Senior third baseman Patrick Rooney

May 26, 2005

Malibu, Calif. -

Complete Baseball Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

THIS WEEKEND: The Pepperdine baseball team will seek its 15th West Coast Conference (WCC) championship and second in a row when it travels across town to face Loyola Marymount in the WCC Championship Series at Page Stadium beginning Friday at 3 p.m.

The series continues with a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday and a third game, if necessary, will be played Sunday at 2 p.m.

All three games will be televised live throughout Southern California on Fox Sports Net 2. Rich Cellini will handle the play-by-play while John Jackson will provide analysis.

Tickets for the championship series are $10 for reserve seating, $8 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors. Reserve and general admission tickets can be purchased in advance and must include all three games. For more information and to purchase tickets, contact the LMU ticket office at (310) 338-6095.

The Waves, who are looking to advance to the NCAA Championships for the 22nd time in school history, won their seventh straight WCC Division title with a 4-2 win over San Francisco on Sunday to capture the West Division.

Pepperdine concluded the regular season with a 36-20 overall record and a conference-best 21-9 mark in WCC play.

Loyola Marymount, 30-25, 18-12, swept a four-game series from Gonzaga this past weekend to win the Coast Division title.

Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount will be meeting in the WCC Championship Series for the second straight season and fourth time in the last seven years. The Waves swept the Lions a year ago at Page Stadium.

The winner of the series wins the WCC title and earns the conference's automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Championships that will be announced on Monday, May 30, at 8:30 a.m. on ESPN2. The 16 regional sites will be announced on Sunday, May, 29, at 12:30 p.m.

WAVES ON THE INTERNET: This weekend's WCC Championship Series can also be heard live on the Internet with Bill Schindler handling the play-by-play. All post-season games involving the Waves will also be broadcast live on the Internet at www.PepperdineSports.com.

SAN FRANCISCO RECAP: Pepperdine took two of three from San Francisco last weekend to claim the WCC West Division title. The Waves captured the opener, 5-0, fell 8-3 on Saturday before rebounding to win the decisive Game 3 by a 4-2 score. In Friday's opener, junior left-hander Paul Coleman pitched a complete-game six-hit (all singles) shutout to earn the win. He walked one and struck out six while allowing just one baserunner to reach third base. Sophomore catcher Chad Tracy sparked the offense with three hits, including a home run, and had three RBI. On Saturday, USF starter Ryan Muller pitched 5.1 innings and Aaron Poreda worked 3.2 scoreless innings of relief to help the Dons even the series. In Sunday's series finale, freshman right hander Barry Enright allowed two runs over five innings and received four scoreless innings of relief help from Bryan Minkel, Doug Konoske and Steve Kleen. For the second time in the series, Tracy had three hits and homered for the Waves.

FRIDAY'S STARTER: Junior left-hander Paul Coleman will make his 15th appearance and 14th start of the season Friday against Loyola Marymount. He is currently 9-1 with one save and a 2.51 ERA. In 96.2 innings, Coleman has surrendered 67 hits, 27 earned runs, walked 33 and struck out a team and career-high 86. His last outing came against San Francisco on Friday when he threw a complete-game six-hitter, walked one and struck out six en route to being named the WCC's Pitcher of the Week. Coleman became the second Pepperdine pitcher to begin a season 8-0. Scott Marrett went 15-0 in 1985. The junior left-hander will be making his second start of the season against LMU. In his first outing on April 30, Coleman pitched seven innings, allowed six hits, three runs, walked two and struck out nine in a game the Waves won 5-3. Against New Orleans on March 5 of this year, Coleman struck out a school-record 16 batters in a complete-game effort. The junior left-hander missed two starts earlier this year due to a sore arm.

