Teams: UC Davis at Hawai’i Records: UC Davis Aggies, 19-31 (5-16); Hawai’i Rainbows, 12-33 (7-14) Where: Les Murakami Baseball Stadium — Honolulu, Hawaii When: May 17 at 6:35 p.m.; May 18 at 6:35 p.m.; May 19 at 1:05 p.m. Who to Watch: As the baseball season comes to a close, the Aggies will hope to pull out conference road victories against Hawai’i. The Aggies started their seven-game road trip with a series victory over Pacific. The Aggies’ success against Pacific was due much in part to the consistent hitting and base performance by junior Steven Patterson. Named 2012 All-Big Eight first team in his final season with San Joaquin Delta College after posting a .380 batting average to go with six home runs, eleven doubles and 33 runs batted in, Patterson has proven that his game is no fluke. Patterson has prospered here at UC Davis. This shows in the results he is producing this year. Currently second on the team with a .351 batting average and a .405 on-base... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Pacific Records: Aggies, 16-30 (3-15); Tigers, 12-31 (4-14) Where: Klein Family Field — Stockton, Calif. When: Friday at 6 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. Who to Watch: With the Aggies struggling again as of late, there is a scarce amount of players who have really shown that they are capable of being a consistent threat. However, sophomore Tino Lipton has been pretty consistent. The first statistic which jumps out when looking at Lipton’s stat line are his stolen bases. Lipton leads the team in stolen bases with seven steals in nine attempts. This is a pretty solid conversion rate and definitely helps the Aggies get more runners in scoring position. Lipton, who is also hitting a respectable .298 and has two triples on the season, has been able to get on base quite frequently. As a result, he boasts a solid .376 on-base percentage. Lipton’s ability to get on base has allowed him to be third on the team in runs scored,... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal State Northridge Records: Aggies, 16-26 (3-12) ; Matadors, 26-18 (11-4) Where: Dobbins Stadium — Davis, Calif. When: Friday at 2:30 p.m.; Saturday at 1 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. Who to Watch: Consistency is key, especially in a sport like baseball. This has been true for junior Nick Lynch. Lynch has been a regular player highlighting the Aggies’ performance this year. The reason is simple. Despite the inconsistent hitting by the majority of the UC Davis batting order, Lynch is a solid constant. Hitting an outstanding .359 as of the weekend series in Irvine, Lynch has been the most consistent hitter for the Aggies. He is currently third in the conference with his .359 batting average. Seemingly always on base, with a .455 on-base percentage, he is what the Aggies desperately need. Lynch also has some pop in his bat, having hit two home runs this year and driving in 23 RBI. With UC Davis on another losing streak, the Aggies will need to find... ...

Teams: UC Davis at UC Irvine Records: Aggies, 15-22 (3-9) ; Anteaters, 25-11 (7-5) Where: Cicerone Field — Irvine, Calif. When: Friday at 6:30 p.m.; Saturday at 1 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. Who to Watch: Junior second baseman Steven Patterson has been killing the baseball as of late. In fact, in the game against UC Riverside on Picnic Day, Patterson drilled a three-run homer to seal the game for the Aggies. He is hitting .338 with two home runs and 26 RBI, after the series against the Highlanders. Patterson’s solid hitting is something which the UC Davis batting order has needed. Patterson has a seven-game hitting streak that has boosted his average from .286 to a blistering .338. He has also shown some patience at the plate, drawing nine walks this season. The result of his hot hitting and ability to draw walks is a .396 on-base percentage. His ability to get on base and drive in runs has been a huge catalyst for the recent resurgence in the... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. UC Riverside Records: Aggies, 12-22 (0-9) ; Highlanders, 17-15 (6-3) Where: Dobbins Stadium — Davis, Calif. When: Friday at 2:30 p.m.; Saturday at 1 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. Who to Watch: The lack of recent run support for the Aggie pitchers cannot be blamed on junior Nick Lynch. Lynch’s batting average stood at a blistering .349 after the Long Beach series. UC Davis has struggled to hit the long ball and has only managed to hit six home runs this season. Lynch has two of those six home runs to go along with his 18 runs batted in. The lack of recent run support for the Aggie pitchers cannot be blamed on junior Nick Lynch. Lynch’s batting average stood at a blistering .349 after the Long Beach series. UC Davis has struggled to hit the long ball and has only managed to hit six home runs this season. Lynch has two of those six home runs to go along with his 18 runs batted in.... ...

