 1: Live Stats
Game 2: Live Stats
Game 3: Live Stats

PLAY BALL!: Spring break will be no break for the UC Davis baseball team, which will pack four games into a six-day span following final exams this week -- all at Dobbins Stadium on campus. The Aggies (5-10) host Bay Area rival Stanford (10-5) for a second time this season to kick-off the week on Monday (March 21) at 2:30 p.m., before welcoming the Air Force Academy (10-4) in for a three-game series beginning on Thursday (March 24). The first two games of the series between the Aggies and Falcons are scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m., with first-pitch for Saturday's (March 26) series finale at 1 p.m.

IN THE POLLS: UC Davis, Stanford, and Air Force, are unranked as of the national polls released on March 14. Updated rankings will be released by most of the major polls on March 21.

YOU "LIKE" US, YOU REALLY "LIKE" US: Fans can keep up with the latest in UC Davis athletics by "liking" us on Facebook (Facebook.com/UCDavisAggies) and following us on Twitter (@UCDavisAggies). Fans can also get a behind-the-scenes look at the baseball program by "liking" them on Facebook (search for "UC Davis Baseball) and following them on Twitter (@UCDavisBaseball). Gameday in-game updates for baseball, and all Aggie athletic teams, are also available on Twitter by following @UCDavisInGame.

WE'RE READY FOR OUR CLOSE-UP: UC Davis will make its 2016 television debut on Friday, April 15, at 7 p.m. on ESPN3 when the Aggies open a three-game series at defending Big West Conference champion Cal State Fullerton. It is, currently, the only scheduled television appearance for UC Davis this season. It comes a day before the Aggies' softball team makes an ESPN3 appearance with a doubleheader against the Titans on April 16.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Due to on-going construction at Benedetti Diamond in San Francisco, the site for UC Davis' game against the University of San Francisco on April 5 has been shifted to Dobbins Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on campus.

ABOUT STANFORD: Following an 11-day break, Stanford enters the week with a 10-5 record after sweeping three-game weekend series with Kansas by the scores of 2-0, 10-4, and 6-2 at home over the weekend... The Cardinal dropped 2-of-3 to No. 2 Vanderbilt in their previous weekend series, with losses in the last two games ending a brief three-game winning streak... Freshman IF Nico Hoerner (.304) and junior IF Tommy Edman (.293) share the team lead with 17 hits on the year, with Edman pacing the squad with 11 runs scored... Sophomore IF Mikey Diekroeger and sophomore OF Quinn Brodey are tied with 10 RBI this season... Outside of their regular rotation of Tristan Beck, Kris Bubic, and Brett Hanewich, only sophomore LHP Andrew Summerville (2-1, 2.45) and junior LHP Chris Castellanos (2-1, 4.03) have started games this season.

SERIES NOTES: According to records that date back to 1960, Stanford leads the all-time series with UC Davis, 49-14, including a 5-2 win earlier this year at Dobbins Stadium... The Cardinal have won eight of the last 10 meetings... UC Davis' last win in the series came on March 26, 2013, with a 2-1 win at home... Monday marks the second of three meetings this season -- the most times the two programs will meet in a single-season since 2008 when the Aggies won a pair of regular season meetings and, then, took the opener between the two at the NCAA Regionals before being eliminated by Stanford... UC Davis is 5-8 against the Cardinal during its Division I Era, including 2-3 at home.

ABOUT AIR FORCE: The Falcons enter the week with a 10-4 overall record and a 4-1 mark in Mountain West Conference play, after winning a 17-13 slugfest against San Diego State in the only game they were able to complete against the Aztecs in San Diego over the weekend due to rain... Since the calendar turned to March, Air Force has had five games postponed due to weather... Junior OF Adam Groesbeck leads all regulars, batting .483 through 14 games with 20 runs scored, nine extra-base hits (including five triples) and 17 RBI... Five different Falcons have already driven in double-digit runs this season while the team is batting .353 as a squad, with seven players hitting better than .300 on the year... Junior RHP Jax Griffin is 4-1 on the mound with a 1.12 ERA this season, striking out 29 in 32 innings while holding opponents to a .216 average.

SERIES NOTES: The Aggies and the Falcons have met only one other time on the diamond, with UC Davis posting a 14-5 win over Air Force at the Jack Gifford Memorial Tournament on March 11, 2010.

CONFERENCE CALL: UC Davis is a combined 50-131-1 against the current Pac-12 alignment, following a mid-week 5-2 loss to Stanford back on Feb. 22 at Dobbins Stadium and a three-game sweep at the hands of Arizona State prior to final exams in Phoenix on March 11-13... UC Davis has lost its last eight straight against the Pac-12 dating back to a 2-1 win over Stanford on March 26, 2013, at home... UC Davis is 98-149-2 against the current baseball-playing Mountain West Conference members, having faced all but New Mexico and UNLV... The Aggies are also 3-1 against Boise State, but the Broncos haven't fielded a team since 1980.

THIS CLOSE: Each of UC Davis' last nine games -- and 10 overall this season -- have been decided by two runs or fewer, including four straight one-run contests prior to final exams against South Dakota State and Arizona State. The Aggies are 3-4 in games decided by a single run this season.