SATURDAY'S STARTER: Senior right hander Kea Kometani will make his 17th appearance and start of the season Saturday against Loyola Marymount. He is currently 9-5 with a 3.31 ERA. In a team-leading 111.1 innings, Kometani has surrendered 129 hits, 41 earned runs, walked 31 and struck out a career-high 83. He last pitched on Saturday against San Francisco when he had his shortest outing of the season, pitching two-plus innings, allowing six hits, four runs (three earned) and striking out one. His lone strikeout gave him 220 for his career, which place him ninth place on Pepperdine's all-time strikeout list. The senior right hander made one previous start against LMU this season and was the losing pitcher after going seven innings, allowing 11 hits, six runs, walking two and striking out four in a 6-4 loss. Kometani enters Saturday's game tied for second on Pepperdine's all-time appearance list with 87. Entering Saturday's game, Kometani has a career record of 20-14 and a 4.11 ERA.

SUNDAY'S STARTER: Freshman right hander Barry Enright is the scheduled Game 3 starter if the WCC Championship Series is necessary on Sunday. He has appeared in 16 games this season, all as a starter, and has a 9-1 record and 4.33 ERA. In 87.1 innings, Enright has allowed 104 hits, 42 earned runs, walked 23 and struck out 48. He last pitched against San Francisco on Sunday and was the winning pitcher in the Waves' division-clinching victory after working five innings, surrendering eight hits, two runs, did not walk a batter and struck out one. Enright made a start against LMU earlier this year and received a no-decision after pitching 5.1 innings, allowing seven hits, three runs, walking none and striking out two during a 6-4 loss.

ABOUT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT: Loyola Marymount enters this weekend with a 30-25 overall record and captured the WCC's Coast Division with an 18-12 mark. The Lions have been hot of late, winning five in a row and 12 of their last 13. LMU is batting .292 as a team and has a collective ERA of 5.36. The Lions have four players batting .300 or better and are led by senior outfielder Joe Frazee, who is batting .362. Junior right hander Jeff Stevens is LMU's top pitching, posting a record of 6-7 and 3.97 ERA. Head coach Frank Cruz is in the midst of his ninth season as the Lions' head coach and has compiled an overall record to date of 259-257 (.502).

SERIES VERSUS LOYOLA MARYMOUNT: Friday's series opener will mark the 156th meeting between Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount and the Waves lead the all-time series, 104-51. The two teams met in a three-game series earlier this season at Eddy D. Field Stadium and the Lions took two of the three. LMU won by scores of 6-4 while Pepperdine won Game 2 of the series, 5-3. The two rivals are meeting for the fourth time in WCC Championship Series play and the Lions hold a 4-3 edge. The Lions won two of three in 1999, swept the Waves, 2-0, in 2000 and the Waves won the first two contests in 2004.

PEPPERDINE VS. LMU IN WCC CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: 1999: LMU, 3-2; PEP, 18-2, LMU, 7-6. 2000: LMU, 19-5, 6-2. 2004: PEP, 5-1, 12-10.

THE LAST TIME VERSUS LOYOLA MARYMOUNT: Loyola Marymount gained home-field advantage for the WCC Championship Series by taking two of three from Pepperdine April 29-May 30. The Lions opened the series with a 6-4 win on Friday as collected 13 hits, including three from Joe Frazee, who also scored three times. Designated hitter Matt White had three RBI to support Jeff Stevens, who pitched eight innings to earn the win. The Waves evened the series a 5-3 victory as Chad Tracy and Luke Salas had two hits apiece and Paul Coleman allowed three runs and struck out nine in seven innings. In the series finale, LMU broke a 3-3 tie with a run in the seventh and added two more in the eighth to post a 6-4 victory. Chris Pettit had three hits and scored twice while James Cooper had two hits and two RBI.

PEPPERDINE IN THE WCC CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: Pepperdine has compiled a 7-8 record in six previous WCC Championship Series while posting series wins over Gonzaga (2-1, 2001) and Loyola Marymount (2-0, 2004). The Waves have faced at LMU on three occasions at Page Stadium and have a 1-2 series record against the Lions. Pepperdine has hosted the WCC Championship Series three times and is 2-1. The Waves won their first series in 2001, defeating Gonzaga in three games and lost back-to-back three-game series to San Diego in 2002 and 2003.

