Baseball Team Travels to Pepperdine for Three-Game Series
Both squads are 1-2.
Feb. 5, 1998
THE SCHEDULE: The Bears (1-2) travel to Pepperdine (1-2) for a three-game series against the Waves...
SERIES RECORD: The Bears have an 15-17 overall series record against the Pepperdine Waves...the Bears won one-of-three games versus the Waves last season; losing 5-1, 3-0 and winning 4-1 Feb. 7-9, at Evans Diamond...
HEAD COACH BOB MILANO: The Bears skipper, who is in his 21st season at Cal, has a career record of 640-583-4 (.523)...Milano is the all-time winningest coach at Cal in terms of total victories, having passed Clint Evans (547-256 from 1930-54) Mar. 19, 1994 vs. Arizona (15-6)...he earned his 600th career win Feb. 24 with the Bears 5-3 victory over Fresno State...Milano has led Cal to six NCAA Regional berths ('80, '85, '88, '91, '92, '95) and three College World Series appearances ('80, '88, '92)...he was named Pac-10 South Co-Coach of the Year in 1980 and 1992...Milano served as the head coach of 1997 USA Baseball Team that placed fourth at the Intercontinental Cup, August 1-10 in Barcelona, Spain...
BEAR NOTES: The California baseball team (1-2) started off the 1998 season by winning one-of-three games last weekend at No. 10 ranked Cal State Fullerton, defeating the Titans, 6-5 in 12 innings on Friday; and losing 12-1 on Saturday and 8-7 on Sunday...In Cal's season-opener, the Bears were finally able to win the four hour and 50 minute marathon when freshman first baseman Jason Dennis (Concord, CA) hit a two-out double to score freshman second baseman Xavier Nady (Salinas, CA) in the top of the 12th inning...in the bottom of the 12th, sophomore right-hander Brad Steele (Lemoore, CA) came in, and after giving up a one-out single, was able to strikeout the next two batters to earn his first save of his career...the winning pitcher for the Bears was junior left-hander Reed Goemann (Sacramento, CA), who came in the game in the 11th and was able to get the final out of that inning...top hitters for Cal were Nady, who went 3-for-5 with a double, and junior shortstop Brian Oliver (Antioch, CA), who was 2-for-6 with a two-run homer...the Bears also received an outstanding pitching effort from sophomore right-handed starter Jon Shirley (Bakersfield, CA), who went 6.0 innings with five hits, one earned run, one walk and six strikeouts...in the 12-1 loss, junior right-hander Ryan Drese (Oakland, CA) made his first start since Feb. 8 of last season (when he strained ligaments in his right elbow and was out for the season), but suffered the loss, throwing 3.7 innings with five hits, three earned runs and five walks...top hitter for Cal was sophomore outfielder Juan Hernandez (Tracy, CA), who went 2-for-4...on Sunday, the Bears played another tight game with the Titans, finally losing 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth when Steele gave up two runs in relief...Cal had jumped out to a 7-5 lead with a four-run seventh inning, powered by a three-run homer by junior catcher Jason Hill (Alamo, CA)...Hill finished the day 2-for-4 with four RBI and Oliver was 2-for-4 with an RBI...the '98 Bears will be trying to make a return appearance in NCAA postseason play this season after making it to the championship game of the Midwest Regional in Wichita, Kansas in 1991, to the College World Series in 1992 (East Regional champs) and the Mideast Regional in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1995...Cal returns five starters from last season, including two preseason All-Americans--Oliver, a third team preseason All-American in both Baseball America andCollegiate Baseball, and Hill, a third team preseason All-American in Collegiate Baseball....Oliver was the Bears leading hitter and team MVP last season...he was also a first team All-Pac-10 selection, batting .364 with 15 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 36 RBI...both Oliver and Hill joined Milano on the USA National Team this past summer...Oliver shined on Team USA as well, batting .333 with six doubles, a home run and 10 RBI in 25 starts...Hill started 17 games and batting .281 with three doubles, two home runs and 19 RBI...two more Bears, sophomore reliever Jon Cuccias (Woodland Hills, CA) and Nady, were invited to the National Team Tryouts in November...Cuccias, a right-handed submarine pitcher, emerged as the Bears top reliever last season (2-0, three saves, team-leading 3.38 ERA)...at the USA Baseball Trials, he was 2-0 with a save in 3.7 innings...Nady was a fourth-round draft pick by the St. Louis Cardinals, but opted to come to Cal...in the Blue-Gold intrasquad World Series, Nady was 4-for-7 with a double, a triple, two home runs in one game and had eight RBI...at the USA Baseball Trials, he went 2-for-6 with a double and a home run...