EXTRA INNINGS: Of UC Davis' last four one-run games, the first three of those were decided in extra-innings as the Aggies defeated South Dakota State 5-4 in 11 before falling to the Sun Devils by the scores of 6-5 and 4-3 in 11 and 12 innings, respectively. The last time the Aggies played in three-straight extra-inning games was on Feb. 20-24, defeating Utah (9-8) in 10 innings, falling to San Jose State (4-3) in 12 innings, and defeating CSU Bakersfield (10-6) in 16 innings. The 16-inning game against the Roadrunners is tied for the longest in the program's Division I history, matching a 2-1 win over UC Riverside on March 27, 2011.

SCORE FIRST, WIN OFTEN: The Aggies are 4-1 this season during games in which they have scored first, falling for the first time last week in the series finale at Arizona State -- a game in which UC Davis carried a 2-0 lead into the late innings before falling, 3-2, in the bottom of the ninth.

QUALITY YOU CAN COUNT ON: Senior right-hander Nat Hamby put up his second quality start of the season in the series finale at Arizona State, throwing six shutout innings while giving up only two hits and striking out seven, but earned the no decision. Also throwing one against Utah Valley in a 2-0 win back on Feb. 27, Hamby has allowed only six hits over 12.2 innings in his two quality starts, striking out 14.

NO FREEBIES FROM MULLINS: Junior right-hander Justin Mullins also put together a "quality start" against the Sun Devils in game two of the series, striking out six while walking a batter for only the second time this season en route to a his second straight no decision. Mullins has struck out 19 against only two total walks for the year, tying teammate Nat Hamby for second on the team in the former, collecting at least five strikeouts in each of his three starts thus far.

GARCIA? HE'S O-"K": Freshman left-hander Robert Garcia has been lights out from the bullpen thus far, having not allowed an earned run in 21 innings of work (seven appearances) while posting a strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly 5-to-1. He has not allowed a run PERIOD in his last 19.1 innings of work -- a run that included a career-high seven strikeouts in three innings against San Francisco on March 1. Fresh off a career high-tying 4.2 innings of work at Arizona State in game two, Garcia's 29 strikeouts rank tied for seventh in the Big West entering the week while holding opponents to a stingy .125 average against -- which ranks sixth in the league.

DRAWING A BLANK: As of March 17, Garcia is one of only 11 qualifying pitchers in the nation to have not allowed an earned run -- and one of three who have thrown 20-or-more innings. The freshman also ranks among the top 50 in hits allowed per nine innings (12th at 3.86), WHIP (22nd at 0.71), and strikeouts per nine innings (31st at 12.43), while ranking 58th overall in strikeouts (29).

MAKING THE SACRIFICE: Get 'em on. Get 'em over. Get 'em in. It's a age-old baseball mantra that the Aggies took to heart on March 9 against South Dakota State, finishing the day with a UC Davis Division I Era record six sacrifices (not counting the game-winning sac fly) against the Jackrabbits. The total eclipsed the previous mark of five set against Creighton in 2012, and later tied against San Jose State twice in 2012 and 2014. UC Davis enters the week third in the Big West with its 21 sacrifices led by Thomas' seven on the year, which also paces the league.

GIVE IT UP FOR THE AGGIES: UC Davis' 21 sacrifice hits rank seventh in the nation (as of March 17), trailing leader Georgia Southern (27) in the national rankings. With seven by himself, Thomas ranks third in the nation overall and among the top five at 0.47 per game.

RBI - RYAN BATS 'EM IN: Freshman Ryan Anderson has done just that this season, leading the team with 11 RBI in 15 games thus far -- ranking among the top 20 in the Big West entering the weekend. Anderson leads the team with three multi-RBI games this season when you include a career-high three RBI in back-to-back games against Santa Clara and Saint Joseph's, and has hits in five of his last six games.

AGGIE FIRSTS: Freshmen Cameron Briggs and Alex Roeser collected their first career hits and scored runs as part of the Aggies' huge five-run ninth-inning rally in the opener at Arizona State. Briggs pinch-hit and led-off the inning with a single to left, scoring the first run of the game for UC Davis on Cameron Olson's single, while Roeser singled two batters later and scored the tying run on Alex Aguiar's sacrifice fly.

DENHOLM RISING: Freshman catcher Logan Denholm finished 7-for-13 (.538) with three RBI and a pair of runs scored last week (including his first career extra base hit with a double against South Dakota State), raising his average from .136 entering the week to .286 at the end of the series in Phoenix. Denholm set a career high with four hits against the Jackrabbits and added three more in the opener at ASU to give him three multi-hit games this season.

IN THE CARDS FOR CARDINALLI: Entering the 2016 season with just three career hits in his two previous campaigns with the Aggies, junior outfielder Mark Cardinalli continues to spray the ball all over the park to start the season, entering the week ranked fourth in the Big West with a .410 average (one of only four players batting .400 or better) and ranking second on the team behind Aguiar with 16 hits. Cardinalli has hits in seven of his last nine games, batting .414 in that stretch.