ON DECK: Following this weekend's West Coast Conference Championship Series at Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine will wait for Monday, May 30, for the announcement of the 64-team NCAA Tournament field that will unveiled at 8:30 a.m. on ESPN2.

WAVES IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: Pepperdine entered the 2005 campaign pre-season ranked No. 29 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 32 by Baseball America. The Waves re-entered the rankings two weeks ago, appearing at No. 29 in Collegiate Baseball's poll. Pepperdine is currently unranked.

PEPPERDINE NO. 9 IN BOYD'S WORLD RANKINGS: Pepperdine is ranked No. 9 in this week's Boyd's World Iterative Strength Ratings (ISR) that measure the quality of a team's season to date by combining their winning percentage with the difficulty of their schedule. The Waves have a total of 10 wins against teams ranked in the Top 20, including No. 1 Oregon State, No. 2 Cal State Fullerton, No. 4 Tulane, No. 6 Long Beach State, No. 16 Cal Poly (2) and No. 18 San Francisco (4). In the Pseudo-Power Ratings Index, Pepperdine is No. 35 and have five wins over teams in the Top 30.

WAVES POST ANOTHER 20-WIN CONFERENCE SEASON: After taking two of three from San Francisco over the weekend, Pepperdine registered its seventh 20-win West Coast Conference (WCC) season in the last nine years and 16th in the last 19 seasons while playing a 30-game league schedule. The Waves completed WCC action with a conference-best 21-9 mark. Pepperdine also posted a conference-record 25-5 in 2001.

NCAA TOURNAMENT WORTHY: Pepperdine, which is seeking its 22nd NCAA Championships appearance, third straight and fifth in the last seven years, has made a strong case to be among this year's 64-team NCAA Tournament field. Heading into play Friday, the Waves are 36-20 overall and have a total of seven victories against teams that are currently ranked or have been ranked by Baseball America or Collegiate Baseball at one point during the season. Included among those wins are victories against current No. 1 Cal State Fullerton, No. 2 Tulane, No. 3 Oregon State, No. 11 Long Beach State and two over No. 29 Cal Poly. Pepperdine has a total of 16 wins against teams with at least 30 wins and 26 versus opponents with at least 27 victories. The Waves have a 25-16 record against teams with at least 27 wins. Additionally, Pepperdine is 16-13 against non-conference opponents with 13 wins. The Waves have played three non-conference opponents with losing records, including Houston (27-28), who they took two of three from on the road.

Steve Kleen NAMED DISTRICT 8 ALL-ACADEMIC: Pepperdine senior utility player Steve Kleen was named to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine District 8 All-Academic Team that was released on Thursday. Kleen was one of 11 players selected to the first team and will advance to the national ballot, which will be released on May 31. The baseball team was voted on by CoSIDA members from within the District 8 states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington, and the province of British Columbia. Kleen, who plays first base and is the Waves' closer, is the first Pepperdine player to be named District 8 All-Academic since Cory Brightwell was recognized in 2002 and 2003. Through 48 games this season, Kleen is batting .324 with six home runs and 41 RBI while also posting a 3-3 record, 2.37 ERA and 11 saves. His 11 saves tie for the second-highest single-season total in Pepperdine history and currently tie for sixth nationally. In the classroom, Kleen compiled a 3.505 GPA while earning a degree in sports medicine. He participated in commencement exercises on April 30.

PEPPERDINE VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS: Pepperdine is currently 6-5 against ranked opponents in 2005. The Waves have played three games against No. 1 Tulane (1-2), No. 25 Long Beach State (L/4-3), No. 5 South Carolina (W/7-5), No. 30 Winthrop (W/4-1), No. 22 Oregon State (W/9-4), No. 29 USC (L/4-3), No. 14 Long Beach State (W/4-3), No. 2 Cal State Fullerton (W/6-2) and No. 1 Cal State Fullerton (L/13-4).

