College Baseball Countdown: 69 Days to Go- Games at Pepperdine

College baseball provides some incredible backgrounds for competition. There are games in idyllic college towns such as Athens, Georgia, you have games that take place in the shadow of mountains, such as those that happen in Reno, Nevada, there are games that feature atmospheres more often seen at college football games such as those that take place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Fayetteville, Arkansas, and you even get the occasional quirky setting such LIU Field at LIU-Brooklyn, where the host Blackbirds play on a field that also serves as the school’s soccer, lacrosse, and softball facility, making for some unique angles, distances, and markings on the field.

As far as baseball backdrops go, though, there is just no beating the setting for Pepperdine Waves games at Eddy D. Field Stadium in Malibu, California. There are few things better than being able to take in a college baseball game while looking out over the left field fence to see the crystal blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. And sure, it doesn’t hurt that the weather is nearly perfect more often than not. Beautiful ocean views and college baseball are best enjoyed in bright sunshine, after all.

Head over to the index page of our college baseball countdown if you have missed any of our posts over the last few weeks. To get there, you can use the link here.

The baseball at Pepperdine isn’t bad, either.

The Waves have been one of the most consistent programs out on the west coast ever since the 1970s, and in 1992, under legendary head coach Andy Lopez, they captured the national championship. All told, since the 1974 season, they have made 24 trips to the NCAA Tournament and they have captured 18 conference championships. Their last seven head coaches have all left the program with winning percentages of .540 or better.

For 2016, Pepperdine will also carry added intrigue, what with a new head coach in place. Long-time assistant Rick Hirtensteiner is taking over the program from Steve Rodriguez, who left for Baylor in the offseason. It remains to be seen how Hirtensteiner will take to the role, but history suggests that he’ll be successful, and really, even if the transition leads to some growing pains in the immediate future, the view of the Pacific Ocean will be there regardless, as beautiful as ever.