FINDING ANOTHER "AGUIAR": Sophomore Alex Aguiar (pronounced "uh-GEAR") has done his best to get things started atop the Aggies lineup this season, capping off a solid start to his 2016 campaign with a 4-for-6 day at the plate with a pair of runs scored against South Dakota State to kick off last week. The four hits tied a career high set earlier this year against Santa Clara (4-for-5) and, along with a pair of hits at Arizona State, the sophomore has hit safely in nine of his last 11, racking up a team-high 18 hits and ranking second on the squad with a .305 average, bolstered by six extra-base hits (four doubles and two home runs) to slug a team-best .475.

RUN ALEX, RUN: That work at the top of the order has paid off as Aguiar leads the team and ranks him among the top 20 in the Big West entering the week with 12 runs scored.

MR. BASEBALL... TOO FAST!: The Aggies were a perfect 6-for-6 on the basepaths against South Dakota State, running the Jackrabbits ragged in their 11-inning win. The six steals were a season high and the most for UC Davis in a game since it swiped six against Saint Mary's on March 31 last season.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?: Brown, who has made a pair of mid-week starts against Stanford and San Francisco, is tied with teammates Robert Garcia and Blake Peters with seven appearances this season, posting an 0-2 record with a solid ERA of 2.04 and an average against of .210 this year (third on the team behind Garcia's .125 and Hamby's .184 average), but has been equally effective out of the bullpen, having not allowed an earned run on just four hits in five relief appearances, while striking out nine.

RECYCLED NOTES
THAT'S RANK: When UC Davis held off No. 20 Michigan for a 4-3 win over the Wolverines in the series opener on March 3, the Aggies ended a five-game skid against nationally ranked opponents dating back to last year, posting their first win over a ranked foe since they handed UC Irvine an 8-3 loss in Orange County on April 17, 2015. The victory improved UC Davis to 18-33 all-time against nationally-ranked opponents in the program's Division I Era.

VAUGHN REACHES THE CENTURY MARK: With his team's 4-3 win over Portland on Feb. 21, Head Coach Matt Vaughn recorded the 100th win of his coaching career. Now in his fifth season at the helm of the UC Davis baseball program, Vaughn joins former skippers Phil Swimley (902-832-15) and Rex Peters (234-265-1) as the only Aggie head baseball coaches to reach the century mark.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE AGGIES: UC Davis returns 18 letterwinners, but just two position starters off of last season's roster that finished 30-26-1 overall and 9-15 in Big West Conference play -- only the second team (2008) to win at least 30 games in the program's Division I history. Senior outfielder Tanner Bily is the leading returner on offense after hitting .255 with 32 runs, 13 doubles, and 20 RBI, hoping to pace a lineup that lost its top six hitters from last season. The pitching staff is also in rebuilding mode as UC Davis lost all three of its starters from last year's weekend rotation, returning seven arms who started a combined nine games in 2015.

HOME IMPROVEMENT: The Aggies finished 16-9 at home last season, marking a four-game improvement in the win column from the season before and the third-highest total in the program's Division I history, trailing only the 2008 and 2012 squads that each won 17 home contests. Overall, UC Davis' 30 wins were seven better than the year prior, while the 14 road victories were the most since the Aggies won 18 away from home during their Division I debut season.

WHO'S ON FIRST?: It may take Aggie fans a few games to recognize the number of new faces around the diamond as the 2016 season gets underway as UC Davis returns just two everyday position starters off last season's squad. The aforementioned Bily in the outfield is joined by sophomore infielder Brad Pluschkell, who made 37 starts mainly at third base for the Aggies as a rookie, hitting .227 with 15 runs scored, six extra-base hits, and 11 RBI, while posting a .973 fielding percentage (four errors in 146 chances.

"HELLO, MY NAME IS...": The 13 true freshmen on this year's Aggie roster are the most in the program's Division I Era (previous high was 10 in 2008) and the most since the 2005 UC Davis roster featured 16 youngsters.

AGGIES WELCOME FIVE FALL SIGNEES: Four high school standouts and a junior college pitcher made up a class of five student-athletes who signed National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers with the Aggies during the fall early signing period. Right-hander Blake Cederlind (Turlock, Calif. / Merced JC) will join prep outfielder/pitcher Colton Evans (Modesto, Calif. / Pitman HS '16), infielder Alejandro Lara (Fairfield, Calif. / Vanden HS '16), catcher Jackson O'Boy (Aptos, Calif. / Aptos HS '16), and outfielder Matt Smith (Salinas, Calif. / Palma HS '16), for the 2017 UC Davis baseball season.

TITANS PICKED TO REPEAT IN BIG WEST POLL: College World Series participant Cal State Fullerton, which received four first-place votes and 71 points overall, was picked to defend its Big West Conference championship in 2016 according to a vote of the league's coaches released by the conference office. UC Irvine, Long Beach State, and UC Santa Barbara, all received first-place votes and round out the top four in that order, followed by CSUN, Cal Poly, Hawai'i, UC Riverside, and UC Davis. The Aggies stood one point back of the Highlanders in the poll and just 11 points back of the Rainbow Warriors according to the coaches.