Teams: UC Davis at Long Beach State Records: Aggies, 11-19; Dirtbags, 13-18 Where: Blair Field — Long Beach, Calif. When: Friday at 6 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. Who to watch: Sophomore John Williams has been the sure-handed outfielder that the Aggies have come to rely upon for more than his glove. Williams has played 25 games this year, starting 20 of them. After last weekend’s series against Fullerton, he is hitting .306 and has a team-high three triples. Williams’ .418 slugging percentage is good enough for third on the team. He is also tied for the lead in RBI as Williams has 19 so far this season. The UC Davis men’s baseball team has struggled to bring in runs and Williams’ hitting has been a bright spot in an otherwise weak batting order. In the last game of the recent three-game series against Cal State Northridge, he went 2-4, with a double and an RBI. Though the Aggies eventually lost the game 5-2, Williams’ hits... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal State Fullerton Records: Aggies, 10-16; Titans, 25-4 Where: Dobbins Stadium — Davis, Calif. When: Friday at 2:30 p.m.; Saturday at 1 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. Who to watch: The Aggies have struggled to bring in runs this season. However, one bright spot in UC Davis’ batting order has been senior Paul Politi. Politi leads the Aggies in home runs, runs batted in, runs and walks drawn. He has been UC Davis’ main offensive sparkplug and has done a little bit of everything. The Aggies’ reliance on small-ball offense to drive in runs is personified by Politi. Politi’s 10 walks shows his patience and willingness to wait for the right pitch. Once Politi finds that pitch, he knows what to do with it, evidenced by his two home runs, 19 RBI and seven doubles. UC Davis will need him to be patient and drive in clutch runs against a very talented Cal State Fullerton pitching staff. Politi’s hitting will be sorely needed if the Aggies... ...

Teams: UC Davis at Seattle University Records: Aggies, 7-10; Seattle University 5-11 Where: Bannerwood Park — Bellevue, Wash. When: Friday at 4 p.m.; Saturday at 1 p.m.; Sunday at 12 p.m. Who to Watch: Junior Steven Patterson batted 4-9 over the weekend series against Cal State Bakersfield. The second baseman had a run batted in and scored a run. He has played in 15 games this season and has a batting average that currently sits at .333. He has scored eight runs and has nine RBI thus far. Out of the regular starters, Patterson is second on the team in batting average to junior Nick Lynch. Patterson grew up in Stockton, Calif. and attended St. Mary’s High School. He had a great junior and senior season for the Rams, winning consecutive CIF-San Joaquin Section Div. I championships and consecutive Tri-County Athletic League titles in 2009 and 2010. In his senior season, he batted .341 with six homers and 34 RBI, which earned him a spot to All-TCAL honors. This season... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal State Bakersfield Records: Aggies, 6-7; Road Runners 8-4 Where: Dobbins Stadium — Davis, Calif. When: Friday at 2:30 p.m.; Saturday at 1 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. Who to Watch: Sophomore Nick Lynch continues his hot hitting streak to start the season. He played two of the three games against Oklahoma State last weekend, going 4-7 from the plate. He pushed his batting average up to .429 on the season, which leads the team. Lynch leads the regular players in hits with 18, slugging percentage with .548, and on-base percentage with .510. The first baseman has started twelve games this year and usually bats in the middle of the order. Did you know? Senior Paul Politi had a 17-game hitting streak going into Friday’s game against Oklahoma State. He could not extend it, as he went hitless on the day. Politi has started all thirteen games this season and plays at third base. He leads the team with two home runs and 13 runs batted... ...

