This Week’s Games In The Mountain West

Only one critical series do I see. That would be Fresno State at San Diego State. Both need wins; one to stay close and the other to stay alive. Read on.

San Jose State (14-21) at UC Riverside (14-17)

The Spartans take a weekend off from the rigors of conference play but can’t relax too much. As you can see, Riverside is struggling also and a sweep of the boys in blue would give them a .500 record. The Spartans have fared poorly on the road, which is not that common really, but can’t fall into the same trap they did in Santa Barbara when they got swept by another poor team. Will the Spartans have enough pitching? Experience says no but, at least one of the starters should come up aces in this series. Hitting is about the same with the Spartans up a bit but pitching is about 2 runs a game better than San Jose State’s. C’mon guys, win one for the Mountain West. 

Fresno State (8-10) at San Diego State (8-6)

Two teams where things are getting a bit desperate. The Bulldogs lost two of three to SJS at home which also means they lost the season series with that team. How do I explain that? The Aztecs, on the other hand are doing, well, alright but that’s about it. They looked like world beaters about 2 weeks ago but have evened out. If they want to be in the race, they need to take this series. Again, critical three games for both programs.

Nevada (14-4) at Air Force (8-10)

One team is rollin’ and the other is not. Air Force has won 8 in the MWC and I don’t know how they’re doing it, but they are. Not with pitching, that’s for sure. They are at home but they’re facing the Mountain West’s best.

UNLV (9-6) at New Mexico (6-12)

The Rebels are rather like the Aztecs at this juncture; trying to stay in the race. New Mexico is camping in a dry arroyo in the desert during rainy season. Never do that and that’s how last place feels. We’ll see if they can climb out. 

The Spartans lost the first game with Riverside 8-7. Same story all season long. They have the offensive machinery but pitching needs a lot of work. I know these late season OOC series mean little but, if you’re a kid who doesn’t play much, now’s your chance. The Aztecs are twisting the knife in the Bulldogs’ carcass as they win the opening game 3-2 and stay close to the Wolf Pack. Nevada’s first game at Air Force was postponed. Can you guess why? I woke up to snow this morning and south of us got more precip whether snow or rain makes little difference. Ruins games but we need the wet. New Mexico won game one in their set of games with UNLV, 8-5. They got home runs from two guys which powered this win and that power has been mostly missing this year. Stay tuned.