COLLEGE BASEBLOG

San Diego Showcase on tap

2009-07-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

The San Diego Showcase will be held Sunday at Poway High School, giving the top players in San Diego County for the Class of 2010 a chance to show off their skills.

Players will be timed in the 60, take batting practice and infield/outfield and play in a nine-inning game under the watchful eyes of pro scouts and college recruiters. Players from the North and the South play in the morning and players from the East and City in the afternoon.

The event begins at 8 a.m. Everyone and anyone is welcome. No charge.

For more information, e-mail me at kirkkenney@coldwellbanker.com or give me a call at 858.759.9933.

On to Omaha

2009-06-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

I'm making my eighth trip in nine years to Omaha for the College World Series.

This year's field includes several of the usual suspects — six-time champion Texas, five-time champions Arizona State and LSU, four-time champion Cal State Fullerton — and two newcomers — Southern Mississippi and Virginia. North Carolina, which is making its fourth straight appearance and Arkansas round out the eight-team field.

I'll be helping with Baseball America's coverage, behind the camera shooting some video podcasts with BA's Aaron Fitt and John Manuel as well as blogging about some of the sights and sounds in and around Rosenblatt Stadium.

Check out Baseball America's coverage right here.

You can also go directly to the Rosenblog.

The 63rd College World Series runs from June 13-23/24.

By the way, I'm going out on a limb and picking top-seeded Texas to win it all.

Who's No. 1? Strasburg; Leake goes No. 8 to Reds

2009-06-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

It had been expected for months, and now it's official:

The Washington Nationals selected San Diego State junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg this afternoon with the first pick in the MLB draft. It completes Strasburg's remarkable rise — from undrafted three years ago out of West Hills High to an exclusive group of 45 players selected No. 1 overall.

More local flavor came to the draft a few minutes later when the Cincinnati Reds chose Arizona State right-hander Mike Leake (Fallbrook High) with the eighth overall pick. Not a bad week in the making for Leake (16-1, 1.23 ERA), who leads the nation in victories and ERA is expected to be on the mound when the Sun Devils open the College World Series on Sunday against North Carolina.

Here is the list of San Diego-area players selected in the first round of the draft through the years:

LOCAL FIRST-ROUND DRAFT PICKS

High school and college players from San Diego County selected in thefirst round of the major league first-year player draft since it began in 1965:

2009 ... Stephen Strasburg, SDSU/West Hills, RHP, Nationals, 1st overall

2009 ... Mike Leake, Arizona State/Fallbrook, RHP, Reds, 8th

2008 … Brian Matusz, USD, LHP, Orioles, 4th

2008 … Allan Dykstra, Wake Forest/Rancho Bernardo, 1B, Padres, 23rd

2004 … Matt Bush, Mission Bay, SS/RHP, Padres, 1st

2003 … Carlos Quentin, OF, Stanford/USDHS, D-Backs, 29th

2002 … Cole Hamels, Rancho Bernardo, LHP, Phillies, 17th

2002 … Royce Ring, SDSU/Monte Vista, RHP, White Sox, 18th

2001 … Mark Prior, USC/USDHS, RHP, Cubs, 2nd

2000 … Adrian Gonzalez, Eastlake, 1B, Marlins, 1st

2000 … Adam Johnson, CS Fullerton/Torrey Pines, RHP, Twins, 2nd

2000 … Matt Wheatland, Rancho Bernardo, RHP, Tigers, 8th

2000 … Shaun Boyd, Vista, 2B/OF, Cardinals, 13th

2000 … Scott Heard, Rancho Bernardo, C, Rangers, 25th

1999 … Eric Munson, USC/Mt. Carmel, C, Tigers, 3rd

1999 … Barry Zito, USC/USDHS, LHP, A's, 9th

1999 … David Walling, Arkansas/El Capitan, RHP, Yankees, 27th

1997 … Troy Glaus, UCLA/Carlsbad, 3B, Angels, 3rd

1996 … Travis Lee,* San Diego State, 1B, Twins, 2nd

1996 … Eric Chavez, Mt. Carmel, 3B, A's, 10th

1995 … Jaime Jones, Rancho Bernardo, OF, Marlins, 6th

1995 … Mark Redman, Oklahoma/Escondido, LHP, Twins, 13th

1995 … Ryan Jaroncyk, Orange Glen, SS, Mets, 18th

1995 … Chad Hutchinson, Torrey Pines, RHP, Braves, 26th

1992 … Benji Grigsby, San Diego State, RHP, A's, 20th

1991 … Benji Gil, Castle Park, SS, Rangers, 19th

1990 … Tony Clark, Christian, 1B, Tigers, 2nd

1990 … Eric Christopherson, San Diego State, C, Giants, 19th

1990 … Lance Dickson, Grossmont, LHP, Cubs, 23rd

1985 … Chris Gwynn, San Diego State, OF, Dodgers, 10th

1983 … Eddie Williams, Hoover, 3B, Mets, 4th

1982 … Steve Swain, Grossmont, OF, Astros, 15th

1982 … Sam Horn, Morse, 1B, Red Sox, 16th

1981 … Bobby Meacham, San Diego State, SS, Cardinals, 8th

1981 … Kevin Burrell, Poway, C, Red Sox, 25th

1980 … Garry Harris, Hoover, SS, Blue Jays, 2nd

1980 … Cecil Espy, Point Loma, OF, White Sox, 8th

1980 … Billy Beane, Mt. Carmel, OF, Mets, 23rd

1979 … Bob Geren, Clairemont, C, Padres, 24th

1975 … Bruce Robinson, Stanford/La Jolla, C, A's, 21st

1970 … Steve Dunning, Stanford/USDHS, RHP, Indians, 2nd

1970 … John D'Acquisto, St. Augustine, RHP, Giants, 17th

1967 … Brian Bickerton, Santana, LHP, A's, 7th

1965 … Mike Adamson,# Point Loma, RHP, Phillies, 18th

*Declared a draft free agent and signed with Arizona

#Drafted by Baltimore in first round of June secondary phase in 1967

Draft Day is Upon Us

2009-06-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

Here's some information going into the 2009 draft, which begins this afternoon:

MAJOR LEAGUE DRAFT
The three-day “first-year player” draft begins today at 3 p.m. The first three rounds are to be conducted today, rounds 4-30 tomorrow and rounds 31-50 (teams may stop earlier if the y wish) on Thursday.
Players from the United States, U.S. territories and Canada are subject to the draft. Eligible for selection are high school seniors, junior college players, juniors and seniors at four-year colleges and players who have turned 21. Teams have until Aug. 15 to sign players before losing their draft rights.

DRAFT COVERAGE
— The MLB Network will televise the first round, which also will be simulcast live at mlb.com. After the first 32 picks, coverage will switch to MLB.com/Live.
— Pick-by-pick coverage is available at mlb.com as well as XM Satellite Radio.
— Another good source of draft info and analysis is at baseballamerica.com

DRAFT ORDER
1. Washington
2. Seattle
3. San Diego
4. Pittsburgh
5. Baltimore
6. San Francisco
7. Atlanta
8. Cincinnati
9. Detroit
10. Washington
11. Colorado
12. Kansas City
13. Oakland
14. Texas
15. Cleveland
16. Arizona
17. Arizona
18. Florida
19. St. Louis
20. Toronto
21. Houston
22. Minnesota
23. Chi. White Sox
24. L.A. Angels
25. L.A. Angels
26. Milwaukee
27. Seattle
28. Boston
29. N.Y. Yankees
30. Tampa Bay
31. Chi. Cubs
32. Colorado

Note: Five first-round picks were re-assigned to teams that lost Class A free agents (No .17 to ARI from LAD for Orlando Hudson; No. 24 to LAA from NYM for Francisco Rodriguez; No. 25 to LAA from NYY for Mark Teixeira; No. 27 to SEA from PHI for Raul Ibanez; No. 32 COL from LAA for Brian Fuentes).
Washington and the Yankees received extra first-round picks for failing to sign last year’s No. 1 draft choices.

TOP LOCAL PROSPECTS
COLLEGE
Buck Afenir, Sr., C, Kansas (Escondido)
Andrew Bovich, LHP, PLNU
Gavin Brooks, Jr., LHP, UCLA, RB Vista
Erik Castro, Jr, C/3B, SDSU (Fallbrook)
Casey Edelbrock, Soph., RHP, Palomar CC (Poway)
A.J. Griffin, Jr., RHP, USD (Grossmont)
Tyler Lavigne, Jr., RHP, SDSU
Mike Leake, Jr., RHP, Arizona St. (Fallbrook)
James Meador, Jr, OF, USD (Ramona)
Sean Nicol, Sr., SS, USD
Shawn Sanford, Soph., LHP, Palomar CC (Fallbrook)
Sequoiah Stonecipher, Soph., OF, Grossmont CC (Mission Bay)
Stephen Strasburg, Jr., RHP, SDSU (West Hills)
Matt Thomson, Jr., RHP, USD
Ryan Wiegand, Sr., 1B, Gonzaga (USDHS)

HIGH SCHOOL
Andrew Bellatti, RHP, Steele Canyon
Justin Bellez, RHP, Mira Mesa
Bryan Crabb, RHP, Coronado
James Dykstra, RHP, Rancho Bernardo
Tyler Gaffney, OF, Cathedral Catholic
Garret Hughes, LHP, La Costa Canyon
Matt Moynihan, OF, Cathedral Catholic
Alex Muren, RHP, Ramona
James Needy, RHP, Santana
Ryan Wilkins, RHP, Cathedral Catholic

DRAFT TIDBITS
— The draft was instituted in 1965. The Kansas City Athletics chose Arizona State outfielder Rick Monday with the first pick. One of the motivating factors for the draft was to get a handle on signing bonuses. The Angels signed Wisconsin outfielder Rick Reichardt for a record $205,000 in 1964. Monday signed with the A’s a year later for $104,000. It was 1979 before a drafted player surpassed the bonus given to Reichardt.

— Each team will have at least one representative at the draft. Among them will be Hall of Famers Al Kaline for Detroit, Bill Mazeroski for Pittsburgh and Billy Williams for the Cubs. The representatives this year for the Padres are Woody Williams and Jimmy Jones, who was the franchise’s first-round pick in 1982.

— There have been 21 Hall of Famers come through the draft. Cincinnati catcher Johnny Bench, the Reds’ second-round pick in 1965, was the first to make it in 1989. Seven of the 21 were first-round picks — Reggie Jackson, Robin Yount, Carlton Fisk, Dave Winfield, Kirby Puckett, Paul Molitor and Jim Rice. Ryne Sandberg, taken in the 20th round by Philadelphia in 1978, was the lowest drafted player to make it.

— There are currently 12 players in the majors who were selected with the first overall pick — Tampa Bay’s David Price (Rays, 2007); Arizona’s Justin Upton (Diamondbacks, 2005); Minnesota’s Delmon Young (Rays, 2003); Minnesota’s Joe Mauer (Twins, 2001); Padres’ Adrian Gonzalez (Marlins, 2000); Texas’ Josh Hamilton (Rays, 1999); Tampa Bay’s Pat Burrell (Phillies, 1998); Texas’ Kris Benson (Pirates, 1996); Houston’s Darin Erstad (Angels, 1995); the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez (Mariners, 1993); Atlanta’s Chipper Jones (Braves, 1990); Seattle’s Ken Griffey Jr. (Mariners, 1987).

— According to MLB data, there were 616 players (out of 750) on Open Day rosters who came through the draft. Of those, 218 (35.6 percent) were still members of the club that selected them. That does not include six players who are back with their original clubs after playing elsewhere.
Of those 616 players, 142 were first-round picks. Only 25 of them were players selected after the 30th round. The lowest pick was Tampa Bay’s Gabe Kapler, a 57th round selection by Detroit in 1995.

