Fresno State Sweeps Air Force in Top MWC Series

Winners and Losers from Last Weekend

Two series worth mentioning. Fresno State sweeps Air Force as the mutts' pitching was just too much. San Jose State takes two of three on the road at Cal Poly to win their first series of the year. This young and struggling program is putting some things together but the pitching is still a concern. Read on.

San Jose State (10-17) at Cal Poly SLO (17-9)

The Spartans get their first series win of the year and it's a gratifying one. Cal Poly is a good team (even after losing 3 in a row) and they hosted the Spartans. A road series win against a good team. That's impressive. Not many expected this least of all the fans. It didn't start out well as the boys in blue lost game one 7-4. They scored 4 early runs and then died the rest of the game as the Mustangs rallied and crept ahead and stayed that way. Nothing outstanding in this game but four Spartans had two hits. Spartans take game two 8-5 by scoring 6 runs in the top of the eighth. David Campbell returned to the lineup and went 3 for 5 and catcher Joe Stefanki went 3 for 4. Cal Poly's four errors helped the Spartans' cause. Matt Brown (arguably the team's ace) went 6 innings and did well but didn't get the win. Game three went the Spartans way as did the series as they won 9-7 in a see-saw game. David Campbell went 3 for 3 and Joe Stefanki did also and they were the hitting stars. Stefanki has really blossomed for the Spartans and if he keeps it up, he may get some honors at the end of the season.

San Diego State (2-7) at Nevada (6-4)

Weather was decent but the results for the Aztecs weren't as they lose two in a row to the Wolf Pack with the third game suspended in the bottom of the 10th and tied at 6. Gotta catch that plane. The first game was a heartbreaker if you're a Aztec fan. Both teams hit and the Wolf Pack scored a run in the bottom of the tenth to win 6-5. Trenton Brooks provided the winner with a two out base hit to knock in the runner. Jacob Erickson (2-3) got the loss but he almost did this one single handedly. He hit two batters and you know that's never good. Cost ‘em the game. Cole Krzmarzick went 3 for 5 and Justin Bridgman went 3 for 5 for Nevada. Spencer Thornton went 4 for 5 for an excellent eventing at the dish in a losing cause. Chase Calabuig went 3 for 4 also. Here's an oddity; one base on balls for each team but 31 total hits. You'd think a bigger score but that shows the importance of free passes. Game two also ripped out the hearts of Aztec fans as they lose 3-2 with all runs in the early innings. Nevada's Trevor Charpie (2-1) goes the route giving up the two runs and striking out none. That also is an oddity. Great game. As I said earlier the last game was suspended and tied at 6 in the bottom of the tenth. That will be concluded at San Diego I suppose.

Air Force (4-4) at Fresno State (9-3)

Fresno State is starting to flex its muscles as they sweep a pretty good Air Force squad. The sweep also showed the strength of pitching over hitting; at least, in my estimation. The mutts simply shut down the Falcons' offense. This puts the Bulldogs in the drivers seat in the MWC with the real showdown this weekend in Albuquerque against the New Mexico Lobos. A true dog fight and another pitching vs hitting situation. You know where I stand but watch out for the long ball, FSU. Back to this series. The Bulldogs sweep the Falcons thus putting a severe crimp in Air Force's aspirations. Game one set the tone with a 12 run third inning for the Dawgs. Final score was 14-1 as the Falcons bled profusely in the third and never recovered as they had only 3 hits on the day. Trent Monaghan (3-1) took the loss and gave up 13 of the runs with only 4 being earned. Ouch! Ricky Tyler Thomas (4-2) gets the win going 7 strong with 8 strike outs. The kid can strike out batters, of that there is no doubt. Fresno State had 3 home runs; one each by Aaron Arruda, Austin Guibor, and Scott Silva. Silva went 4 for 5 with 6 RBIs to pace the winners. Arruda went 3 for 5 and Korby Batesole went 3 for 4 to add to the demolition. The second game was won by 6-3 and Jimmy Lambert (6-0) went 8 innings. Will he lose this season? The Falcons led 3-2 going into the bottom of the 8th when the Bulldogs put up 4 runs to essentially put this one to bed. The third game was a fairly easy 5-1 victory as the Dawgs scored 3 runs in the bottom of the fifth to go up 4-1 and were never threatened. The Falcons will be ready for San Jose State this weekend, I'm thinking.

UNLV (4-8) at New Mexico (9-3)

The Lobos remain tied with Fresno State at the top of the MWC by taking 2 of 3 from the Rebels. The Lobos win the first game 15-3 as they brought out the offense in this one. Gee, what a surprise. Luis Gonzalez went 4 for 6 with 4 RBIs and Jared Holley went 3 for 5 with 4 RBIs. Austin Bell went 3 for 4 and scored 3 times. Yeah, that's enough. Carson Schneider (5-1) gets the win going 8 innings and only 1 run. The second game featured more of the same as the Lobos won 10-5 even though they were outhit 12 to 10. Chris DeVito went 3 for 5 with 4 RBIs and a home run. Jack Zoellner also had a jack and 3 RBIs. The Rebels' Nick Ames went 3 for 5. Tyler Stevens (4-2) gets the win by going 6 IP with only 1 earned run allowed. Damned errors and walks. The Rebels salvage the last game 6-5 and avoid the sweep. Payton Squier led the winners going 3 for 5. Scottie Graham went 3 for 5 with 3 RBIs in a losing cause. Luis Gonzalez went 2 for 4 with a home run for New Mexico. Now, for the Lobos, get ready for Fresno State for the series of the week in the MWC. If you're close to this one, go to it.