ON DECK…
GAME 1-3: Northern Colorado (0-0) at UC Davis (0-0)
Fri.-Sun., Feb. 15-17, 2019
2:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Phil Swimley Field at Dobbins Stadium
Davis, Calif.
Game Coverage: Live Stats

GAME 4: Nevada at UC Davis 
Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019
2:00 p.m.
Phil Swimley Field at Dobbins Stadium
Davis, Calif.
Game Coverage: Live Stats


Complete Game Notes


DAVIS, Calif. — The UC Davis baseball team is ready to officially kick off its 2019 campaign at home for the seventh time in the last 11 years, beginning with a three-game set against Northern Colorado. The Aggies open Friday afternoon (Feb. 15) at 2 p.m., continue on Saturday (Feb. 16) at 1 p.m., and wrap up the series on Sunday (Feb. 17) with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. UC Davis will then host its first mid-week game the following Tuesday (Feb. 19) in the first of a home-and-home series against Nevada at 2 p.m.

FIRST PITCH DINNER 
Following Saturday's game UC Davis baseball will host its annual First Pitch Dinner at the ARC Ballroom beginning at 6:30 pm. In addition to celebrating the start of the 2019 season, the Aggies will also honor the accomplishments of this year's Hall of Fame inductees: Daniel Descalso (3B, 2005-07), Dennis Flippen (IF, 1999-02), Michael Potter (LHP, 2003-06), and the 2003 Division II World Series team.  

IN THE POLLS
Neither UC Davis, nor Northern Colorado or Nevada, are ranked among the top 25 squads this week. 

ABOUT NORTHERN COLORADO
Finished the 2018 season with a 29-24 overall mark to go along with an 11-13 Western Athletic Conference record to finish fifth in the league behind Seattle U (4th), Sacramento State (3rd), New Mexico State (2nd) and Grand Canyon (1st)... Despite qualifying for the WAC Tournament for the past four seasons, the Bears were picked to finish eighth in the 10-team league this season... The Bears are slated to return two of their top three hitters off last year's squad, after losing Dean Lawson to graduation who paced the team with a .335 average... Redshirt senior and pre-season first team All-WAC honoree, Jack Pauley, trailed Lawson hitting .327 on the season with 13 doubles, while driving in 39, scoring 44 times, and finishing 11-for-12 on the base paths... Rising junior Matt Burkart stayed close behind Pauley averaging .325 with 66 hits, 17 doubles, and 39 RBI... Northern Colorado's pitching staff will look to fill the shoes of weekend starters Keenan Lum (3-3, 4.92 ERA) and Aaron Hamilton (4-3, 6.80 ERA) as well as closer Connor Leedholm (11 saves) who accounted for over 30% of the Bears' innings pitched last season combined.

SERIES NOTES
The Bears lead the all-time series record with the Aggies, 3-1, after the two teams met on the field for the first time in program history last season for a four-game set at Phil Swimley Field... The Aggies claimed the series opener, 6-2, but the Bears answered back with three consecutive wins (6-4, 12-2, 5-3) to take the series... UC Davis will look to halt a three-game skid at Phil Swimley Field in the series opener on Friday. 

ABOUT NEVADA
Picked to finish second behind San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference according to the league's preseason coaches poll, the Wolf Pack will look to surpass its 29-24 overall record and 20-9 MWC mark from a season ago…Three returners were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team, including 2018 MW Freshman of the Year, Joshua Zamora, who finished his debut season with a .355 average and a team-high nine home runs… Zamora was joined by fellow Freshman All-American (Collegiate Baseball) Jake Jackson (8-4, 5.42 ERA), who led the Mountain West with six wins and paced the staff with 77 strikeouts and 15 starts in his debut season… Rising senior Caleb Foster was also named to the list after he averaged .378 against conference opponents and slugged four of his six home runs against MW opponents in 2018… Before facing the Aggies in a mid-week battle on Tuesday (Feb. 19), Nevada is slated to begin its 2019 campaign at the Texas State Tournament where they will face No. 24 Missouri State, Texas State, and Utah. 

SERIES NOTES
According to records dating back to 1970, the Wolf Pack leads the all-time series record with the Aggies, 67-45-1, as well as the overall Division I record (games played since 2008), 13-5… UC Davis and Nevada last met on the field two seasons ago, when the Aggies secured a 7-4 road win… The Aggies are 18-23 at Phil Swimley Field and will look to extend their current steak next Tuesday in the first of a home-and-home series on the schedule this season. 

THE AGGIES AT A GLANCE
Coming off a 2018 campaign that saw the Aggies finish 18-35 overall, and 9-15 in Big West play, UC Davis is slated to return two of its top three hitters off last year's squad, including rising sophomore shortstop Tanner Murray. The Big West Freshman Field Player of the Year and All-Big West second team selection capped off his debut season for the Aggies averaging .333 at the plate to go along with 64 hits, 10 doubles and 22 RBI. He stood second only to All-Big West first team honoree Ryan Anderson, who paced the Aggies with a league-leading .345 average in 53 games, collecting 13 doubles, six home runs, and a team-high 36 RBI. The Pleasanton native was taken in the 31st round of last year's Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft by the Rangers. 