BY THE NUMBERS

55,846 — Total players drafted since 1965.

18,712 —Right-handed pitchers drafted, or 33.5 percent of all payers drafted. Second-most is outfielders (10,160).

1,504 — Players drafted last season. Of those, 968 (64.36 percent) signed. Eight-two percent of college players signed, but only 17 percent of high school players signed. A draft-record 70 percent signed in 1985.

Q&A with Stephen Strasburg

2009-06-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg took a week to relax and recharge in between the end of SDSU's season and Tuesday's MLB Draft.

I caught up with Strasburg for a few minutes on Friday shortly after he came off the golf course at Mission Trails, where he carded a 76 (two birdies on the front and three more on the back), for a Q&A session that ran today right here in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Aztecs season ends against UC Irvine

2009-05-31T21:52:00.000-07:00

IRVINE – San Diego State players wore long faces yesterday as they moved slowly toward an open gate along the right-field line and left the field at UC Irvine's Anteater Ballpark.

There are 64 teams selected for the NCAA Tournament each year and 63 of them pretty much leave the way the Aztecs did after their 14-3 elimination-game loss to top-ranked UC Irvine.

The Anteaters (45-14) took control early – challenged only in the fourth inning when SDSU's Ryan O'Sullivan hit a two-run double that trimmed a 4-0 deficit to 4-2 – and were never threatened thereafter.

Not that much more was expected of SDSU, which was seeded No. 3 in what was regarded as the toughest region in the tournament.

In the 10 years since the NCAA expanded the field from 48 to 64 teams, No. 3 seeds have advanced only 10 percent of the time. For those who lost their first game, which the Aztecs did with Friday's 5-1 loss to Virginia, the odds of advancement fall to 1 percent.

“With Virginia (ranked No. 7 in the nation) and UC Irvine, the No. 1 team in the country, no one expected us to win,” SDSU coach Tony Gwynn said.

The Aztecs (41-23) did come away with something – a 4-1 win on Saturday that eliminated defending national champion Fresno State.

“I thought that was huge,” Gwynn said. “You lose both and it's almost like not going. But you win one and you have that feeling like you can win again. Like they felt today.

“But after about seven innings (against Irvine), I think they had that feeling like, 'Hey, those guys are pretty good.' ”

In 1979, Gwynn played on the SDSU team that reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time. It began a string of eight postseason berths in 13 years for the Aztecs. But a generation had passed since SDSU's last NCAA appearance in 1991. Winning has had to be learned all over again. Perhaps the foundation for that has now been laid.

“What we accomplished shows what kind of ballclub we had and what kind of ballclub we're going to be,” said O'Sullivan, who was one of four freshmen in the starting lineup yesterday against the Anteaters. “This school is going to become known for going to regionals. It's something we should do from here on out.”

Said SDSU catcher Matt Parker: “We've got a lot of guys who are going to come back next year who know what it's like to make it to the postseason, to play in pressure games with big crowds.”

While much of the team returns, the identity of the team will be dramatically different.

Junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg is the only player with eligibility remaining who definitely is not expected back. The Washington Nationals are all but certain to use the first pick in next week's draft on Strasburg, who went 13-1 with a 1.32 ERA and led the nation with 195 strikeouts.

Before the season began, Strasburg was sitting in the stands at Tony Gwynn Stadium when he said: “My goal right now is to make an impact on this program and leave a footprint to help build a tradition for the future.”

Walking toward SDSU's bus after yesterday's game, Strasburg was secure in the knowledge that he had accomplished that goal.

“I think definitely the best is yet to come,” Strasburg said. “I'm just so thankful I was able to be a part of this. It was a great run for us. . . . I did everything I possibly could. I'm an Aztec for life. I think a lot of these guys are, too.

“It's all about building a tradition and we've got a lot of great, young players in the program who are going to keep doing that.”

SDSU throws curve — Rasmussen starts vs. UC Irvine

2009-05-31T15:14:00.000-07:00

IRVINE — As excited as San Diego State fans were with yesterday's 4-1 win over Fresno State, it seems the Bulldogs had barely been eliminated and everyone already wanted to know one thing:

Who is today's starting pitcher?

UC Irvine and Virginia were still getting loose on the field last night when that question was posed to SDSU coach Tony Gwynn. The answer was dependent on today's opponent. The candidates to start were senior Jon Berger and freshman Ryan O'Sullivan. Berger would start if the Aztecs were matched up against Virginia. UC Irvine plays small ball and Gwynn wanted someone who could field his position well if SDSU was to play the Anteaters. That meant O'Sullivan, the Aztecs' regular shortstop.

Virginia's 5-0 win over UC Irvine dropped the Anteaters into the loser's bracket, so expect to see O'Sullivan on the mound.

Not so fast. We get to the ballpark and the Aztecs have sophomore left-hander Craig Rasmussen penciled in on the lineup card. O'Sullivan has his back out at shortstop.

Rasmussen (1-1, 3.60 ERA, 14 BB, 11 BB in 25 IP), a Hilltop High graduate, has made 26 appearances in two seasons. This is only Rasmussen's second career start, the first coming Feb. 28 in an 8-3 win over University of the Pacific. He got the win, allowing five hits and three runs over five innings with two walks and two strikeouts.

UC Irvine will start right-hander Crosby Slaught (7-0, 4.56 ERA, 48 SO, 19 BB in 71 IP), who has started in each of his 15 appearances this season.

Lavigne, Meredith keep Aztecs' hopes alive

2009-05-30T21:32:00.000-07:00

IRVINE — Junior right-hander Tyler Lavigne kept San Diego State’s NCAA Regional hopes alive today, pitching the Aztecs to a 4-1 victory over Fresno State that eliminated the defending national champions from the tournament.

Lavigne said he was still feeling the effects of starting two games in four days at last week's Mountain West Conference Tournament.

“I knew I didn’t have my best stuff and I was going to have to locate better,” said Lavigne, who didn’t have the velocity on his pitches that he normally does. There was an upside, however. “Throwing slower helped my sinker move more,” said Lavigne. “I tried as much as possible to pound the strike zone and get ground balls.”

Lavigne (8-2) limited the Bulldogs to five hits and one unearned run over 7 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts at UC Irvine’s Anteater Ballpark. SDSU closer Addison Reed came on to get the final four outs, recording his nation-leading 20th save in 20 opportunities.

SDSU (41-22) will play top-ranked UC Irvine on Sunday in an elimination game at 4 p.m. The winner there stays on the field for an 8 p.m. game against Virginia. The Cavaliers defeated UC Irvine 5-0 in tonight's late game and need just one more victory to win the regional. A loss on Sunday night would force a winner-take-all game on Monday night.

SDSU freshman first baseman Brandon Meredith, who struck out four times in Friday’s game against Virginia, sparked the Aztecs offense, hitting a two-run home run in the first inning and a solo homer in the fifth off Fresno State starting pitcher Matt Morse (4-3). That staked SDSU to a 3-1 lead and the Aztecs added another run in the fifth on a wild pitch.

“It comes down to putting the ball in play and seeing what happens,” Meredith said after putting two balls out of play.

Fresno State (32-30) managed its only run with two outs in the fourth inning when SDSU center fielder Pat Colwell dove for Kenny Wise’s sinking liner and let the ball get past him for a triple that scored Brennan Gowens.

Lavigne allowed only two other runners as far as second base, leaving with two outs in the eighth inning to a rousing ovation from a crowd of some 2,000 fans.

Reed came on and retired all four hitters he faced, ending the game with a strikeout that gave SDSU its first postseason victory since 1990.

“It’s a good win for us,” said SDSU coach Tony Gwynn. “It kind of takes the edge off (Friday’s loss). Today, I thought we played a lot more relaxed.

“Bottom line is we got a W and we get to play tomorrow. The guys are pretty excited about that.”

NAIA World Series: PLNU comes up just short

2009-05-29T23:40:00.000-07:00

Point Loma's quest for an NAIA championship ended with an 11-8 loss to Lubbock Christian tonight in the World Series finals at Lewiston, Idaho.

The Sea Lions (45-13) fell behind 5-0 in the first inning before rallying to make a game of it. PLNU was just a run down at 8-7 after scoring three times in the top of the fourth inning, but couldn't overcome Lubbock, which defeated the Sea Lions 5-1 on Thursday night to force the winner-take-all championship game.

There's more on PLNU's runner-up finish in a story right here.

Virginia hands Strasburg his first loss of the season

2009-05-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

RECAP

IRVINE — The Virginia Cavaliers did something to San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg today that no one else could do this season.

They beat him.

No. 7-ranked Virginia scored two early runs off Strasburg on the way to a 5-1 victory over the Aztecs in the opening game of the NCAA Regional hosted by UC Irvine.

Strasburg (13-1), his fastball sitting at 97 mph much of the game, struck out 15 and did not walk a batter over seven innings. But he needed two innings to get dialed in. The Aztecs trailed 2-0 by that point and couldn’t muster the offense against Virginia starter Robert Morey (3-0) to make a game of it.

The Aztecs (40-22) meet the loser of tonight’s UC Irvine-Fresno State game on Saturday at 4 p.m. in an elimination game).
With one out in the first inning, Virginia’s Phil Gosselin swung at the first pitch he saw from Strasburg and launched it over the left-field wall and against the Anteater Ballpark scoreboard.

The Cavaliers (44-12-1) added another run in the second inning when Steven Proscia scored with two outs on an infield single to second base. Proscia led off the inning with a single and had moved to third base on two wild pitches by Strasburg.
SDSU made it 2-1 in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly by Chris Wilson, but the Cavaliers expanded the lead to 5-1 with three runs (two on a homer by Steven Proscia) in the bottom of the eighth.

It was the first loss for Strasburg since a 1-0 defeat to Utah in the 2008 Mountain West Conference Tournament.

PREGAME

NCAA TOURNAMENT — IRVINE REGIONAL
SAN DIEGO STATE (40-21) VS. VIRGINIA (43-12-1)

IRVINE — The 2009 NCAA Tournament gets underway here under a canopy of clouds with temperatures in the mid-60s. UC Irvine has fewer than 1,000 fixed seats, so bleachers were brought in to accommodate the larger crowd. The gathering is dominated with red and black, with perhaps two-thirds of the crowd here in support of the Aztecs. That's no surprise. SDSU fans had about a 90-mile drive while their Virginia counterparts had a 2,550-mile flight. Cavaliers fans — perhaps 50 strong — are adjacent to the team's dugout along the third-base line.

SDSU coach Tony Gwynn announced this morning that ace Stephen Strasburg (13-0, 1.24 ERA) would indeed start against Virginia, which is countering with Robert Morey (2-0. 3.25 ERA).

HERE WE GO

1ST INNING — The Aztecs get runners to second and third with two outs, but Virginia starter Robert Morey strikes out Cory Vaughn swinging on a 2-2 pitch to get out of it. SDSU's Stephen Strasburg strides to the mound in the bottom of the inning and starts with a strikeout of leadoff hitter Jarett Parker. Phil Gosselin jolts the crowd a moment later, however, when he launches the first pitch from Strasburg over the left-field wall and off the scoreboard for a 1-0 lead. It's shocking in a "Hey, you're not supposed to be able to do that off him" kind of way. But it is the fourth HR allowed by Strasburg this season. Virginia's Danny Hultzen and Dan Grovatt follow the homer with singles, but Strasburg gets a strikeout of John Hicks and a fly ball from Tyler Cannon to end the inning. Strasburg tops out at 97 mph in the first inning.