URIBES TIED FOR SIXTH ON ALL-TIME RUNS SCORED LIST: Junior shortstop David Uribes is tied with Steve Erickson (1984-87) for sixth place on Pepperdine's all-time runs scored list with 169. He is three shy of tying Andy Stankiewicz (1983-86) for fifth place. Current Waves assistant coach Rick Hirtensteiner (1986-89) is the all-time leader in runs scored with 228.

Kea Kometani TIED FOR SECOND ON ALL-TIME APPEARANCE LIST: Senior right hander Kea Kometani is tied for second on Pepperdine's all-time appearance list with 87. He is four appearances behind teammate Steve Kleen who is the all-time leader with 90.

KOMETANI NO. 9 IN CAREER STRIKEOUTS: In three-plus seasons, Kea Kometani has totaled 220 career strikeouts and is 12 away from tying Mike Scott (1974-76) for eighth place.

Steve Kleen NO. 1 ON ALL-TIME APPEARANCE LIST: Senior right hander Steve Kleen began the 2005 season No. 11 on Pepperdine's all-time appearance list with 68. With his 23 relief appearances this season, Kleen has appeared in 91 games, breaking the previous record of 87 set by Steve Schenewerk (1997-2000).

KLEEN NO. 2 ON PEPPERDINE SINGLE-SEASON SAVES LIST: Steve Kleen, who has made 32 relief appearances this year, has totaled 13 saves to move into sole possession of second place on Pepperdine's single-season saves list. Jay Gehrke totaled a school-record 18 saves in 1999.

KLEEN TIES HIT MARK: Steve Kleen tied the Pepperdine single-game record for hits at Houston on February 20 when he went 5-for-6. His five hits were the 26th time that a Pepperdine player has had a five-hit game.

CLOSE GAMES: Pepperdine has been in a number of close games thus far this season as 33 of its 56 games have been decided by three runs or less. In those games, the Waves have a 20-13 record. Pepperdine has played 13 1-run games (5-8), 10 two-run games (7-3) and 10 three-run games (8-2).

OFFENSIVE NOTES: Through 56 games this season, Pepperdine is batting .292 as a team...That mark ties San Francisco and Loyola Marymount for first place...The Waves' .298 WCC mark ranked second behind LMU (.309)...While posting a 9-3 record over its last 12 games, Pepperdine is batting .284 as a team...Overall, the Waves are averaging 10.18 hits and 5.68 runs a contest...Pepperdine scored a season-high 18 runs and totaled 21 hits in the series finale at Houston (2/20)...The Waves equaled their season-high total of 21 hits at Minnesota (3/6)...On the season, sophomore catcher Chad Tracy tops the club with a .361 average, 21 doubles, 11 home runs, 55 RBI, .617 slugging percentage, 27 multiple-hit and 15-multiple RBI games...Tracy's 82 hits top the Waves and are four shy of ninth place on Pepperdine's single-season hits list while his 21 doubles tie for sixth-most in a season and 55 RBI are a career-high...Senior Steve Kleen ranks second on the club with a .343 average, 14 doubles, six home runs, 45 RBI and .507 slugging percentage while topping the Waves with a .435 on-base percentage...Kleen also is in the midst of a season-high 11-game hitting streak during which time he is batting .439 (18-for-41...Junior second baseman David Uribes is third on the team with a .315 average, second in hits (73) and leads the team with 50 runs scored and a career-high 22 stolen bases.

PITCHING NOTES: After 56 games this season, Pepperdine has a team ERA of 3.74 that ranks second in the WCC behind San Francisco (2.88)...The Waves ERA of 3.30 in conference play led the WCC...Opponents are batting .278 against Waves pitching...The weekend starting trio of senior Kea Kometani, junior Paul Coleman and freshman Barry Enright have combined to go 27-7 with a 3.35 ERA 46 appearances...The trio has combined to strike out 217 while walking 87 and limiting opposing batters to a .266 average...The trio is also looking to become the first in Pepperdine history to each post 10 wins since Albert Arrieta, Ted Pallas and Gary Kurtz each won 10 games for the 1979 College World Series...That season, Pepperdine played 71 games...Since the NCAA established a 56-game regular season, the Waves have never had three pitchers each win 10 games in a season...Fifteen different pitchers have toed the rubber for the Waves thus far this season...Eight different pitchers have at least one win. Kometani, Coleman and Enright lead the staff with nine wins apiece...Kometani and Coleman each have two complete games...Kometani has logged a team-high 111.1 innings while Coleman has pitched 96.1 innings and Enright has worked 87.1 innings...Coleman leads the team with 86 strikeouts while Kometani has 83 and Enright 48.

