Nevada 2019 Baseball Schedule
The Wolf Pack can’t brag about their schedule but they do have a few bright spots. They start off with Missouri State which is a strong program. They end with Oregon State which is about as good as it gets. In between they have Sacramento State which is close to home so they have made a sandwich. There are a few other teams that might develop into good opponents such as Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara but only the season will tell.
Feb 15 – 27 Road Tournament in San Marcos, Texas
Missouri State
Nothing like starting out with a good team. The Bears were a solid 40-17 last season which was good enough to get them into a regional. They won one game but lost twice to Tennessee Tech and thus eliminated. Still, they played while we watched. I’m a little mystified on how they did it as the hitting (.258), if you can call it that, and the pitching (4.26) were not earth shakingly good. They had some pop as they out-homered the opposition by 17 dingers. Of the two .300 hitters they had, only Drew Millas (.321 and 7) returns. The two guys with legit pop are also gone. They return two of the three in the rotation in Logan Wiley (7-6 and 4.13) and Ty Buckner (7-4 and 4.81) so that’s a plus. Connor Sechler (7-1 and 2.98 and 8 saves) returns as the closer. He also averaged over a K an inning. He’s a sophomore and I’m wondering if the coach sees him as a starter? Just a thought. Thumbs up.
Texas State
The Bobcats were 30-28-1 and I can remember when the team was a member of the WAC and a few of the current members of the MWC played them in all sports. Paul Goldschmidt played for them and he’s the one player I know who did. Both hitting (.264) and pitching (4.32) were pretty mediocre as was their record. Top hitter, Jaylen Hubbard (.313 and 3), returns and he was the only .300 hitter but a few others were close. The two top starters return for the weekend games. Nicholas Fraze (6-4 and 2.97) and Connor Reich (6-3 and 3.57). In addition they have three other arms with extensive experience as starters returning. That’s a group of five. I expect them to be good. Oh, yeah, the closer is there, too. Thumbs up.
Utah
A poor year after a good one in 2017. Eh, that’s the way it goes. Hitting was ok at .271 but pitching didn’t pull its weight at 6.65. You have to have great hitting to keep up with that kind of pitching and they didn’t. The Utes ended up at 16-39. Erick Miguelles (.261 and 7) returns with his big bat and only Oliver Dunn (.319 and 4) returns of the .300 hitters. Two of the rotation arms return in Joshua Tedeschi (2-10 and 5.42) and Brett Brocoff (2-7 and 7.05). Gone is the other starter and the closer. Work needs to be done. Hey, it’s a Pac 12 team so thumbs up.
Feb 19 (Apr 30) Road and home UC Davis
The Aggies were a poor 18-35 last season. Both hitting (.278) and pitching (5.17) were not very good but certainly not horrible. The pitching didn’t give up a lot of home runs but the lineup didn’t have much pop, either. They had two .300 hitters; one was drafted as a junior and signed and the other was Freshman AA Tanner Murray (.333 and 1). So he returns but that’s it at the top of the hitters chart. Jared Sasaki (4-6 and 4.34) comes back as the leader of the rotation and he was a freshman. I believe Chris Brown (4-5 and 5.14) comes back for his senior year and that’s what they have. Thumbs down.
Feb 22 – 24 Road Long Beach State
The Dirt Bags had a sub par year at 27-30 as they couldn’t hit (.248) but they could certainly pitch (3.80). They had three .300 hitters two of which were drafted and signed. That left freshman Leonard Jones ( .312 and 1) remaining. This team lacked a lot on the offensive side and I don’t know how that will improve this year. Pitching is another question. Top starter Clayton Andrews (7-7 and 1.89 and 118 Ks in 99 IP) was a great two way player that was drafted and signed. Zak Baayoun (9-3 and 3.58) was the number two guy and he comes back. Freshman Adam Seminaris (1-7 and 4.84) returns and his numbers suggest he was star crossed. His numbers certainly didn’t warrant his record. The closer was also drafted and signed. That doesn’t leave much but I’ve always liked the Dirt Bags. Thumbs sideways.
Feb 28 – Mar 2 Road Washington State
The Cougars had a bad year at 16-33-1 but they are in a big boy strong baseball conference Pac 12 so most from that conference will decent or better in the OOC games. Hitting was not so good (.258) and the same goes for pitching (5.66). The two .300 hitters are gone so that leaves pitching. The top starter, and the only one with double digit starts, is gone so that leaves five arms with some starting experience. Isaac Mullins (0-5 and 8.19 and 8 starts) comes back but, boy, he has to impress the coaches this fall. Pitching is in a hurt. Thumbs down.