2ND INNING — Morey allows a two-out walk to East Gust, but nothing comes off it. Strasburg makes his own trouble in the bottom of the inning when he throws two wild pitches after Steen Proscia singled to lead off the inning. Strasburg followed with two strikeouts, but Proscia scored to make it 2-0 when Parker beat out a single to second base that Mitch Blackburn took too much time on. That would have ended the inning. It continues and is prolonged further when Strasburg fails to field Gosselin's infield tapper for an error that puts runners at first and third. Strasburg finally strikes out Hultzen to end the inning. He is already at 50 pitches after just two innings.

3RD INNING — Pat Colwell gets things started with a single up the middle, but Morey keeps him there by retiring the next three hitters. The Aztecs have gone down meekly to this point, giving the crowd virtually nothing to get excited about. Strasburg's slow start also has prevented a buzz from building. In the bottom of the third, Strasburg looks more impressive with two strikeouts among three straight hitters retired.

Many in the crowd — including the press box — who haven't seen much of Strasburg this season wonder if he's had a game where he hasn't been dominate from the first pitch. He has. He allowed a leadoff home run at TCU and allowed two runs in the first inning at Utah in a pair of Mountain West Conference games. On both occasions, the opponents were getting on his fastball early. So Strasburg went to the offspeed stuff — much of it thrown in the dirt — and started mowing them down. He allowed just one run over the next seven innings in the game against TCU and pitched six shutout innings against Utah after the two-run first. We'll see if that pattern continues here. The key is whether the Aztecs offense can muster anything. Strasburg's last loss was 1-0 to Utah in the 2008 MWC Tournament.

4TH INNING — Back-to-back singles by Chris Wilson and Gust put runners at the corners with two outs, but Morey gets Ryan O'Sullivan on a tapper back to the mound to end the threat.

5TH INNING — Torres coaxes a one-out walk from Morey, but nothing comes of it. Strasburg gets two strikeouts wrapped around a single to give him 10 strikeouts for the game.

6TH INNING — Morey pitches in and out of trouble. He allows a double to Mitch Blackburn and hits Easton Gust in the foot, but it's all wrapped arund three strikeouts. Strasburg allows an infield single to Proscia with two outs, but gets Franco Valdes swinging to end the inning.

7TH INNING — Virginia coach Brian O'Connor goes to the bullpen and brings in Tyler Wilson to replace Morey and its more of the same for the Aztecs. Wilson retires the side in order, two of the hitters on strikeouts. That's 11 strikeouts for SDSU, including four by freshman first baseman Brandon Meredith. Strasburg's pitch counts move past 120 in the inning, but he doesn't appear any worse for the wear. He strikes out the side, giving him 15 for the game.

8TH INNING — The Aztecs finally get something going when Wilson issues a one-out walk to Vaughn and Blackburn follows with a double down the left-field line to put runners at second and third. Wilson hits a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Vaughn and make it 2-1. Blackburn moves to third on the play, but the Aztecs can't get him home. Virginia goes to the bullpen again and brings in Matt Packer, who gets out Gust.

Andrew Leary runs in from the SDSU bullpen, meaning Strasburg's day is done.

STRASBURG'S LINE — 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 B, 1 SO. His ERA rises to 1.32 while running his season strikeout total to 195 (with 19 BB) in 109 innings.

Leary wraps a couple of fly outs around a single, but then he gives up a two-run homer to left field to Proscia that makes it 4-1. Virginia adds another run after Chase Thomas replaces Leary, making it 5-1 on a single by Parker.

9TH INNING — Virginia closer Kevin Arico came on, struck out O'Sullivan, retired Pat Colwell on a soft liner to second base and got Torres on a grounder to second to end the game.

Strasburg gets the ball today against Virginia

2009-05-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

IRVINE — San Diego State's pitcher for today's NCAA Regionals game against Virginia has been shrouded in secrecy all week. In fact, SDSU coach Tony Gwynn was still mulling his decision during yesterday afternoon's practice day at UC Irvine's Anteater Ballpark.

"You will find out in time," said Gwynn. "I had to make the exact same decision last week (in the Mountain West Conference Tournament) and nobody cared. When I am ready to make that decision I will let you know."

That moment finally arrived this morning when the Aztecs announced that ace right-hander Stephen Strasburg will be on the mound against the Cavaliers. First pitch is at 4 p.m. (San Diego time). The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU. The UC Irvine-Fresno State game follows at 8 p.m.

Strasburg (13-0) leads the nation in strikeouts (180) and ERA (1.24). He has walked only 19 batters in 102 innings. He was named first-team All-American and national Player of the Year yesterday by Collegiate Baseball. SDSU closer Addison Reed also was a first-team selection by the newspaper.

There had been discussion all week whether to start Strasburg or junior right-hander Tyler Lavigne (7-2), who started two games over four days in the MWC Tournament.

I spoke with Lavigne on Wednesday before the team boarded a bus for Irvine and he said he was still recovering from the experience. It made me wonder if Lavigne's readiness is what was holding up the decision. If Lavigne could potentially start two games again this weekend, then it made sense to start him today and have the opportunity to bring him back for a possible "if necessary" game on Monday. Strasburg hasn't shown the same recuperative powers and wouldn't have been a candidate to make two starts. Also, in the discussion, of course, was how the pitchers match up against the teams in the four-team regional.

I wouldn't have argued with Lavigne making the start, but I'm glad to see Strasburg get the ball. SDSU has waited 18 years for this opportunity and it's good to go with your best in the opener. Besides, while UC Irvine is ranked No. 1 in the nation and Fresno State is the defending national champion, Virginia appears to have the best offensive club (batting .333 as a team while averaging 8.32 runs per game) in the bracket. This will be Strasburg's biggest challenge.

College baseball fans around the country will get to see what San Diegans have been witness to throughout the season. Greatness. Strasburg will get prime time exposure on the East Coast, whetting the appetites of Washington Nationals fans who can't wait to see that No. 1 pick used on June 9 for the 6-foot-5, 220-pound junior right-hander.

By the way, Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said the Cavaliers will start sophomore right-hander Robert Morey ()2-0, 3.25 ERA, 70 SO in 52.2 IP). Morey appeared in 15 games this season, but made only six starts. Opponents have batted .207 against him.

Here is Tournament Central for the Irvine Regional.

NAIA World Series: PLNU unable to seal the deal

2009-05-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

After 10 straight victories, Point Loma Nazarene hit a bump in the road today in a 5-1 loss to Lubbock Christian at the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.

The Sea Lions (45-12) could have claimed the championship with a victory. Instead, they face a rematch tonight against Lubbock Christian (51-8) with the title going to the winner.

Read more about today's game right here.

D-II CWS: Great UCSD run comes to an end

2009-05-28T18:39:00.000-07:00

An incredible season for UCSD came to an improbable end today in the Division II College World Series when Emporia State's Kellen Lane hit his first career homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give Emporia State a 5-3 victory over the Tritons at the USA Training Complex in Cary, N.C.

UCSD (41-15) was eliminated with the loss. Emporia State (49-13) advances to Saturday's national championship game against the winner of the Belmont Abbey-Lynn game.

A complete writeup on the game is right here.

NAIA World Series: PLNU one win from title

2009-05-27T23:42:00.001-07:00

Point Loma Nazarene is one win away from the NAIA World Series championship after smashing five home runs — two by Kaohi Downing — in tonight's 8-6 victory over Lee University in Lewiston, Idaho.

More details on the game are expected to be posted here.

PLNU (45-11) plays Lubbock Christian on Thursday in the title game.

D-II CWS: UCSD rocks Dowling in elimination game

2009-05-27T23:11:00.000-07:00

UCSD avenged an earlier loss to Dowling today in the Division II College World Series, pounding out 23 hits in a 13-1 win at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, N.C.

Trevor Decker pitched a three-hitter for the Tritons (41-14), who are one of four teams still alive in the double-elimination tournanent.

No. 1-ranked UCSD plays Emporia State on Thursday at noon (San Diego time).

More details of the big win are right here.

SDSU's pitching dilemma: Strasburg or Lavigne?

2009-05-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

San Diego State is taking its sweet time naming a starting pitcher for Friday's NCAA Regionals game against Virginia.

No. 1 starter Stephen Strasburg (13-0) or No. 2 starter Tyler Lavigne (7-2)?

Inquiring minds are eager for an answer.

If it seems like starting Strasburg is a no-brainer, consider that Lavigne was able to pitch — and pitch well — on just two days' rest in last week's Mountain West Conference Tournament. Strasburg has not shown the same recuperative powers. So going with Lavigne against the Cavaliers and saving Strasburg for Saturday's game may give SDSU its best chance of success.

This isn't exactly what the programmers at ESPN had in mind when they selected the Irvine Regional as one of the two — among 16 four-team regionals — to televise this weekend on ESPNU. Or didn't you notice that the SDSU-Virginia game is scheduled for 4 p.m., which, if my math is correct, corresponds to 7 p.m. on the East Coast.

Prime time.

That isn't SDSU coach Tony Gwynn's concern.

"We're doing what's best for San Diego State," said Gwynn. "We're going up there to win. We're not going up there just to make an appearance for the first time in 18 years. We're going up there to try to win and whatever situation puts San Diego State in the best position to win, that's what we're going to do. And honestly we haven't decided yet. You try to get your scouting reports, you try to look at rosters, you try to look at matchups, look at what kind of success they've had, who they've played; all those things go into it.

"Obviously Stephen (Strasburg) is our horse, but I think we can win with Tyler Lavigne. We'll see. My mind isn't made up on it. (Pitching coach) Rusty Filter came to my office this morning and we talked about it for about 20 minutes. I know Stephen wants the ball, but Tyler Lavigne wants the ball, too. It's about trying to set it up so it puts us in the best position to win."

Strasburg said it doesn't matter to him if he pitches Friday or Saturday.

"No, no preference," he said. "We're going to have to win at least two games. Whichever game I'm pitching, I'm going to give it everything I have. I'm confident with the other pitchers that we have and the hitters that we have that if we play our best baseball we should be able to get the job done."

Strasburg said the Aztecs' mindset will be one of the keys to advancing.

"Obviously we have to play our best baseball," said Strasburg. "We've played 61 games so far this year and I think we still have yet to play our best game. We need to go out there and play loose and really learn from what happened at the conference tournament championship. I thought at some point as a team we were playing not to lose instead of playing to win. That's what we're going to go do this weekend."

UCSD, PLNU keep championship hopes alive

2009-05-26T22:19:00.000-07:00

Top-ranked UCSD took a big early lead in an elimination game at the NCAA Division II College World Series, then survived a ninth-inning grand slam for an 8-6 win over No. 2 West Chester at the USA Training Complex in Cary, N.C.

UCSD's Matt Rossman (8-2) got the win, but not until reliever Ryland Macfadyen recorded the final out. Macfadyen came on with the bases loaded and two outs. He gave up a bases-loaded homer to Matt Baer before getting Kevin McGrath on a grounder to end the game.

Here's the game recap here.

Point Loma Nazarene also kept its national title hopes alive as Brandon Dixon pitched a seven-hitter in a 2-1 win over Lubbock Christian in the NAIA World Series at Lewiston, ID. There's more on the game right here.

The Sea Lions (44-11), who are the only team still undefeated in the tournament, play Lee University on Wednesday.

Aztecs are in! SDSU faces Virginia

2009-05-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

San Diego State received its first NCAA Regionals bid in 18 years this morning, gaining admittance into the 64-team field in the four-team Irvine Regional.

