Home Stretch for Mountain West Baseball
First off; did ya miss me? Didn’t think so. I, my wife, and my brother-in-law were taking a birding vacation last week to Southeast Arizona. The places we visited had no phone service nor internet and that includes our lodges. At least for public use. That, in its own right, made the trip worthwhile. Yes, I did miss writing my tripe that I post. Then again, I get so little feedback that I sometimes think that no one reads my stuff. Anyway, I’m back.
So, what else is new in the MWC? Not a whole lot as New Mexico still has a two game lead over San Diego State. Those two programs are clearly the class of the Mountain West with San Diego State having the best overall record at 33-15. New Mexico’s is 28-20 but I believe they have had the more challenging OOC record and get a lot of people’s vote as the best in the Mountain West.
However, I certainly think the Aztecs’ pitching puts them near the top also. Two good teams followed by two teams with above .500 records and the rest substantially below. Not a lot to brag about for Mountain West fans. And, yes, it’s going to be another one bid year proving, once again, the regular season means squat. As the season winds down a few teams in the MWC have two conference series left such as Fresno State and others have only one, such as San Jose State. Let’s move on.
New Mexico (18-4-1) at Fresno State (14-10)
The top series in the MWC this weekend. The Bulldogs still have a lot to say about the final standings and they should know that they have to win most of their remaining games to gain a spot in the conference tournament. If they lose out (they won’t) they could be done. Most of you know that they seem to rise to the occasion near the end of the season. They have won the Friday game (last night) on the strength of two home runs by Austin Guibor and Aaron Arruda. The winning pitcher was Ricky Tyler Thomas who did not dominate but remained in control while on the mound. New Mexico needs to worry a bit.
San Jose State (16-31-1) at San Francisco (25-25)
Two programs that are mostly playing out the rest of the season. In an ugly Friday afternoon match the Dons wiped the diamond with the Spartans carcass by the score of 15-0 and it wasn’t that close. The boys in blue started Matt Brown, who is arguably their ace, and he came up snake eyes. Hmm, mixing metaphors as well as games of chance. Well, the Spartans had no chance as they had to bring in two position players to pitch. This series means nothing. I must say this, however. The sole bright spot for SJS this season has been Shane Timmons. He’s hitting .294 with 9 home runs and would be doing even better if he had a little help around him. I don’t think he’ll get drafted after this season but, at the rate he’s been improving, he will next year.
San Diego State (17-7) at Air Force (11-15)
San Diego State had a chance to pick up a game on the Lobos but lost at Colorado Springs 9-1. The amazing part is they scored only one run. The Falcons’ team ERA is in the mid sevens and they score one run on 10 hits? Wow. The Falcons continue their torrid hitting (.346) with three home runs. Geez, if they could muster some pitching, they’d be something big. Anyway, the Aztecs remain two games behind the Lobos as of Saturday morning.
UNLV (8-16) at Nevada (9-14)
In another series involving two teams going nowhere, Nevada takes game one 4-3. The Rebels remain in the Mountain West cellar but have a season-ending series with San Jose State at home to rectify that situation. I’ll leave it at that.
If the Mountain West Baseball Tournament was to start today, these would be the matchups; I believe it’s a four-team field which is about right. New Mexico would be top seed and play Air Force and Sand Diego State would take on Fresno State. The next two weekends should decide on which two teams squeeze in besides the Aztecs and Lobos.