Mar 6 (Mar 27) – Home and home Grand Canyon
The Antelopes had a good year at 33-24 but got whacked in both games they played in the WAC tournament to end their season. The hitting was great (.295) but they had little pop and pitching was not that good at 5.02. They had four .300 hitters. Top hitter was Quin Cotton (.390 and 5) returns and I suspect this will be his last year if he does it again. Two of the others return in Pikai Winchester (.355 and 2) and Tyler Wyatt (.324 ). So, most of the offense comes back in an already offensive-minded team. Whew! If pitching can knock off a run from that team ERA they could make some noise this season. However, that’s the problem. None of the rotation returns. Here’s some local MWC interest. Frankie Scalzo who pitched as a freshman last season for San Jose State is on the team and the roster. I liked what I saw in him so he may get a chance to make the rotation. The way I see it, the whole staff will get a chance to start. Thumbs sideways.
Mar 12 – Road UC Santa Barbara
The Gauchos were 27-28-1 in 2018 and their stats were about as lackluster as their record. Hitting was barely there at .265 and the same with pitching; 4.21 even though it was marginally better. They had five .300 hitters but then it dropped off after those guys. Tevin Mitchell (.333), Thomas Rowan (.312 and 4), Tommy Jew (.312 and 5), Cole Mueller (.303), and Drew Williams (.304 and 2) all return. Geez, that’s close to half of the starting lineup and they all come back. Of the rotation, Chris Lincoln (2-3 and 3.49) and Jack Dashwood (2-6 and 5.27) return. The Gauchos are returning a lot of players that had them close to .500 in 2018 and I think they will have a very good year if others pick it up. Thumbs up.
Mar 19 (Apr 9) – Home and home Saint Mary’s
The Gaels had a decent year at 31-23 which resulted in no post season. They had decent hitting (.274) and very good pitching (3.42). Not surprisingly, they had only one .300 hitter in Kevin Milan (.302 and 5), who returns and one kid with pop, who doesn’t. Pitching is another story, and it’s a good one for the Gaels. They had a solid and stable rotation as all three were good and two for certain return. Ken Waldichuk (8-4 and 2.05) returns and he had 118 Ks in 92 IP which is very good indeed. I think he warrants pre-season AA notice if nothing else. Kevin Milan (6-4 and 3.68 and 81 Ks) is another goodie that comes back. Sophomore Michael Hobbs (3-3 and 4.24 and 11 saves) comes back to end games. The pitching is in good hands. Ken Waldichuk will be worth the price of a ticket. Thumbs up.
Mar 26 (Apr 16) – Home and home San Francisco
The Dons were a little under .500 last year at 28-30 but they are usually at least ok if not pretty good. They had three.300 hitters last years and get two back in Riley Helland (.329 and 2) and Jonathan Allen (.308 and 7). That tells me the team might hit a little better than last year’s .258. Pitching was pretty good at 3.78 with three solid starters and a reliable closer. Two of them return in Riley Ornino (8-5 and 2.58) and Landen Bourasa (8-4 and 3.02) both of whom had 14 starts which bodes well for the weekend as pitching appears in good hands. However, the closer and the third starter are gone. Still a pretty healthy start. Thumbs up.
Apr 2 – Home? Reno Aces
Yup. Home for both. The Aces, I believe, are a High A team from the California League.
Apr 3 – Home Sacramento State
Another good team at 35-25. They lost in the championship game in the WAC tournament which knocked them out. Don’t you love it? They have some good players coming back led by Freshman AA Scott Randall (7-3 and 3.48). They couldn’t hit much (.259) but pitching was good (3.66). Randall will join a 2017 Freshman AA in the rotation as Parker Brahms (4-5 and 2.41 with 17 starts) make a strong duo. A third starter is gone but they do have some guys with some experience and maybe their strong recruiting class produces results. Top hitter Ian Dawkins is gone but I believe Matt Smith (.310 and 3) returns. That is not a lot of talent so some hitters need to pick it up more than a notch. Thumbs up.
Apr 22 and 23 – Home Oregon State
Two gamesat home against the defending national champs. What could possibly go wrong? The big deal here is that the OSU coach has retired. We’ll see how that goes. The season will be just short of two months old and I think a split or two wins by the Wolf Pack would work wonders on rankings, assuming they’ve played well up to that point. I mean, they are the defending MWC champs. The Beavers went 55-12-1 on the way to the national title. Could they hit? How about .321? Could they pitch? How about 3.27? Six .300 hitters of which only two with extensive AB’s return; Matthew Gretier (.305 and 7) and Adley Rutschman (.408 and 9 – yes, you read that correctly and a first team AA). Bryce Fehmel (10-1 and 3.19) and Grant Gambrell ( 5-1 and 4.40) return from the weekend rotation. Jake Mulholland (2-1 and 2.20 with 16 saves and a third team AA) returns as the closer. They also return Kevin Abel (8-1 and 2.88) who received a national freshman of the year award. Geez, I wonder how many AA they have for the coming year? Definite thumbs up.
May 14 – Home Pacific
The Tigers were 22-29 last year and hit poorly (.256) but pitching was ok at 4.93. I couldn’t find a roster so I don’t know came back so it’s another case of I dunno? Last season they had three .300 hitters and a decent rotation. That much I can tell ya. Thumbs down.