The Aztecs (40-21) received the No. 3 seed and will play No. 2 seed Virginia (43-12-1), the ACC Tournament champion, in the opening game of the double-elimination regional. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. at UCI's Anteater Ballpark. The game is to be televised by ESPNU.

In the other matchup, No. 1 seed UC Irvine (43-13), the top-ranked team in the nation meets No. 4 seed Fresno State (32-28), the defending national champion. That game is scheduled for 8 p.m.

The winner of the Irvine Regional faces the winner of the Oxford Regional (the participants are #1 Mississippi, #2 Missouri, #3 Western Kentucky and #4 Monmouth) in next week's Super Regionals, which is a best-of-three format. The eight Super Regionals winners advance to the College World Series, which is June 13-24 in Omaha, Neb.

Information for the Irvine Regional is right here.

The printable 64-team bracket is right here for those who want to follow along at home.

There's an interactive bracket right here.

D-II CWS: UCSD falls to Dowling in opener

2009-05-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

Top-ranked UCSD was brimming with enthusiasm and loaded with confidence coming into the NCAA Division II College World Series in Cary, N.C.

No. 21-ranked Dowling put a damper on that.

Make that Dowling's Gabriel Duran (10-2), who pitched a three-hitter today in a 3-1 win over the Tritons at the USA Baseball Training Complex. Dowling struck out four, walked two, overcame two errors and allowed only an unearned run in the sixth inning.

UCSD's Tim Shibuya (8-5) allowed the three runs — two in the fourth and one in the eighth — over 7 2/3 innings.

There are more details on the game here.

UCSD (39-14) meets West Chester (46-10) on Tuesday in a losers' bracket game. All of the sudden the Tritons must win to keep a dream season from coming to an abrupt end in the double-elimination tournament.

Here's the CWS bracket right here.

MWC Tournament: Utah beats SDSU for title

2009-05-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

It was right there.

I could see it. I could smell. I could taste it.

And then it was snatched away.

But isn't that always the way.

Aaugh! Indeed.

(Hence, the photo. "But that's football," my wife says. I know. I know. That's not the point. OK, try this one.)

Utah defeated San Diego State 9-3 today at TCU's Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, to win the Mountain West Conference Tournament championship and the gold ticket to the NCAA Regionals.

It was all within San Diego State's grasp after the Aztecs put themselves in the driver's seat with wins over UNLV and New Mexico on Tuesday and Wednesday and followed it up with an amazing comeback win over Utah on Thursday to advance to the finals. All SDSU needed was one more victory to end its NCAA postseason absence.

The current generation of SDSU fans doesn't realize that the Aztecs used to be regular parties to the party, going to the NCAA Tournament eight times in a 13-year period from 1979 to 1991. In fact, the 1984 team came within a run of going to the College World Series in Omaha (SDSU lost to Cal State Fullerton 8-7 in 11 innings after having the would-be winning run thrown out at the plate earlier in the game). Most of the players on this year's team were still learning to walk and talk when the Aztecs made their last appearance 18 years ago.

It isn't as if the Aztecs haven't had their chances since then, especially since moving into the MWC 10 years ago.

SDSU reached the tournament finals each of the conference's first five seasons. In fact, the Aztecs defeated Air Force for the inaugural MWC title in 2000. But, just their luck, the conference didn't receive an automatic tournament berth in its first season and the Aztecs were left home. SDSU lost in the finals each of the next four years, to BYU in 2001 and 2002 and to UNLV in 2003 and 2004.

The Aztecs failed to reach the finals for one reason or another the next four years. One year it was academic (three or four players were declared ineligible and literally pulled off the team bus in 2005 right before it departed for the tournament in Las Vegas). Another year is was pitching injuries. The previous two years it was an offense that went AWOL.

Winning the MWC Tournament has been the only way to reach the NCAAs. No MWC team has ever received an at-large berth.

That could/should/will change this year.

TCU is ranked No. 10 in the nation by Baseball America and was even viewed as a probable host site for the first round (we'll see if going 1-2 this week does anything to change that). I still believe SDSU will be invited as well. The Aztecs (40-21) are among two dozen teams to reach the 40-win plateau, have an RPI and strength of schedule ranked among the top 45 teams in the nation, finished strong down the stretch. And they have the best pitcher in the nation, which ought to count for something.

We'll find out for sure on Selection Monday (9:30 a.m. on ESPN).

I thought just this once the Aztecs might do it the easy way.

Nope.

And so we wait.

It's been 18 years. What's another day or two. That's nothing. Utah fans have been waiting for this moment since 1960.

The Road to Omaha wasn't even paved back then.

MWC Tournament: Utah forces deciding game

2009-05-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

San Diego State didn't have a comeback in it tonight against Utah, losing 4-1 to the Utes in the Mountain West Conference Tournament at Forth Worth, Texas.

So the Aztecs (40-20) and Utes (25-29) will come back to the field at TCU's Lupton Stadium on Saturday at 11 a.m. (San Diego time) to play for all the marbles. The winner takes the MWC's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

SDSU right-hander Tyler Lavigne (7-2) pitched admirably on two-days' rest, pitching into the eighth inning before leaving with Utah ahead 2-1. Reliever Andrew Leary allowed two runs over the final two innings. Three Utah pitchers — normally all starters for the Utes — limited SDSU to five hits and one fourth-inning run.

I would expect Ryan O'Sullivan to start for the Aztecs since he has not yet pitched in the tournament. O'Sullivan was 4-3 during the regular season with a 5.85 ERA. The freshman right-hander from Valhalla High has been muc improved late in the season, going 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA in his last four starts.

MWC Tournament: Aztecs' amazing comeback

2009-05-21T23:53:00.000-07:00

San Diego State rallied for eight runs in the eighth inning and an amazing 9-8 victory over Utah tonight in the Mountain West Conference Tournament at TCU's Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.

SDSU advances to Friday night's MWC Tournament finals — one win away from an automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals — awaiting the winner of an elimination game between Utah and TCU. First pitch is 5 p.m. (San Diego time). Junior right-hander Tyler Lavigne, who beat UNLV in Tuesday's opener, has asked for the ball on two days' rest, and it appears he is going to get it. The leash on Lavigne will be short. The Aztecs want to win it here and now, even though they would have another crack at the title on Saturday in the double-elimination event if they come up short on Friday.

SDSU starting pitcher Jon Berger pitched four hitless innings tonight against Utah and got two quick outs in the fifth before running into trouble when the Utes scored five runs. Utah stretched its lead to 8-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth and it seemed the Aztecs' were on their way to another disappointing tournament finish.

Instead, SDSU mounted the biggest comeback of a season that has been full of them.

The Aztecs (40-19) sent 13 men to the plate in the eighth. Ryan O'Sullivan opened the inning with a single. When O'Sullivan's turn in the order came back around, he singled again to drive in two runs that made it 8-8. Pat Colwell followed with a double to left-center that gave the Aztecs the lead.

In the ninth, SDSU closer Addison Reed came on and retired the Utes without incident for his nation-leading 19th save in 19 opportunities.

SDSU reached the MWC Tournament finals each of the conference's first five years, but this is the first time the Aztecs have reached thefinals since 2004. SDSU won the inaugural MWC Tournament in 2000, although the MWC did not receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament that season and the Aztecs were shunned by the selection committee. SDSU has not been to an NCAA Regional since 1991.

MWC Tournament: SDSU edges New Mexico 2-1

2009-05-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

RECAP
San Diego State ace Stephen Strasburg pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings to lead the Aztecs to a 2-1 win over New Mexico this afternoon in the Mountain West Conference Tournament at TCU's Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.

Amid the celebration of the Aztecs (39-19) advancing to Thursday's winner bracket semifinals, however, was what internet broadcasters Chris Ello and Craig Elsten speculated was an oblique muscle injury that forced Strasburg from the game. Strasburg grabbed his left side after walking New Mexico's Adam Courcha on four pitches (Strasburg's only walk) and throwing another ball when Daniel Gonzalez came to the plate with two outs in the eighth inning. Strasburg was relieved moments later by SDSU pitching coach Rusty Filter and replaced by closer Addison Reed.

After the game, Filter said it was only a cramp in Strasburg's lower back and that he was fine after getting some fluids for hydration.

"He just cramped up in his back," Filter told Baseball America's Aaron Fitt. "He was coming out in one more batter anyway. He threw one more pitch, and enough was enough. He’s fine — he’ll be ready to go. He’s back at the hotel bouncing around like college kids do."

Strasburg was reportedly at 90 pitches when he departed. The bright side of coming out early and not being injured is that Strasburg potentially could be available for an inning or two of relief if the Aztecs were to need him on Friday or Saturday.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

On Thursday night, SDSU plays No. 6 seed Utah, which upset top-seeded TCU tonight by a 9-7 score, with the winner there advancing to the tournament finals. The tournament champion receives the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.

Strasburg (13-0) allowed three hits over 7 2/3 innings before leaving. Strasburg struck out a season-low six batters and walked one. He lowered his ERA to 1.24 and raised his season strikeout total to 180 with 19 walks in 102 innings pitched.

SDSU scored the game's first run on a two-out double by Mitch Blackburn in the sixth inning. The Aztecs made it 2-0 in the ninth when Easton Gust came home from third base on a wild pitch.

The insurance run made all the difference in the bottom of the ninth when New Mexico rallied for a run off Reed with two outs. Reed hit a batter to load the bases before left fielder Josh Chasse caught a fly ball in foul territory to end the game.

Reed set an SDSU single-season record with his 18th save (in 18 opportunities).

HERE WE GO

1ST INNING — New Mexico senior left-hander John Hesketh gets off to a strong start, retiring Pat Colwell and Brandon Decker on grounders to second base before striking out Brandon Meredith swinging. San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg opens the bottom of the inning by getting MWC Player of the Year Mike Brownstein looking at strike three. Max Willett follows with an infield single to second base, but Strasburg gets Ryan Honeycutt on a popup back to the mound. The inning ends when SDSU catcher Erik Castro cuts down Willett trying to steal second base.

2ND INNING — Three up and three down again for the Aztecs, whose only ball out of the infield is Cory Vaughn's fly out to left field. Strasburg also retires the Lobos in order, although all three hitters avoid striking out.

3RD INNING — Chris Wilson pops up to second, Easton Gust grounds out to first and Ryan O'Sullivan strikes out looking as Hesketh makes it one time through the SDSU lineup without allowing a baserunner. Strasburg also faces the minimum the first time through the New Mexico batting order, getting Justin Howard swinging, Adam Courcha looking and Daniel Gonzalez on a fly ball down the right-field line.

4TH INNING — Colwell gets the inning started with a single and the Aztecs load the bases with two outs, but Hesketh gets Mitch Blackburn on a ball hit back to the mound to end the threat. Strasburg continues to mow, getting a pair of grounders and a fly ball to right field to retire the side in order again.

5TH INNING — O'Sullivan gets a two-out single off Hesketh, but the Aztecs can't move him along. Rafael Neda singles to right to open the bottom of the inning off Strasburg and the Lobos bunt him over to second base. But Strasburg gets a groundout and a flyout and returns to the dugout.

6TH INNING — This game is shaping just like last month's Strasburg-Hesketh encounter, a 1-0 SDSU victory in which Strasburg went the distance and struck out 14. Who blinks first this time? New Mexico. Meredith coaxes a one-out walk and then Castro singles to right-center to put runners at the corners. Vaughn pops up to second for the second out, but Blackburn doubles down the left-field line to score Meredith and give the Aztecs a 1-0. Strasburg has a run to work with now and he strikes out both Corcha and Gonzalez looking before Brownstein lines out to O'Sullivan at shortstop.

