Davis, Calif. — The 2023 college baseball season begins Friday, and UC Davis is hosting Utah Valley for a four game series over the course of three days. The weekend will begin with a Friday, 2 P.M. start, followed by a Saturday double-header beginning at 11 A.M., and concluding with a Sunday getaway game for the visiting Wolverines at 1 P.M.
Utah Valley is led by former LSU hitting coach Eddie Smith and the Wolverines are coming off a 19-37 season. They enter the year projected to finish 11th in the WAC.
Due to the cancellation of the Aggie Women's Basketball game this Saturday, all four games will be available for streaming through ESPN+.
SERIES INFORMATION
UC DAVIS BASEBALL | GAMES 1-4
FEBRUARY 17-19 | DOBBINS STADIUM | DAVIS, CALIF.
FRIDAY, 2 P.M. | SATURDAY 11 A.M. & 2:30 P.M. | SUNDAY 1 P.M.
LIVE VIDEO (**ESPN+ LINK TO BE UPDATED**) | LIVE STATS
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday: UC Davis RHP Nate Freeman vs. Utah Valley RHP Logan Gerling
Saturday: UC Davis LHP Bryan Green vs. Utah Valley RHP Mitch Mueller
Saturday: UC Davis LHP Avery Thau vs. Utah Valley RHP Jayse Burkett
Sunday: UC Davis RHP Rowen Barnes vs. Utah Valley RHP Luke McCollough
ABOUT THE AGGIES
With a full season of games slated in Tommy Nicholson's second go-around, UC Davis is poised to make a vast improvement this coming year. At the spotlight for Nicholson's team is none other than Mark Wolbert, who last season was the Big West Freshman of the Year. Wolbert led the Big West in average during the conference schedule, batting .410 and .351 on the season with the latter ranking fifth in the Big West. He was one of just seven players to post an OPS over 1.000 during the conference slate with a 1.060 OPS. He also led the Big West in hits during the conference schedule with 48 over 30 games and had the third-most total bases in that span.
While the talk of the Aggies revolves around Wolbert, a core of players that returns Nick Iverson, James Williams III, and Nick Leehey gives the Aggies a versatile and constant group of leaders the 19 newcomers can lean on for experience.
Iverson should find time all over the field this season. The leader of the position players, he is maybe the most versatile Aggie on the roster. Set to split time this season between right field, third base, and second base, he also figures to be a staple towards the top of the order. Hitting for a .280 average last season, he battled a knee injury late that would hold him out for the final 13 games.
James Williams III provides the Aggies with a consistent hitter to their lineup. With Williams III, Nicholson has a guy who proved consistently last year he could come through with big hits whenever, and he was able to do so from both sides of the plate. Highlighted by his crazy weekend against UC Riverside and a homer against Stanford, Williams III is always a tough out that makes it hard on pitchers. He should split time behind the dish this season but with an added emphasis on being the primary DH for the Aggies.
Nick Leehey the everyday shortstop from a season ago returns, but this time, sliding over to third base and first base. Leading the Aggies in home-runs (5) and RBI's (29) last year, he is a certified "batters-box" guy. He will give the middle of the order some much needed pop and should be catching barrels all season long.
Rounding out the rest of the diamond on opening day, we should see Joey Wright, Damian Stone, Jack Gallagher, Theo Forshey, and Alex Gouveia all make their Division 1 debuts.
From a pitching perspective, the Aggies return Friday night starter Nate Freeman, along with other quality arms in the form of Bryan Green, Kaden Riccomini, Daniel Carrion, Nathan Peng, and Andrew LaCour.
With Freeman and Green slotted as two of the three Aggie weekend starters, it is already an improvement in the right direction purely based on role, as last season, UC Davis relied on an "opener" to squeeze out the most of a limited staff.
With the returners set, Coach Nicholson and his staff added 19 newcomers and most will make an immediate impact. With a projected starting lineup that should feature at least five new players, the Aggies come into the season as a wildcard with plenty to prove.
With a busy four-game weekend that will see plenty of new Aggies get their first taste of college baseball, it will be the first of a long, yet, exciting season for Aggie fans.
UP NEXT
After the opening series with Utah Valley, the Aggies will host Santa Clara the following weekend for a three-game set.