PEPPERDINE: The Pepperdine Waves, coached by Frank Sanchez (second year as head coach at Pepperdine, 35-27, .565), are 1-2 so far this season, winning one-of-three versus Nevada last weekend (won 7-5 and lost 8-2, 7-6)...top hitters for the Waves include junior third baseman G.J. Raymundo (.400, 2 HR, 2 RBI), senior center fielder Chris Cosbey (.308, 1 HR, 2 RBI) and junior right fielder Pedro Loza (.300, 0 HR, 1 RBI)...Pepperdine's tentative starting pitching rotation is sophomore left-hander Paul Avery (0-0, 7.20 ERA), sophomore right-hander Steve Schenewerk (0-1, 6.00 ERA) and junior right-hander Andy Shibilo (0-0, 0.00 ERA)...in 1997, the Waves were 34-25 overall and 20-8 (second) in the Big West Conference...
TENTATIVE LINEUP AND STATS: Here is a look at Cal's tentative lineup and pitching rotation...
No. Pos. Player 1998 stats
10 RF Juan Hernandez, So. .308, 0 RBI, 0 HR
5 SS Brian Oliver, Jr. .308, 3 RBI, 1 HR
11 2B Xavier Nady, Fr. .308, 0 RBI, 1 2B
45 C Jason Hill, Jr. .364, 6 RBI, 1 HR
33 LF Aaron Gordnier, Sr. .200, 2 RBI, 0 HR
14 DH David Sark, Fr. .083, 0 RBI, 0 HR
9 1B Jason Dennis, Fr. .167, 1 RBI, 1 2B
8 3B Dan Garfin, Jr. .200, 0 RBI, 0 HR
16 CF Curtis Johnson, So. .111, 0 RBI, 0 HR
34 RHP Jon Shirley, So. (Fri.) 0-0, 1.42 ERA
25 RHP Ryan Drese, Jr. (Sat.) 0-1, 7.36 ERA
9 LHP Jason Dennis, Fr. (Sun.) 0-0, 8.44 ERA
SIX-PAC RACE (as of Feb. 3)
Conference Overall
W L PCT GB W L T .PCT
Arizona 0 0 .000 -- 8 0 1.000
Arizona State 0 0 .000 -- 8 0 1.000
Stanford 0 0 .000 -- 5 0 1.000
USC 0 0 .000 -- 2 0 1.000
CALIFORNIA 0 0 .000 -- 1 2 .333
UCLA 0 0 .000 -- 1 3 .250
CAL INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES
JASON DENNIS Is batting .167 after going 1-for-6 with a double and an RBI at CS Fullerton...is 0-0 with a no decision and an 8.44 ERA on the mound, starting game three of the CS Fullerton series and pitching 5.3 innings with seven hits, five runs, two walks and two strikeouts...knocked in the game-winning RBI with a two-out double in the 12th inning in the Bears 6-5 victory over the Titans in game one...is batting .500 with runners in scoring position...is slated to start Sunday on the mound at Pepperdine...