7TH INNING — Hesketh exits after allowing a leadoff single to Gust and a sacrifice bunt by O'Sullivan. Reliever Will Kerr gets out of the inning after Colwell walks when pinch hitter Jomel Torres hits into a doubleplay. Strasburg allows a one-out single to Honeycutt, but New Mexico can't make anything of it.

8TH INNING — New Mexico will need two more relievers to get through the inning. They do so without allowing a run, stranding runners at second and third when Wilson strikes out to end the inning. Strasburg gets a fly out and a strikeout before walking Courcha. The All-American has allowed but three hits over 7 2/3 shutout innings, and that's going to be enough on this day. It appears Strasburg has some sort of injury. Play-by-play broadcaster Craig Elsten suggests that it may be a strained oblique muscle. SDSU pitching coach Rusty Filter comes to the mound and calls for closer Addison Reed. Gonzalez fouls off four straight pitches before striking out to end the inning.

9TH INNING — With the Aztecs looking for insurance, Gust opens the inning with a single to right-center. O'Sullivan strikes out swinging before Colwell single to right to put runners at the corners. Colwell steals second to put two runners in scoring position, but then Josh Chasse looks at strike three for the second out. Opportunity appears on the verge of being lost when New Mexico reliever Cole White helps the SDSU cause with a wild pitch that allows Gust to score and make it 2-0.

The Aztecs are three outs away from advancing to a winner's bracket game against the winner of tonight's TCU/Utah game. Reed is 17-for-17 in saves this season, which leads the nation. He goes after the top of the Lobos lineup. Brownstein steps in and is quickly in an 0-2 hole. He works the count to 3-2 before grounding to shortstop O'Sullivan, who backhands a ball in the hole and throws out Brownstein on a ball first baseman Meredith digs out of the dirt. Reed strikes out Willett on a 1-2 pitch for the second out. Pinch hitter Cameron Smith comes to the plate as the Lobos' last chance. Reed starts Smith with a ball, then gets two straight strikes. New Mexico is down to its last strike. But Smith watches two balls load the count before singling to center field on a ball that takes a bad hop over the glove of second baseman Blackburn. Neda follows with another single and just like that the Lobos have the tying runs aboard. . Filter visits Reed at the mound. The sophomore right-hander is perfect in save situations this season, but it hasn't always been clean. Reed again gets ahead in the count 1-2 on New Mexico's Kevin Atkinson and the Lobos are again down to their final strike. But Atkinson singles to make it 2-1. Brian Cavazos-Galvez is now the batter for New Mexico. Reed gets him 0-2, then wastes a pitch for a ball. Then Reed hits Cavazos-Galvez with an inside pitch and the bases are loaded. Howard steps up with a chance to win the game with a single. With a 1-1 count, Howard sends a foul fly to left field, Chasse drifts over and gloves it for the final out. It is Reed's school-record 18th save and it couldn't have come in a more pressure-packed situation.

PREGAME
San Diego State sends ace right-hander Stephen Strasburg (12-0, 1.34 ERA, 174 SO, 18 BB in 94.1 IP) to the mound this afternoon on the second day of the Mountain West Conference Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas.

Strasburg faces No. 2 seed New Mexico, a team he beat last month in Albuquerque with a six-hit shutout. He struck out 14 in the 1-0 win. New Mexico is expeted to counter today with senior left-hander John Hesketh (6-3, 3.61 ERA), who was the hard-luck loser against Strasburg last month.

The winner of today's game plays tonight's TCU/Utah winner on Thursday. The winner of that game advances to the tournament finals.

There should be a good subplot to this SDSU-New Mexico game because Strasburg puncutuated last month's victory over New Mexico with a demonstrative fist pump that didn't sit too well with the Lobos and coach Ray Birmingham. They had only themselves to blame, especially the had coach. Birmingham made some comments about Strasburg during game week — and before — and the pitcher responded with one of his most dominating — and emotional — wins of the season.

Here's part of what Birmingham said: “There’s a guy down in San Diego State rumored to be worth $25 million. When he comes down here, we’re going to make him look like 25 bucks.”

SDSU's Daily Aztec had a good story on the comments and commotion.

I believe Birmingham is a good coach — he took over last season at New Mexico following a stellar junior college coaching career and led the Lobos to one of their best seasons — but he tends to spike himself by putting his foot in his mouth. He's got some good ol' boy in him, so maybe Birmingham's comments came across better spoken than in print. The comments didn't seem to bring forth what he meant by the time they got back to Strasburg. In good ol' boy terms, "Why poke a stick at a rabid dog?"

We'll see today if both sides have put it all behind them or if some bad blood bubbles up in today's game.

SDSU moved up to #41 in RPI after yesterday's 12-1 win over UNLV, so the Aztecs are pretty well positioned for an at-large berth to the NCAA Regionals should they miss out on the automatic berth being award to the MWC Tournament champion.

MWC Tournament: SDSU opens with win over UNLV

2009-05-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

San Diego State blew open a close game with a seven-run eighth inning against UNLV tonight in the first round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament on the way to a 12-1 win at Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.

The double-elimination tournament opened today with an upset, No. 6 seed Utah beating No. 3 seed BYU 2-1 in 10 innings.

That means the No. 5 seed Aztecs (38-19) will play No. 2 seed New Mexico, which received a first-round bye, on Wednesday at 1 p.m. (San Diego time) in one winner's bracket game and Utah will play top-seeded TCU in the other winner's bracket game. Also, BYU plays UNLV in an elimination game.

SDSU starter Tyler Lavigne (left) struggled early with his control against UNLV, but the junior right-hander allowed just one run and three hits over 7 2/3 innings. Lavigne (7-1) walked four and struck out eight.

Erik Castro, Cory Vaughn and Ryan O'Sullivan drove in two runs apiece for the Aztecs. Castro was 3-for-4, raising his team-high average to .395.

SDSU ace Stephen Strasburg (12-0, 1.34 ERA, 174 SO, 19 BB) is expected to start for the Aztecs against New Mexico. Strasburg pitched a shutout with 14 strikeouts in a 1-0 win over the Lobos last month in Albuquerque.

Strasburg leads six Aztecs earning MWC honors

2009-05-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

San Diego State junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg was named Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Year for the second straight year during a banquet tonight in Fort Worth, Texas, on the eve of the MWC Tournament, which is being hosted by TCU.

Strasburg was one of six Aztecs players earning all-conference recognition. SDSU outfielder Cory Vaughn and closer Addison Reed joined Strasburg on the first team and first baseman Brandon Meredith, catcher/third baseman Erik Castro and pitcher Tyler Lavigne were selected on the second team.

New Mexico second baseman Mike Brownstein was selected MWC Player of the Year and TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle was selected Coach of the Year. Utah catcher C.J. Cron was selected Freshman of the Year, although he did not appear on either the first or second teams. Meredith and TCU shortstop Taylor Featherston were the only freshmen listed, both as second-team selections.

The complete all-conference teams are right here.

The Aztecs (37-19) open the six-team, double-elimination tournament on Tuesday at 6 p.m. (San Diego time) against UNLV (26-30).

Here's Tournament Central on the MWC Web site, which includes the tournament schedule, gametracker, rosters, stats, quotes, etc.

UCSD headed to Division II College World Series

2009-05-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

With a trip to the Division II College World Series hanging in the balance, UCSD turned a tie game into a runaway with eight runs in the top of the ninth inning for a 12-4 victory over Sonoma State and the NCAA Division II West Regional title at Keizer, Ore.

The victory sends the No.2-ranked Tritons (39-13) to the College World Series, which is being hosted at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. The event is May 23-30. The Tritons open the eight-team, double-elimination tournament on Sunday at 10 a.m. (San Diego time) against East champion Dowling (34-16).

Here's the tournament bracket.

Here's the NCAA Division II championship page.

Here's the Division II championship history if you're interested.

More details on today's big win are right here.

This is UCSD's first trip to the CWS in Division II, although coach Dan O'Brien was part of the 1994 Tritons team that reached the Division III College World Series.

SDSU beats Utah in a barn burner

2009-05-16T22:52:00.000-07:00

With any opportunity for San Diego State to get a top seed in the Mountain West Conference Tournament gone after Friday's 15-5 loss to Utah, I didn't expect much from today's regular season finale against the Utes.

All we got was a 10-9 SDSU win in 12 innings that included:

— Two home runs from freshman Ryan O'Sullivan — the second a three-run homer that tied the game 7-7 in the ninth inning — who moved from shortstop to the mound with two outs and the bases loaded in the 12th to get the final out for his first collegiate save.

— A controversial call in the seventh inning that led to coach Tony Gwynn's ejection, the third time he's been ejected in his seven-year coaching career. Gwynn was ejected after protesting a call on a ground ball hit by Austine Jones down the third-base that landed in foul territory but was ruled to have gone over the third-base bag. It came with the bases loaded, drove in three runs and boosted Utah's lead from 4-3 to 7-3. "That ball was five feet foul," Gwynn told the plate umpire before returning to the SDSU dugout, where further comment led to the coach's ejection.

— 21 of the 25 players on the traveling roster played in the game, nine pitchers among them.

— The 37th victory of the season, the most during the Gwynn era.

Tomorrow the Aztecs (37-19) fly to Fort Worth, Texas, where TCU will be hosting the MWC Tournament. No. 4 seed SDSU will play No. 5 seed UNLV on Tuesday in their first tournament game. Tyler Lavigne (6-1, 3.62 ERA) was held back from today's game so he could start Tuesday. SDSU ace Stephen Strasburg (12-0, 1.34 ERA) will pitch Wednesday.

Here's the MWC Tournament bracket as well as championship central from the MWC site.

Loss to Utah costs Aztecs No. 2 seed

2009-05-15T21:17:00.000-07:00

Watching this evening's San Diego State-Utah game unfold reminded me of control tower supervisor Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges) in the movie Airplane! At various times in the movie, McCroskey said he picked the wrong week to quit drinking, smoking, sniffing glue and taking amphetamines. It's no wonder he jumped out a window toward the end of the film.

SDSU picked the wrong day to play its worst game of the season.

SDSU committed five errors and five Aztecs pitchers were pounded for 16 hits tonight in a 15-5 Mountain West Conference loss to the Utes at Lindquist Field in Ogden, Utah.

The Aztecs' postseason hopes didn't go out the window with the loss, but the road to the postseason did become longer. SDSU came into the three-game series against Utah needing a sweep to assure themselves of second place in the MWC.

So much for second.

The significance is that the top two teams in the Mountain West Conference receive first-round byes in next week's MWC Tournament, which is being hosted by TCU. The bye means the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the double-elimination event could play just three games, win them all, and claim the championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Everyone else will use valuable pitching before the top two teams have even taken the field.

The Horned Frogs have clinched their fourth straight regular season conference championship. By the way, TCU has only been in the MWC four years. Here's how the standings look:

TCU 14-5 .737
BYU 14-8 .636
New Mexico 14-8 .636
SDSU 14-9 .609

TCU, New Mexico and SDSU all have one game remaining. The best the Aztecs can now do is finish 15-9, which is a .625 winning percentage. That means SDSU will finish either third or fourth in the conference.

The reason winning percentage is being used to determine the champion is because, as usual, several games were lost to weather and not made up, so the teams are not playing the same number of games. TCU had four games cancelled (including an entire series against Air Force), BYU had two cancelled and New Mexico had one cancelled.

Tonight's loss means the SDSU coaching staff will probably be up late tonight trying to decide who to start on the mound in Saturday's finale against Utah. The game doesn't mean much. Finishing third or fourth doesn't really impact tournament seeding (It means playing either No. 5 seed UNLV or No. 6 seed Utah on Tuesday in a first-round game), although every victory is meaningful when it comes to at-large consideration for he postseason.