The Aggies will also return rising senior infielder Cameron Briggs who finished third on the squad with a .296 average last season to go along with 42 hits, seven doubles, and 24 runs over 44 appearances with 39 starts. 

Senior left-hander Chris Brown, who was was a mainstay in the Aggies' weekend rotation in 2018, is a veteran of the staff after posting a 5.14 ERA in 15 appearances (14 starts) and striking out 35 in 75.1 innings of work last season. In addition to co-leading the staff in wins with a 4-5 mark, Brown tossed a career-long eight innings to help the Aggies secure their second Big West series win of the season over Long Beach State (Apr. 29), allowing just one run and striking out a pair. Brown will be joined on the mound by fellow rising senior Blake Hannah as well as sophomores Jared Sasaki and Brett Erwin.

Hannah, who was mainly used as the Aggies' mid-week starter in 2018, wrapped up his junior season with a career-best 22 strikeouts over 35.2 innings and threw a season-long five innings in the Aggies' 7-3 win over San Jose State (Apr. 3), surrendering just one hit en route to his third career win. Erwin (0-2, 3.38 ERA), an All-Big West Conference Honorable Mention, appeared in a team-high 20 games out of the bullpen in his debut season and ranked second on the team with three saves. Sasaki (4-6, 4.34 ERA) earned a spot in the Aggies' weekend rotation, making 16 appearances (13 starts) and striking out 33 over 76.2 innings of work.  

The Aggies will look to fill the shoes of weekend starter Matt Blais as well as reliever Connor Loar, who were both lost to graduation. Blais (4-8, 5.55 ERA), led the staff in strikeouts (50) and innings pitched (84.1), and paced the Big West with four pick offs. He threw his second career complete-game against Northern Colorado on Mar. 16, allowing just two runs on nine hits while striking out a career-high nine. Loar (3-3, 1.74 ERA), who joined UC Davis in 2017 as a junior-transfer out of Chabot College, found his stride in 2018 carrying a team-best 1.74 ERA to go along with a team-high four saves over 19 appearances out of the bullpen. The All-Big West Conference Honorable Mention tossed a career-long five innings in the Aggies' extra-inning win over San Francisco (Apr. 24), allowing just two hits.

ALL HANDS ON DECK
UC Davis is set to play four of its games against two teams that advanced to last season's NCAA Tournament, including Big West colleague, Cal State Fullerton, who advanced to the super regionals. The Titans went 3-0 to sweep the Stanford Regional as the No. 3 seed, first upsetting the No. 2 seed Baylor, 6-2, then posting back-to-back wins over No. 1 seeded Stanford, before falling 2-1 to Washington in the super regional series. 

Among other post-season qualifiers, the Aggies will make their way to Sunken Diamond to face Stanford (No. 1 seed in the Stanford Regional) on Apr. 16. Last season, the Aggies fell in their home opener at Phil Swimley Field by a narrow one-run margin, 2-3, to a then-ranked No. 13 Cardinal squad. 

The remainder of the non-conference schedule includes a three-game series at Pepperdine (Mar. 8-10), three meetings with Pacific and San Francisco (two at home and one away for each), and a three-game series at Utah during the Aggies' conference bye week on May 23-25 in Salt Lake City.

CAL STATE FULLERTON PICKED TO REPEAT IN BIG WEST POLL
According to a vote of the league's coaches, Cal State Fullerton, is picked to stand atop the 2019 league standings for the second consecutive season after picking up three first-place votes en route to a total of 70 points. UC Irvine earned the second slot with 67 points and four first-place votes, while Long Beach State was selected third with 62 points and one first-place vote. Cal Poly was selected fourth and received the final first-place vote (60), followed by UC Santa Barbra in fifth (49), Hawai'i in sixth (32), CSUN in seventh (29). UC Davis (19) came in eighth ahead of UC Riverside (17) in ninth.

FOLLOW UC DAVIS BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Aggie fans can stay updated with the latest UC Davis athletics news by "liking" us on Facebook (Facebook.com/UCDavisAggies) and following us on Twitter (@UCDavisAggies). Fans can also keep up with the action with the baseball program by "liking" them on Facebook (search for UC Davis Baseball) and following them on Twitter (@UCDavisBaseball).

AGGIES TO WELCOME SEVEN NLI SIGNEES IN 2020
UC Davis baseball head coach Matt Vaughn announced the signing of seven high schoolers, including two Davis locals, to National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers at UC Davis beginning in the 2020 season. The all-California group includes Davis locals Zach Carrell (Davis Senior HS '19) and Jonah Henrickson (Davis Senior HS '19), as well as Northern California talents Nathanael Freeman (Benicia, Calif. / Benicia HS '19), Joseph Lampe (Petaluma, Calif. / Casa Grande HS '19), and Mt. Shasta native Kaden Riccomini (Mt. Shasta HS '19). The Aggies will also welcome Southern California talents Kai Janowicz (Avila Beach, Calif. / Mission College Preparatory HS '19) and Nicholas Iverson (Culver City, Calif. / Maranatha HS '19).

ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation, according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.

AGGIE EVO
Established during the 2017-18 academic year, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.

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