RYAN DRESE: Suffered the loss in game two vs. CS Fullerton, pitching 3.7 innings with three earned runs and five walks...when he took the mound Jan. 31 against the Titans, it was the first time he had pitched since Feb. 8, 1997 vs. Pepperdine when he strained ligaments in his right elbow after throwing 30 pitches (1.0 innings with three hits, two runs, one walk) in a 5-1 Cal loss...in 1996, suffered the 5-2 loss Feb. 4 at Pepperdine , pitching 5.0 innings with seven hits, two earned runs, three walks and five strikeouts...has a career record of 6-10 with a 4.85 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 124.3 innings...is slated to start Saturday for the Bears...
AARON GORDNIER: Is batting .200, going 2-for-10 with two RBI last weekend at CS Fullerton...is batting .500 with runners in scoring position...last year was 1-for-11 with two RBI in the Pepperdine series...has a career batting average of .277 (65-for-235) with 11 doubles, seven home runs and 46 RBI in 79 games...
JUAN HERNANDEZ: Is batting .308 after going 4-for-13 last weekend at CS Fullerton...in the abbreviated San Francisco game Jan. 26, lead-off the game, and the season, with a home run...was 2-for-7 with a double in last year's Pepperdine series...has a career average of .286 (63-for-220) with 12 doubles, three home runs and 18 RBI...
Day Date Opponent Site Time_____
Fri. Feb. 6 at Pepperdine Eddy D. Field Stadium, Malibu, CA 2:00 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 7 at Pepperdine Eddy D. Field Stadium, Malibu, CA 12:00 p.m.
Sun. Feb. 8 at Pepperdine Eddy D. Field Stadium, Malibu, CA 1:00 p.m.
JASON HILL: Had an outstanding season-opening series at CS Fullerton, going 4-for-11 (.364) with a double, a home run and six RBI ...in the third game of the series vs. the Titans, went 2-for-4 with a career-high four RBI (fourth, four-RBI game), including a three-run homer in the seventh inning...is batting .600 with runners in scoring position and has a .727 slugging percentage...was 2-for-11 with a double and two RBI in last year's Pepperdine series...has a career average of .230 (66-for-287) with 10 doubles, nine home runs and 51 RBI in 86 games...is currently on a career-high 10-game hitting streak (14-for-36, .389, 2-2B, 3-HR, 17 RBI) from May 2, 1997...
XAVIER NADY: Is batting .308 after going 4-for-13 with a double last weekend at CS Fullerton...went 3-for-5 with a double and scored the winning run in the 6-2, 12-inning victory over the Titans Jan. 30...was 2-for-3 with a three-run homer in the Alumni Game Jan. 24 and was 3-for-3 in the suspended game vs. San Francisco Jan. 26...
BRIAN OLIVER: Has a .308 average after going 4-for-13 with a home run and three RBI last weekend at CS Fullerton...hit a key two-run homer in the eighth inning to help lead the Bears to the 6-5, 12-inning victory over the Titans Jan. 30...last season was 6-for-10 with a double and an RBI in the Pepperdine series...has a career average of .349 (160-for-458) with 29 doubles, five triples, 10 home runs, 71 RBI and 45 stolen bases in 113 games...
JON SHIRLEY: Is 0-0 with a 1.42 ERA after pitching 6.3 innings with one earned run, one walk and six strikeouts in the opening game of the CS Fullerton series...it was his sixth no decision of his career...last year got a no decision vs. Pepperdine in the Bears 4-1 victory Feb. 9, pitching 4.0 innings with one run, one walk and two strikeouts...as a sophomore, he has already made 18 appearances, pitching 88.7 innings with 60 strikeouts, 35 walks and a 5.17 ERA...is slated to start Friday for the Bears...
BRAD STEELE: Is 0-1 with a save after making two appearances at CS Fullerton...in the first game of the series, picked up his first collegiate save by pitching the 12th inning, giving up a one-out hit and then striking out the next two batters...suffered the loss in the series final, pitching a third of an inning and giving up two hits and two runs...pitched 1.0 inning of relief vs. Pepperdine last year (Feb. 8) with one hit, one run, one walk and one strikeout...has a career record of 2-6 with a 7.24 ERA in 41.0 innings...
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