Here's the big question: Do you start Tyler Lavigne (6-1, 3.62 ERA) in Saturday's game, or save him now for Tuesday's tournament opener? Lavigne has been the Aztecs' second best pitcher this season. If Lavigne goes on Saturday, then he won't be available until Thursday or Friday next week.

I would save Lavigne for Tuesday, not that anyone asked.

SDSU ace Stephen Strasburg is expected to start Wednesday's game.

Strasburg improves to 12-0 as SDSU routs Utah

2009-05-14T16:57:00.000-07:00

RECAP
Utah stunned Stephen Strasburg with two runs in the first inning — with a walk, a triple and an infield single — but it was all Aztecs thereafter as San Diego State scored 11 unanswered runs for an 11-2 Mountain West Conference victory over the Utes in a game played before 1,685 at Lindquist Field in Ogden, Utah.

Strasburg (12-0) remains unbeaten, allowing six hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts over seven innings. Strasburg's ERA rises a tad to 1.34. He increases his national lead in strikeouts to 174, against 18 walks, in 94.1 innings pitched. Strasburg's fastball touched 98 mph, but he got most of his strikeouts tonight with his slider, much as he did in last year's 23-strikeout game against the Utes. Strasburg wasn't nearly as dominating as he has been this season, but he got better as the game went on and was tough when he had to be. In the fourth inning, he strands a runner at third base with no outs. In the sixth, he strands runners at second and third with no outs. In the seventh, he strikes out the side.

Strasburg is now one win away from equaling the SDSU record of 13 wins set by Bill Blount in 1983. Strasburg will have an opportunity to match the record in next week's Mountain West Conference Tournament at TCU.

Catcher Erik Castro's two-run homer in the fifth inning gave the Aztecs a 4-2 lead and they never looked back on the way to their sixth straight win. SDSU (36-18, 14-8 MWC) drew even with BYU for second place in the conference. The Aztecs must win their next two games against the Utes to assure a second-place finish. Lose one of the games and BYU will finish percentage points ahead of the Aztecs for second. New Mexico also could pass SDSU in the standings. The top two teams in the MWC receive first-round byes in the tournament. The tournament champion receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.

SDSU set a record for season wins (36) during the Tony Gwynn era and the victory moved Gwynn over .500 in his career (209-208) for the first time since the 2005 season. The Aztecs' victory total is just four shy of national leaders LSU and Coastal Carolina.

The Aztecs are trying to position themselves for an at-large berth should they miss out on the automatic. They came into the series with an RPI of 38. Anything below 45 usually means a team can breathe easy. Sweeping Utah would get SDSU to 38 wins, but it also will cost them in RPI since the Utes are so low (128). If SDSU can get to 40 wins during the MWC Tournament, they should be fine. Reaching the tournament finals would be even better.

SDSU is aiming for its first postseason appearance since 1991. SDSU's 2000 team won the MWC Tournament, but it was the first year of the conference, no automatic berth was available and the Aztecs were left out.

Bids to host an NCAA regional or super regional are due tomorrow. SDSU officials have said they will bid, although it is a longshot for the Aztecs to host. It appears the West Coast will get three bids and they are expected to be awarded to No. 1-ranked UC Irvine, No. 3-ranked Arizona State and No. 5-ranked Cal State Fullerton.

HERE WE GO

1ST INNING — SDSU loaded the bases with one out, but the Aztecs weren't able to make anything of the opportunity when Cory Vaughn hit into an inning-ending double play. Strasburg, who is walking fewer than two batters a game this season, walks the first batter he faces — Utah leadoff hitter Corey Shimada. Shimada is bunted to second before teammate Nick Kuroczko triples to make it 1-0. C.J. Cron then follows with an infield single to second base and it's 2-0 Utes. It is the first runs scored in 17 innings against Strasburg, who had pitched 21 straight innings on the road without allowing a run. It is the first time the Aztecs have trailed with Strasburg on the mound in 64 innings. Strasburg finally gets out of the inning with a groundout and his first strikeout of the game.

2ND INNING — SDSU's Mitch Blackburn leads off the inning with a single off Utah starter Brian Budrow. Blackburn is caught stealing, however. Then Easton Gust strikes out and Brandon Decker flies out. So much for that. Let's see what Strasburg has as he returns to the mound. The 6-foot-5 right-hander seems more himself, wrapping strikeouts of Cooper Blanc and Michael Beltran around Green's groundout to third base.

3RD INNING — Ryan O'Sullivan opens the inning by looking at strike three from Budrow, who then walks Pat Colwell. The walk quickly comes back to bite him when Jomel Torres doubles to right-center and Colwell comes around to score and make it 2-1. Torres moves to third base on a wild pitch, but Brandon Meredith strikes out and so does Erik Castro and that's it for the Aztecs. Strasburg, whose velocity has topped out at 98 mph to this point, allows a one-out single to Tyler Yagi but gets a double play to get out of the inning.

4TH INNING — The Aztecs get Budrow on the ropes again, putting Vaughn and Blackburn at second and third on a pair of singles and a sacrifice bunt by Gust. Decker grounds out to second base to score Vaughn and make it 2-2 before Budrow can get out of the inning. Strasburg walks the tightrope in the bottom of the inning, allowing a leadoff double to Cron, who moves to third on a wild pitch. Strasburg rises to the challenge as he has all season, however, striking out Devin Walker and Austin Jones before Blanc flies out to right to strand Cron at third.

5TH INNING — Colwell singles to center to put the leadoff hitter on for SDSU for the fourth time in five innings. The Aztecs are on the verge of squandering another opportunity when Castro hits a two-out pitch to left-center for his 10th homer of the season. It's the third straight game in which Castro has homered and ties him with Vaughn for the team lead in homers. More importantly, it gives SDSU a 4-2 lead. Strasburg retires the side in order for just the second time in five innings.

6TH INNING — SDSU goes down in order on three straight infield grounders. Strasburg gets Yagi looking at a slider for the first out of the inning. It is Strasburg's seventh strikeout, all of them coming on sliders according to SDSU play-by-play man Chris Ello. The slider is what Strasburg used effectively against the Utes in last year's 23-strikeout game. Trouble lurks again when Kuroczko singles to center and Cron singles to left (his third hit in the game off Strasburg). Both runners move up on a wild pitch, but Strasburg bows his neck again by retiring Walker on a fly to left and Jones on a fly to center to end the inning.

7TH INNING — O'Sullivan leads off with a walk, bringing Utah coach Bill Kinneberg out to the mound to ask Budrow for the ball. Greg Krause takes over for the Utes. Krause doesn't exactly strike fear in a hitter since they're batting .309 off him. Colwell flies out to right field before Torres singles to right to put runners at the corners. The Aztecs make it 5-2 when Meredith's groundout to shortstop scores O'Sullivan. Torres moves to second on the play, which leaves first base open. The bag is quickly filled when Castro is intentionally walked. Castro homered in his last at-bat, but the Utes would rather face Vaughn? He has more power than anyone on the club, although he's gone eight games since his last homer. Krause keeps Vaughn in the yard, but the sophomore hits a hanging curveball for an RBI single to right. The hit ends an 0-for-7 stretch with runners in scoring position and gives the Aztecs a 6-2 lead.

Strasburg comes out in the bottom of the inning better than ever. It must have been the rousing version of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." He strikes out Blanc and Green looking, then gets Beltran swinging to strike out the side for the first time. That's 10 strikeouts now, the 12th time in 13 games that Strasburg has reached double digits in Ks.

8TH INNING — Tyler Anderson replaces Krause on the mound for the Utes and, boy, does he get into trouble. Gust hits a leadoff single and Decker reaches on an error while trying to bunt Gust over. O'Sullivan then advances the runners with a bunt, so Utah intentionally walks Colwell to set up the double play. The Aztecs refuse to cooperate, singles by Torres, Meredith and Castro producing three runs and a 9-2 lead. Reliever Robert Chimpky comes in for Andersen. SDSU adds two more runs before the inning ends to make it 11-2.

The big inning makes it pointless to bring back Strasburg for another inning, especially since he's expected to throw a day early (Wednesday) in next week's MWC Tournament. Kegan Sharp comes on for Strasburg, whose line is 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO. Strasburg is in line to improve to 12-0. His ERA rises slightly to 1.34. He now has 174 strikeouts on the season with 18 walks in 94.1 IP. Sharp looks sharp in the inning, retiring the Utes in order on a strikeout and two infield grounders.

9TH INNING — The Aztecs go quickly, perhaps eager to get this over with secure in victory with a nine-run lead. Sharp finishes off the Utes, getting Blanc swinging at strike three to end the game.

PREGAME

San Diego State opens a three-game series at Utah on Thursday evening needing a three-game sweep to assure the Aztecs of second place in the Mountain West Conference. The top two teams in the regular season receive a first-round bye, saving valuable pitching in the double-elimination tournament being hosted next week by TCU. The tournament winner receives the MWC's automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.

SDSU sends all-Everything right-hander Stephen Strasburg (11-0, 1.28 ERA, 164 SO, 17 BB in 87.1 IP) to the mound against the Utes. Strasburg is coming off last week's no-hitter against Air Force. He struck out 23 batters in a regular-season game last season against Utah. The Utes would probably like to focus more on their 1-0 win over Strasburg and the Aztecs in the MWC Tournament. Utah sends Brian Budrow (4-4, 5.45 ERA) to the mound.

SDSU (35-18, 13-8) enters the series in third place in the MWC, trailing TCU 12-5 (which has three games remaining) and BYU 14-8 (which has completed conference play). The conference standings will be determined by winning percentage because several teams have had games cancelled because of weather. Utah (20-26, 7-14) is in sixth place in the conference.

The game — and series — is being played in Ogden, Utah, at Lindquist Field, home of the Class A Ogden Raptors (Dodgers affiliate). Utah shares it's field in Salt Lake City with the Triple A Salt Lake City Bees (Angels affiliate) and both teams were scheduled to be at home this weekend, so the Utes moved over to Ogden for the series.

USD faces early ending to season

2009-05-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

USD (28-25) travels to UC Irvine on Tuesday for a game against the Anteaters that will wrap up not only the regular season but the 2009 season itself. It is an early ending for a program that has become accustomed to postseason appearances.

The Toreros were torpedoed by injuries to their top two pitchers — Sammy Solis and Kyle Blair — and four position players — center fielder Kevin Muno, third baseman Victor Solis, first baseman Jose Valerio and infielder Steven Chatwood — which explains, at least in part, how the team staggered down the stretch.

USD opened West Coast Conference play by winning its first six games. The Toreros went 5-10 the rest of the way, however, and won't be around to defend their back-to-back WCC championships. Gonzaga and Loyola Marymount will meet in two weeks to determine the conference's automatic entrant in the NCAA Tournament.

This is the first time in 10 seasons that USD has failed to reach the 30-win plateau and the first time in four years the Toreros will miss the postseason.

UCSD is No. 1 seed in West Regional

2009-05-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

UCSD received the top seed in the Division II NCAA West Regional, a four-team get together in Keizer, Ore., in which everyone is pretty familiar with each other. Three of the teams are members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association and just spent the weekend playing each other in the CCAA Tournament won by the Tritons.

The Tritons (34-21) play No .4 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills and No. 2 seed Western Oregon (33-12) plays No. 3 seed Sonoma State (32-14) in Thursday's opening games of the double elimination tournament. The tournament schedule is right here.