WAVES POST 28TH STRAIGHT 30-WIN SEASON: By virtue of its three-game sweep of Portland over the weekend, Pepperdine improved its record 30-17 and reached the 30-win plateau for the 28th consecutive season. Dating back to the 1978 season, the Waves have totaled at least 30 wins every year, 40 games 11 times and posted two-50-win campaigns.

PEPPERDINE PICKED SECOND IN WCC: For the first time since the 1999 season, Pepperdine was not tabbed to win the West Coast Conference (WCC) in the preseason coaches' poll. Loyola Marymount received a total of 44 points, including three first-place votes, in the balloting. The Waves, who also received three first-place votes, totaled 43 points to finish second. San Diego (40) was third and was followed by Santa Clara (32), Gonzaga (22), San Francisco (21), Saint Mary's (14) and Portland (8).

THREE WAVES NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM: Senior right hander Kea Kometani, junior shortstop David Uribes and freshman outfielder Adrian Ortiz received preseason All-West Coast Conference (WCC) honors in a poll of league coaches conducted by Baseball America. Additionally, Ortiz was tabbed "Freshman of the Year", ranked as the WCC's top newcomer and fastest baserunner.

BEST TOOLS: In a poll of league coaches conducted by Baseball America, senior right hander Kea Kometani was selected the West Coast Conference's (WCC) pitcher with the best control while junior David Uribes was tabbed the conference's best baserunner and senior Patrick Rooney was give the nod as the top defensive third baseman. Freshman utility player Jason Dominguez was chosen as the league's third-best newcomer.

PEPPERDINE DOMINANT FORCE IN WCC: Since the West Coast Conference (WCC) implemented divisional play in 1999, Pepperdine has been the conference's dominant team, compiling a seven-year WCC record of 150-61 (.711), an average of 21.4 wins per season, captured seven divisional crowns, two conference titles and appeared in the WCC Championship Series each year of its existence. Over that same time period, San Diego has the second-best league mark, registering a 118-91-1 (.564) record, claiming two divisional titles and winning two WCC Championship Series.

WAVES SEEK 15TH WCC CHAMPIONSHIP: Pepperdine enters this weekend's WCC Championship Series in search of its 15th conference title and second straight. Last year, the Waves swept Loyola Marymount in the WCC Championship Series to claim their 14th conference title, the most by any of the eight teams in the league. Since the WCC was re-instituted for baseball prior to the 1985 season, the Waves have either won or shared 11 of the last 20 league championships. Additionally, since the WCC went to a two-division format in 1999, Pepperdine is the only member to appear in all seven conference championship series. Last year's WCC title was the Waves first since 2001 when they went 42-18 and finished the year with a national Top 20 ranking. Pepperdine is seeking back-to-back titles for the first time since winning three straight between 1991 and 1993.

Jacob Barrack SELECTED IN 2004 FIRST YEAR PLAYER DRAFT: For the 13th consecutive year, Pepperdine had at least one player taken in Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft in 2004. Senior right hander Jacob Barrack was picked in the 19th round by the Philadelphia Phillies bringing the all-time number of times a player has been drafted to 115. Pepperdine has had at least one player taken in the annual draft every year since 1992 and 29 of the last 30 years.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: Since Eddy D. Field Stadium opened in 1973, Pepperdine has been a tough team to beat at home, compiling an overall record to date of 706-268-13 (.722) and registering just one losing season in 33 years. The Waves were 9-12 in the inaugural season of 1973 and since then has produced 31 winning seasons in the last 33 years, including a 19-9 record in 2004. The Waves have had 28 straight winning seasons at home.