After a beat-down of San Jose State on Tuesday, the Aggies dropped two straight games to Utah on Friday and Saturday. UC Davis only needed eight innings to put up a season-high 22 runs on 23 hits Tuesday against the Spartans. However, its pitching struggled in the late innings to secure wins against Utah. The Aggies hold a record of 4-3 after Saturday’s game without having played any of their games against other teams in their conference. Tuesday — UC Davis 22, San Jose State 4 UC Davis won the single game in a blowout victory against the Spartans, with a clicking offense that did not let up throughout the game. Sophomore Nick Lynch was impressive, hitting 3-3 from the plate with one run batted in and two runs. Sophomore John Williams led the team with four hits and four RBI. He recorded three of the four extra-base hits the team had. He hit a two-RBI triple in the fifth. The game was capped off by a nine-run seventh inning,... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Utah Records: Aggies, 3-1; Utah, 1-2 Where: Dobbins Stadium, Davis When: Friday 2 at p.m.; Saturday at 1 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m.; Monday at 12 p.m. Who to Watch: Nick Lynch is off to a hot start after he hit 7 for 16 against Washington over the weekend. He came through in the clutch when the team needed hits and knocked in three runs. Lynch is a sophomore from Burlingame, Calif. who played his high school ball at Saint Ignatius in San Francisco. He bats in the middle of the order and is usually the designated hitter. Last season, he was recognized as a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and also was selected for the All-Big West Conference second team. Coming off a solid hitting year of batting .302 and holding a .450 slugging percentage, there are big expectations for Lynch. He showed a little bit of pop by hitting four home runs, but he mainly did his work with base hits and occasional walks accumulating... ...

Baseball at UC Davis is finally underway as the team is set to play against Washington over the weekend. The Aggies’ first game will be held at Dobbins Stadium at 2 p.m. on Friday. Then they will play a double-header on Saturday and finish off the four game series on Sunday. Earlier in the week, Coach Matt Vaughn had finalized the roster and can now focus more on the season. Infielder Paul Politi and the rest of the team have been preparing for the season to begin and the upcoming series. “We’ve been practicing like we have been all Winter Quarter,” the senior said. “[We've been] preparing for the season and putting in our work and working on offense, defense, getting the kinks out. We’re ready for the season to start.” Politi led the team in batting average, hits, runs batted in and total bases last year, while starting every game at third base. He was one of three Aggies to be selected to the All-Big West Conference team last... ...

Junior Paul Politi’s season ended with a 10-game hitting streak intact, topped off with an All-Big West Conference second team selection. The Los Gatos native manned the hot corner all year for UC Davis, and was the only Aggie to start all 57 games. The third baseman hit a team-leading .345 for the season – good enough to place him eighth in the Big West – and amassed another team-leading 79 hits on the year, which ranked third in the conference. Politi also led UC Davis with 32 RBIs, second on the team with 13 doubles, and blasted three home runs. His single in the bottom of the 11th against Big West rival Cal Poly provided the walk-off RBI on May 4. His 4-6 performance that day was just one of many highlights in this season of offensive explosion. Politi will return next year for the Aggies and will look to add to his already impressive batting statistics. RUSSELL EISENMAN can be reached at sports@theaggie.org. ...

Baseball Senior catcher Scott Kalush, junior third-baseman Paul Politi and sophomore designated hitter/first baseman Nick Lynch were named to the Big West Conference second team this week. Kalush played in all but three of UC Davis’ 57 games this season, hitting .240 with five home runs, tied with fellow senior David Popkins for a team high. Politi was a clutch performer for the Aggies this season, recording a walk-off home run against Pacific and a walk-off single against Cal Poly. The Los Gatos, Calif. native led UC Davis with a .345 batting average and 32 RBI. Lynch was a strong power hitter for the Aggies. Playing primarily as a designated hitter, Lynch hit .303 with four home runs on the season in just 40 starts. Senior starting pitcher Anthony Kubpens was also named a Big West honorable mention. The south-paw went 5-4 this season with a 2.46 ERA. Overall the Aggies tallied a record of 27-30 this season — nine wins above their 2011 mark of 18-36. — Trevor Cramer ...

It was an up-and-down last weekend for the UC Davis baseball team, as it saw the careers of some key seniors come to an end. While the Aggies were able to take the series from UC Irvine by winning on Friday and Saturday, Sunday’s disappointing defeat on senior day was one the Aggies would like to forget. UC Davis finishes 27-30 overall, fifth in the Big West Conference at 12-12. The 27 wins are the highest win total for the Aggies since 2008 when they advanced to an NCAA Div. I regional. Friday — UC Davis 4, UC Irvine 0 In his final collegiate start, senior Anthony Kupbens threw a complete game shutout, giving up just five hits, all singles. No Anteater runner ever passed second base during the game. “It’s incredibly rewarding while incredibly sad, because that’s the last time we’re going to see him out there,” said head coach Matt Vaughn. “UC Irvine is one of the best teams in our conference and they didn’t have a chance... ...