UCSD comes into the tournament having won nine of 10 games, including three straight (one against CS Dominguez Hills and two against Sonoma State) in the CCAA Tournament. UCSD is 3-2 against Dominguez Hills, 3-3 against Sonoma State and 1-3 against Western Oregon this season.

This is UCSD's third straight appearance in the 48-team postseason tournament. Last year, the Tritons fell one game short of reaching the Regional finals. The winner this weekend advances to the eight-team NCAA Championship May 23-30 in Cary, N.C.

Here are the schools that made the 48-team field. Inteestingly, six of the sites have six teams, one site has eight teams and the West Regional has four teams.

UCSD wins CCAA Tournament championship

2009-05-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

UCSD won its second California Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship in five years today with an 8-7 victory over Sonoma State at Palm Springs Stadium.

The Tritons (36-12) came into the ninth inning with a three-run lead, allowed it to get away when Sonoma State (32-14) rallied for four runs in the ninth, then scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to pull out the victory. It was fitting that UCSD's Garrett Imeson struck the winning blow with an RBI single to center. After all, Imeson is the school's all-time hits leader.

There's more on the win right here at the school's Web site.

The title gives UCSD the conference's automatic berth in the Division II NCAA Tournament. The Tritons' postseason plans should be firmed up Sunday when the tournament bracket is revealed.

Six Tritons players were selected to the all-tournament team, led by MVP Vance Albitz.

UCSD also won the tournament title in 2005.

Strasburg no-hits Air Force before record crowd

2009-05-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

When I heard on Monday that tonight's San Diego State-Air Force game was already a sellout, I joked with SDSU coach Tony Gwynn that they would really know college baseball had made it in this town when scalpers were hanging out in front of the ticket windows before the game.

I guess it wasn't a joke after all.

On Wednesday, an ad turned up on Craigslist for four tickets to the game priced at $40 apiece (face value is $7). And it didn't even guarantee the buyer a seat. The tickets were for standing room only.

Outrageous?

I don't know if the seller ever found a buyer, but it turns out that the tickets would have been worth every penny.

That's how electric it was tonight as SDSU junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg pitched the seventh no-hitter in school history — and first in 20 years — in a 5-0 win over Air Force before 3,337, the largest crowd in Tony Gwynn Stadium history.

Strasburg struck out 17 in the game, including seven of the first nine hitters, and allowed just two baserunners in the game — on leadoff walks in the fourth and sixth innings. One of the runners was erased attempting to steal, meaning Strasburg pitched to just one batter over the minimum. In his final home start of the season, Strasburg finished off the Falcons by striking out the side in the ninth inning.

“I was giving it everything I had left," said Strasburg, whose fastball touched 101 mph in the third inning and consistently hit 99 mph during the game. "I think in that last inning my stuff was the best it was the whole game.

Strasburg tossed a one-hitter in his 23-strikeout game last year against Utah and also had a one-hitter last year against TCU, but this was the first no-hitter of his career. Tossing a no-hitter is "hard," said Strasburg, "especially at the college level because you’ve got aluminum bats and a guy could hit a 15 hopper over a guy's head for a single."

Strasburg improved to 11-0 on the season, lowered his ERA to 1.24 and increased his strikeout total to 164 in 87.1 innings with just 17 walks.

“We’ve been seeing the same thing all year," said SDSU coach Tony Gwynn. "Tonight wasn’t much different, except that they didn’t get a hit.

"It’s fitting he throws a no-hitter in his last start at home."

There was really no close play that jeopardized the no-hitter. The deepest drive was the one left fielder Brandon Decker caught in the fourth inning at the warning track. In the eighth, Jon McMahon hit a chopper up the middle but shortstop Ryan O’Sullivan ranged behind second base and turned it into an out.

“Everytime Strasburg goes on the mound it’s something special,” said O’Sullivan. “As the game went on, you’re like, ‘Wow, he has a chance to do this.’ In the eighth and ninth, he had that look in his eye like, ‘I’m going to do this.’ “

In the ninth, Strasburg struck out Blair Roberts and Tytus Moss swinging to bring Nathan Carter to the plate and the crowd to its feet. Strasburg started Carter with a strike. Then a ball. Then strike two. Then Carter looked at a slider for strike three.

That set off a celebration.

SDSU catcher Erik Castro threw off his mask with his left hand and inexplicably tossed the ball away with his right (didn't he realize the College Baseball Hall of Fame was going to want the ball to put alongside the one it has from Strasburg's 23-strikeout game?), ran to the mound and picked up the pitcher.

“We didn’t really meet too great," said Castro. "He crushed my nose."

They were quickly joined by first baseman Brandon Meredith and the other infielders, then engulfed by Aztecs teammates from the dugout before the outfielders arrived to join in the group hug/dogpile/celebration.

“It was pretty intense," said Strasburg. "It got to where Brandon Meredith took the fall. I didn’t want to step on him. I was kind of holding him there and bracing for the guys jumping on my back. It’s a great experience. I’ve never really been in a dogpile like that in my life."

SDSU NO-HITTERS

Stephen Strasburg — SDSU 5, Air Force 0 (May 8, 2009)

Jim Gibbs/Kevin Nielsen —SDSU 14, Air Force 0 (April 23, 1989)

Mike Erb —SDSU 7, Utah 1 (April 22, 1986)

Matt Giampaoli — SDSU 7, UC San Diego 0 (March 22, 1982)

Ron Dargo — SDSU 5, BYU 0 (March 28, 1966)

Bill Lefler — SDSU 6, BYU 0 (March 28, 1964)

Richard “Dixie” Walker —SDSU 18, Whittier 0 (March 6, 1954)

PREGAME
The opener of San Diego State's three-game Mountain West Conference series has been a sellout — including standing room only seats — since Monday and Aztecs officials expect the crowd to exceed the record 3,072 who showed up two weeks ago at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

And it isn't because Air Force is in town.

It's the final regular season home game for SDSU junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg, who comes into the game with a 10-0 record, 1.38 ERA, 147 strikeouts and 15 walks in 78.1 innings this season. The Falcons will send right-hander Casey Allen (1-2, 7.22 ERA) to the mound for his eighth start of the season.

SDSU (31-17, 10-8 MWC) can still finish in second place in conference if it sweeps Air Force (14-31, 3-12) this weekend and and follows that up next week with a sweep at Utah. The top two finishers in the regular season receive first-round byes in the MWC Tournament that is to be hosted by TCU.

SDSU right fielder Cory Vaughn comes into the series leading the Aztecs with 10 home runs and 44 RBI and batting .337. Teammates Erik Castro (.378, 7 HR, 39 RBI) and Brandon Meredith (.305, 5 HR, 37 RBI) aren't far behind.

This must be a big game. The SDSU band is here and cheerleaders are dancing on the Aztecs' dugout. I've been coming to baseball games here since 1981 and never seen either group in attendance before.

HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — Strasburg goes right to work, getting leadoff hitter Nathan Carter looking at strike three. Addison Gentry manages a groundout to second base before Matt Alexander also looks at strike three on a good offspeed pitch that ends the inning. Strasburg touches 100 mph with one pitch and hits 99 mph consistently, according to the radar gun SDSU has on him behind the plate. The Aztecs go out in order against Air Force starter Casey Allen in the bottom of the inning.

2ND INNING — Air Force's Ben Ausbun, Jon McMahon and Jack Lupo all get their cuts in against Strasburg, and all three go down swinging. The Aztecs don't all stike out, but they don't do anything against Allen either.

3RD INNING — K.J. Randhawa and Blaire Roberts both strike out swinging before Tytus Moss grounds out to second base. It is six straight strikeouts (seven overall) for Strasburg before Moss makes contact. Shadows from the covering over the west-side standings start creeping toward the mound, making pitches go from sun to shade to sun to shade. As if Strasburg needs any help in an inning when one pitch is clocked at 101 mph. Allen may not be as dominating as his SDSU counterpart, but the results are just as good before he hits Ryan O'Sullivan with a two-out pitch to give the game its first baserunner. O'Sullivan is erased a moment later when Allen picks him off first base.

4TH INNING — Strasburg allows his first baserunner when leadoff hitter Carter works the count to 3-1 and then takes a low fastball for ball 4. No worries. Gentry hit a fly ball to left field for the first out, Alexander strikes out swinging and then Carter is caught stealing — when he overslides second base. In the bottom of the inning, In the bottom of the inning, Meredith finally gets the game's first hit with a two-out single to left field off Allen. But Castro strikes out to end the inning.

5TH INNING — Ausbun opens the inning with a strikeout, then McMahon hits a fly ball to center field for the second out. Lupo then thinks, 'What the heck' and tries to drop a bunt down the first-base line. Meredith picks it up and waits for Lupo to run down the line and tag himself out. Jomel Torres hits a two-out double to right field and Easton Gust follows with an RBI single to left field to give Strasburg a run to work with.

6TH INNING — Strasburg issues another leadoff walk, losing Randhawa on a 3-1 pitch when he's low with a fastball. Roberts tries to bunt his teammate into scoring position, but misses on the first two pitches — both strikes — then pulls his bat back on a slider that catches the outside corner for strike three. Moss steps to the plate and strikes out on three pitches, making Gentry the sole survivor in the lineup. Gentry's groundout and flyout make him the only player who hasn't struck out against Strasburg, although his third at-bat looms in the seventh inning. Randhawa steals second base standing up, but Strasburg pays him no mind and strikes out Carter to end the inning. That's 12 strikeouts for the game, which ties Air Force's season high (against The Citadel) for the season.

In the bottom of the inning, Pat Colwell leads off with a walk, moves to second on an error, goes to third on a flyout and comes home on Castro's slow infield grounder that is thrown offtarget to second for another error. Mitch Blackburn singles home another run two batters later to make it 3-0.

NOTABLE: The PA announcer informs everyone that 3,337 have jammed into Tony Gwynn Stadium. It's the largest crowd ever, surpassing the 3,158 who showed up in 1998 when the Aztecs played the New York Yankees in an exhibition game.

7TH INNING — Gentry leads off and watches strike three whiz by, meaning everyone in the starting lineup has struck out at least once. By the way, Strasburg took a perfect game into the seventh inning last year at home against TCU. That was broken up with a leadoff double in the seventh. Strasburg finished with a one-hitter that night. It was one of two one-hitters and a two-hitter he threw last season. Strasburg gets through the seventh tonight with the no-hitter intact after getting Alexander on a tapper back to the mound before striking out Ausbun to end the inning. That's 14 strikeouts now for the game.

8TH INNING — McMahon leads off the inning with a soft chopper up the middle that Ryan O'Sullivan ranges behind second base to field and throw to first base for the first out. Lupo makes the second out on a soft liner to first base and then the inning ends when Randhawa grounds out to O'Sullivan at short. The Aztecs add two runs in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-0, but the crowd doesn't notice that as much as they do Strasburg running out to the mound for the start of the ninth. He gets a rousing ovation.

Air Force is hitless as Strasburg takes the mound in the ninth. SDSU has six no-hitters in school history, the last coming 20 years ago on a combined effort by Jim Gibbs and Kevin Nielsen in a 14-0 home win over Air Force. By the way, Air Force was no-hit in the season's second game against Kansas.

9TH INNING — With the crowd oohing and aaaahhing on every pitch, Strasburg goes 2-2 to Roberts, who then fouls off a pitch before swinging and missing at a fastball for the first out. Strasburg then starts Moss with a ball before getting two strikes on him and then another strikeout (Castro throwing to first for the putout). The crowd rises in unison for the final out. Strasburg starts Carter with a strike. Then a ball. Then a strike. Then strike three. Game over. No-hitter. Strasburg is mobbed by his teammates on the mound.

