SDSU Baseball Schedule for 2018
As usual, The Aztecs load up on southern California teams. That’s not a bad thing as there are so many D1 programs sprinkled around down there and most are good so, why not? San Diego is a natural and these two really go at it. UC Irvine is less than 100 miles away and could be considered a cranky neighbor; at least when they play ball. Cal Poly, Bakersfield, Long Beach, Fullerton, Riverside, and Northridge. Heck, they could drive their own cars and make the games on less than a tank. Washington, Arizona, and Michigan are the only out-of-staters for a total of three games. Oh, I forgot Santa Barbara. The long and short of it is that the Call teams alone make for a good schedule. Some of you readers are catching on, of that I am sure. I don’t write up the same teams separately for each MWC team. Sorry, but I do copy and paste. I’ll never live it down. Wait, there’s more. I haven’t been mentioning stand out players that you might get to see. I’ll get better, honest.
UC Santa Barbara – 3 games at home
Boy, they’ve gotten really good. Oh, maybe I’m thinking of the year before. Last season they were eight games under .500 as the pitching just wasn’t there. I expect them to take all four games against SJS down in Santa Barbara in an earlier writeup. How will they do in San Diego? A much better series. Thumbs up.
San Diego – 2 games split
The Toreros are a member and one of the powers of the WCC. They were 35-18 overall and 18-9 in conference in 2017 and still didn’t make the NCAA Tournament. Can I make a comment here? Huh? Huh? Can I? This team makes noise most years and it was pure thunder when Kris Bryant was the reigning big bat for them and college baseball. Geez, he was sumpin. Anyway, they could hit (.285 and 55 dingers) and pitching was ok (4.33). Left handed starter Nick Sprengel made the US National Team so he’ll be worth watching as he may start one of these games but a coach likes to keep the standout arms for conference games which is understandable. One can hope. Then again, there’s freshman AA Chris Murphy, who is another starting pitcher you may see. Yeah, they’re loaded. Thumbs up.
Tony Gwynn Memorial Tournament
The other teams have not been named at this writing
Michigan – 1 game at home
The Wolverines were an outstanding 42-17 in 2017 and was a team that could hit (.282) and pitch (3.46). This level of play got them into an NCAA regional game where they went 0-2. Still, wouldn’t you like to go? I follow SJS sports. Need I say more? Thumbs up for the one game.
UC Irvine – 2 games split
The Anteaters of 2017 suffered a year unlike other years. They hit .274 (ok) and pitched 5.35 (not ok) which resulted in a 23-33 record. Again, not like them – at all. I figure this season to be more like them; a winning year. Thumbs up.
Arizona – 1 game on the road
The Wildcats were a tournament team last year and won one game at the Lubbock Regional. They were a good 38-21 and a member of the Pac 12. Any other conference and they may not have gotten in. As I’ve said so many times, don’t get me started. They could certainly hit (.308) and pitching was ok at best at 4.36. Infielder Nick Quintana (freshman AA) will be leading the team on the field. These two programs are neighboring states so it should be a good game. Thumbs up.
Cal Poly – 3 games on the road
Cal Poly was 28-28 last year but 16-8 in the Big West which should tell you a lot. Hitting was only ok at .275 but the pitching was very good at 3.61. Cal Poly is always there so be prepared for good games. One of the good players that deserves a mention here is freshman AA Bradley Beesley (2B). Thumbs up.
CSU Bakersfield – 1 game at home
Another WAC team that has been up and down the past few years. Last season was sorta up at 32-24 but didn’t result in any post-season play other than the WAC Tournament. They could hit (.310) but had no pop at all and pitching was marginal at 4.81. I don’t think they shut down the opposition as much as they did single them to death. Eight .300 hitters can make life miserable for opposing pitchers. Thumbs up.
Long Beach State – 2 games split
The Dirtbags. Yeah, the Dirtbags. Not a bad name if you ask me and thoroughly unique. They play pretty good, too. They were 42-20 last season as a member of the Big West. They were a good 20-4 in the Big West which is a dang tough baseball conference. They hit an ok .270 but the pitching was gorgeous at 3.07 which will produce wins most anywhere. It produced wins in a Regional (their own) and a Super Regional (again their own) but they lost out to conference mate Fullerton State. They got good pitching in 9 of the 10 games in the NCAA Tournament. They will be led by second team AA David Banuelos ©. This is a good team. Thumbs up.
Washington – 1 game at home
The Huskies were an unremarkable 28-26 last season. They didn’t hit much at .261 but the pitching was more than decent at 3.92. A pretty straight forward average team playing in arguably the toughest baseball conference west of the Mississippi. Thumbs up.
Cal State Fullerton – 3 games at home
The Titans. I remember when they played football and gave it up to concentrate the money on baseball and basketball. I’d have to say they are a baseball school. So much so that they are considered one of the toughest teams in the west. That’s every year not just once in awhile. They were an unremarkable (for them) 39-24 last season but they made it to the CWS which is a huge accomplishment for any team. They didn’t win it but they were there to soak it all in. They didn’t hit much (.267 with 46 HR’s) and pitching was a bit better than ok at 3.64. AA closer Brett Conine will be back to build on his 12 saves in 2017 as will frosh AA and Freshman of the Year in the Big West Sahid Valenzuela (INF). A series to watch. Thumbs up.
CSUN – 1 game at home
Northridge was an average 26-29 in 2017. Both hitting (.261) and pitching (5.15) were subpar and that’s how you end up this way. Only one game but thumbs down.
UC Riverside – 2 games split
The Highlanders were ten games under .500 and I expected more out of them, especially pitching, as a former major leaguer in Troy Percival was the man in charge. It still is talent folks and coaching can’t compensate for that. Thumbs up.
The Aztecs have put together a good OOC schedule that’s worth attending. The two home series worth going to are the three games with Fullerton and the same with Santa Barbara. Fullerton will be a test.