Week Two In The Mountain West
Yeah, I’m late. Not to worry, though. The best games are always just around the corner but there are a few good ones this weekend. New Mexico at Fresno tops the list.
San Jose State (6-6, 0-2) at Nevada (5-6, 2-1)
The Spartans got over their being whacked by SDSU as they beat a hapless Utah 9-6 in a midweek game. The boys in blue hit the ball well enough but I’m still not convinced the pitching is there. Chris Williams went 4 for 5 and is hitting .404, Brett Bautista went 3 for 5 and is hitting .526, and Jace Duty went 3 for 5 and is hitting .524 in limited action. Not bad but the pitching has to start pulling their end of the rope. Nevada has also been just about average but the pitching has been just a bit better than the Spartans.
Air Force (4-8, 0-0) at San Diego State ((8-4, 2-0)
Here’s an easy one. Horrible pitching against decent hitting. Air Force lost so much from last year’s team that it’s going to be hard for them to right this ship. San Diego, on the other hand, is playing good ball and is getting national recognition. I don’t see the Falcons getting well on the road against this team.
New Mexico (5-6-1, 1-2) at Fresno State (9-5, 0-3)
New Mexico better watch out. Fresno went into Las Vegas last weekend feeling pretty good about themselves, specially the pitching, and they got swept by the Rebels. I still like the mutts’ pitching and New Mexico’s hitting has not really hit its stride. If the Lobos’ hitting does hit its stride this weekend, then the title chase could prove very interesting.
Iowa (8-2) at UNLV (12-2, 3-0)
Interesting matchup, this. Iowa is in the middle of the Big 10 pack in hitting at .266 with not much pop with 4 home runs. So, how did this pretty good record? C’mon, take a guess. That’s right; pitching. The team ERA is 2.73 which leads the conference. One hitter I’d like to mention is Tyler Crowley (.324 and 1). He’s a senior catcher who is on the Johnny Bench watch list. As you might imagine this list is composed of the best catchers in college baseball. That says a lot about him and I though you might want to know. If you go to these games, keep an eye on him. The three top starting pitchers are Nick Allgeyer (1-0 and 0.96), Cole McDonald (1-1 and 3.60), and Brady Schanuel (2-1 and 4.50). That’s a pretty good rotation and they have a good closer in Zach Daniels (1-0 and 0.00 with 2 saves in 8 IP and 9 strike outs). The Rebels are firing on all cylinders so this is a good match and worth a weekend of watching.