WAVES AMONG TOP TEAMS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Since 1979, Pepperdine is the second-winningest program in Southern California, trailing only Cal State Fullerton heading into the 2005 season. The Waves have registered a 1,006-523 (.658) record and made 15 NCAA Tournament appearances during that time. Cal State Fullerton has compiled an overall record of 1,158-493 (.701) and made 21 NCAA appearances. Pepperdine's 15 NCAA Tournament appearances are second behind the Titans and tie USC.

THE PROGRAM: In its 66th season of intercollegiate competition, the Pepperdine baseball program has compiled an all-time mark to date of 1,704-1,198-22 (.586). The Waves have advanced to the NCAA Championships on 21 occasions, and Pepperdine has participated at the College World Series twice--finishing third in 1979 and winning the national title in 1992. Pepperdine has won 30 or more games in each of the last 28 seasons dating back to 1978, and surpassed the 40-win mark on 11 occasions during that time span. Since the West Coast Conference was re-instituted for baseball prior to the 1985 season, Pepperdine has either won or shared 11 of the last 20 league championships. Dating back to the start of the 1985 campaign, Pepperdine has compiled a cumulative record of 808-430-11 (.651), including a 451-153-2 (.746) mark against league opponents.

Steve Rodriguez: Steve Rodriguez, a former collegiate All-American and a member of Pepperdine's 1992 College World Series Championship team, is in the midst of second season as the Waves' head coach. Rodriguez was hired on June 18, 2004 after serving as an assistant for four years under Frank Sanchez, who took a permanent medical leave of-absence on June 5th after seven seasons as Pepperdine's head coach. Rodriguez guided Pepperdine to a 30-32 overall record and the West Coast Conference (WCC) championship, becoming the fifth head coach in program history to lead his club to post-season play in his rookie season, joining Gary Marks (1963), Dave Gorrie (1979), Andy Lopez (1989) and Pat Harrison (1995). During Rodriguez' four seasons as an assistant, the Waves compiled an overall record of 145-98 (.597), including an 88-32 mark in WCC play, captured the conference title in 2001 and made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2001 and 2003. Rodriguez, who earned All-American honors in 1991 and 1992, became only the third former Pepperdine player to assume the head coaching duties for the Waves in the program's 64-year history. Gary Marks became the first Pepperdine player to pilot the program when he skippered the program from 1963-67. Gail Hopkins, who played at Pepperdine from 1962-64, coached the Waves during the 1968 season. Rodriguez was a fifth-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 1992 after helping the Waves' to the national championship and being named the WCC's "Player of the Year." He played professionally for seven years with the Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Montreal Expos organizations. Rodriguez made it to the major league level with the Red Sox and Tigers in 1995. As a sophomore in 1991, Rodriguez batted .419, the second-highest single-season average in school history. His 104 base hits in 1991 are a Pepperdine record, and his .367 career average ranks second all-time in Waves' history.

WAVES AT HOME: Since 1997, the Waves are 179-86 (.675) in games played at Eddy D. Field Stadium. The Waves' all-time home record at Eddy D. Field Stadium, dating back to the start of the 1973 season, currently stands at 706-268-13 (.722). Pepperdine concluded the 2005 season with a 19-9 home mark.

WAVES ON THE ROAD: Since 1997, Waves are 137-126 (.521) in games played on the road. Pepperdine completed the 2004 campaign with a 15-20 road record. It marked the Waves first losing season on the road since 2002. Pepperdine is 17-11 on the road, including 2-0 in neutral field games in 2005.

ON THE WEB: For updated information concerning Pepperdine athletics on the World Wide Web, please bookmark the following address: http://www.PepperdineSports.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information on the baseball program, or to arrange interviews with players and the coaching staff, please contact Al Barba at the Pepperdine Sports Information Office by calling (310) 506-4455.