PLNU wins inaugural GSAC Tournament

2009-05-07T21:14:00.000-07:00

Point Loma Nazarene, the NAIA's No. 3-ranked team, defeated The Master's 6-1 today at Carroll B. Land Stadium to clinch the inaugural Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament. The full recap is here.

PLNU was recognized here for this season's success. Coach Joe Schaefer (left) was named GSAC Coach of the Year and four Sea Lions players were selected for all-GSAC honors. The announcement was made late last week after PLNU wrapped up the GSAC regular season title with a 28-8 record.

PLNU's victory today in the GSAC Tournament earned the Sea Lions an automatic berth to the first round of the NAIA National Tournament, which begins next week at a site to be determined.

PLNU starter Brandon Dixon (8-3) allowed a run in the first inning against The Master's, then put up a bunch of zeros over the next six innings before turning the game over to the bullpen. The Sea Lions (38-11) tied the game with a run in the second inning, then blew it open with a five-run seventh inning. All five runs came with two outs — highlighted by Wes Kartch's grand slam.

UCSD making noise again

2009-05-07T18:14:00.000-07:00

UCSD opened the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament today with a 2-1 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills, putting the Tritons (34-12) in today's semifinals. There are more details on the victory right here.

Earlier this week, UCSD head coach Dan O'Brien (left) was named CCAA Coach of the Year. Eight Tritons players earned all-conference recognition to join their coach with postseason honors.

UCSD, which won a school-record 43 games last season, is in the midst of one of its most successful seasons. The No. 4-ranked Tritons clinched the school's first CCAA regular season championship over the weekend, finishing 16-0 at home in conference play.

Strasburg's place among college baseball's elite

2009-05-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

There was plenty of hype for San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg coming into the season. Amazingly, he has lived up to if not exceeded those expectations.

His name is mentioned in the same breath now with the greatest pitchers in college baseball history. I took a look at Strasburg's place among the best of the best in a story published right here in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

No wonder crowds come out in record numbers every time he pitches now. A record 3,072 were in attendance two weeks ago when Strasburg beat TCU at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Strasburg makes his final regular season home start Friday against Air Force in a game that was declared a sellout on Monday.

I joked after Monday's press conference that you will know Strasburg's really made if there are scalpers out front of Tony Gwynn Stadium before the game.

It's no joke anymore.

Wednesday, someone had an ad on Craigslist offering four tickets to the game for $40 apiece (face value $7). And they didn't even include a seat — they were for standing room only.

Crazy.

Assessing postseason prospects for SDSU, USD

2009-05-04T09:14:00.000-07:00

Here's how things shape up for San Diego State and USD as they approach the final two weeks of the regular season:

THE AZTECS
They control their destiny in the Mountain West Conference, thanks to UNLV taking two of three games over the weekend against New Mexico. By that, I mean that SDSU could still finish among the top two teams in the MWC and earn a first-round bye in the upcoming conference tournament.

Here's the top four teams in the standings:
TCU 10-4
New Mexico 12-8
BYU 11-8
SDSU 10-8

If SDSU closes out the season with sweeps over Air Force and Utah, then the Aztecs would finish percentage points ahead of both New Mexico and BYU, which had MWC games rained out earlier this season that can't be made up. That means neither the Lobos nor the Cougars could get to 16 wins. BYU finishes up conference play this week when it hosts UNLV. New Mexico closes out conference play next week at home against Air Force. TCU has two series remaining — hosting Utah this week before traveling next week to UNLV.

Obviously, the Aztecs are hoping to win the MWC Tournament and claim the automatic NCAA Tournament berth that comes with it. A strong finish down the stretch could enable the Aztecs to earn an at-large berth, however. It would be the first at-large awarded in the MWC's 10-year history.

By the way, SDSU is preparing to put in a bid to host an NCAA Regioanal or Super Regional. The Aztecs still need to play their way into such a scenario — UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton and Arizona State are the most likely West Coast sites — but bids are due by May 15 so the paperwork must be filed just in case the opportunity presents itself.

THE TOREROS
Loyola Marymount's three-game sweep of USD was devastating to the Toreros' chances of playing in the West Coast Conference Championship Series.

Here's the top three teams in the standings:
Gonzaga 12-6
Loyola Marymount 12-6
USD 10-8

The only way for USD to reach the championship series is by sweeping this weekend's home series against USF AND a three-game sweep by either LMU or Gonzaga when the teams meet next week in Spokane, Wash. Pretty unlikely scenario, although stranger things have happened. Injuries that have plagued USD throughout the season seem to have finally caught up with the Toreros, whose at-large chances also are all but gone.

USD's season on the brink

2009-05-02T15:14:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES — USD has lost its grip.

And now things are in danger of slipping away.

The Toreros are two-time defending West Coast Conference champions. They opened WCC play this season by winning their first six games.

USD has lost seven of 11 conference games since.

Today's 7-3 loss to Loyola Marymount at Page Stadium was costly because it gives the Toreros virtually no margin for error now if they are to qualify for the WCC Championship Series.

USD (27-20, 10-7 WCC) fell into third place in the conference. Only two teams are invited to play for the WCC's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Right now the Toreros are looking up at LMU and Gonzaga, which are tied for first at 11-6. Both LMU and Gonzaga hold the tiebraker edge (by virtue of series wins) over USD should the teams finish in a tie for first or second.

Sunday's finale becomes a must-win for the Toreros if they are to have a mathematical chance of winning the WCC regular-season title and host the championship series for the third straight year. Another loss and USD may be hard-pressed simply to finish second.

After Sunday, there will be one week remaining in the conference season: USD closes out with three games at home against USF while LMU travels to Gonzaga.

USD has played well enough to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, but now that's slipping away as well. USD's stretch of three straight postseason appearance could be in jeopardy if the Toreros continue to play the way they did today against the Lions. In addition to the USF series, the Toreros have two nonconference games at Arizona State and

LMU got to Griffin (7-3) early, starting with one out in the first inning when the Lions' Ryan Wheeler clubbed his ninth homer of the season over the fence in right-center for a 2-0 lead.

Whenever USD battled back, LMU took control again. The Toreros cut the lead to 2-1 in the third inning, then slipped back to 3-2 in the fourth and 5-2 through five innings.

A run in the eighth cut it to 5-2 and USD had runners at second and third with one out. But LMU starting pitcher Alex Gillingham (4-2) got out of it. Gillingham was solid throughout the game, retiring 12 straight from the fourth through seventh innings.

The Toreros loaded the bases with no outs against LMU reliever Xavier Esquivel, but the junior right-hander extricated himself after allowing a run-scoring out to Jon Hotta.

USD coach Rich Hill stayed with Griffin, who allowed all seven runs on 13 hits with six strikeouts and one walk.

Could Strasburg go straight to the majors?

2009-05-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

There have been 20 players during the draft era who made their major league debuts without spending a day in the minor leagues. In fact, here's the list if you want to check them out. There are several San Diego connections, which I'll get to later.

The reason for the topic today is increasing talk that San Diego State right-hander Stephen Strasburg could go straight to the major leagues. I've heard it mentioned here and there during the season. ESPN's Buster Olney mentions it here among today's blog items.

I don't know that anyone would argue about Strasburg being ready for the big leagues.

"He's further along at 20 than any young pitcher I've ever seen," said SDSU coach Tony Gwynn. "I didn't see some of the great, great ones, but for a 20-year-old junior to be out there recognizing that they're cheating on the fastball and just drop that slider right on them, then a change-up and then a 99 (mph fastball) on the black . . . ."

Gwynn just shakes his head.

"He's the perfect example of a guy who makes what I do so much fun," said Gwynn, "because when he came in here as a freshman, there's no way anybody saw what's happening now back then. I'm not going to tell you I did. I didn't see it. You've got to be kidding me. He was throwing 90, 91. What's the big deal? I was telling Rusty (Filter, SDSU's pitching coach), 'There's a whole bunch of guys who throw 90. This guy?' Three years later . . . ."

Strasburg has been the consensus No. 1 overall choice for the 2009 draft since well before the season, back to last summer when he was a member of the U.S. Olympic team. Going 10-0 with a 1.38 ERA, 147 strikeouts and 15 walks in 78.1 innings pitched so far this year has only cemented things.

Washington has the first pick in the draft, followed by Seattle and then San Diego. Could contract demands (the $50 million figure thrown around two months ago is insane, of course) or some other issue cause him to drop in the draft. Maybe. But talent-wise he is head and shoulders above any other player in the draft.

What if Strasburg was to somehow slip to the Padres at No. 3? I asked Gwynn where Strasburg would fit into the Padres' rotation if he joined the team this summer.

"Three," said Gwynn, who would put Strasburg right behind Jake Peavy and Chris Young.

"If he went to Seattle, he'd be three.

"If he goes to Washington, he'd be one."

RIGHT NOW?!

"That's how I look at it," said Gwynn. "Now he's still got stuff he's got to learn. He's got to challenge the strike zone a little bit more at the big-league level."

But Strasburg's ready to go straight to the major leagues.

The last time I heard this kind of talk was during Mark Prior's junior year at USC in 2001. And perhaps Prior was polished enough to go straight to the major leagues. Prior had pretty absurd numbers too, going 15-1 with a 1.69 ERA, 202 strikeouts and just 18 walks in 138.2 innings. Baseball America called him the greatest college pitcher ever.

But there were a few things that prevented Prior from going straight to the majors. First of all, Prior was already well over 100 innings pitched for the Trojans, who reached the College World Series that season, when he was selected by the Chicago Cubs with the draft's second pick (the Twins took Joe Mauer with the first pick). And joining the team late in the season was out of the question when contract negotiations dragged on before Prior signed a deal in the fall that included a record $10.5 million signing bonus. Prior looked good during spring training in 2002, but the decision was made to give him a few starts in the minors. It turned out to be nine starts. Prior dominated and made his major league debut with the Cubs by late May.

Draft rules changed two years ago and teams now have until just August 15 to sign players. That means there would still be plenty of season remaining to showcase Strasburg. The question would be how many more innings a team would want to put on his arm after the college season (Strasburg will probably have pitched more than 100 innings for the Aztecs) and how ready to go Strasburg would be after contract negotiations have concluded.

The last player to go straight to the majors was Cal outfielder Xavier Nady with the Padres in 2000. The Padres also sent Minnesota outfielder Dave Winfield straight to the majors in 1973 and Oregon third baseman Dave Roberts in 1972.

The first player to go straight to the majors was USC pitcher Mike Adamson in 1967 with the Baltimore Orioles. Adamson was born in San Diego and played high school baseball at Point Loma High. In 1970, Stanford pitcher Steve Dunning went straight to the majors with the Cleveland Indians. Dunning prepped at University of San Diego High School.

Strasburg 10-0 after beating Santa Clara

2009-05-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

RECAP
San Diego State junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg continued a season for the ages tonight, notching his 10th victory in the Aztecs' 5-0 victory at Santa Clara.

Strasburg (10-0) became the 14th pitcher in SDSU history to reach double-digit victories and the first since the 1990 season. He pitched eight strong innings, allowing three hits with 12 strikeouts and two walks. He threw 105 pitches, according to SDSU play-by-play man Craig Elsten. Strasburg, who lowered his ERA to 1.38, now has 147 strikeouts with 15 walks over 78.1 innings pitched this season.

By the way, the crowd of 1,496 that came out for the game was a record at Santa Clara's Stephen Schott Stadium.

SDSU second baseman Mitch Blackburn led the Aztecs with two RBI. Teammate Erik Castro had three of the team's 12 hits, raising his season average to .389.

SDSU (29-17) and Santa Clara (15-26) continue the four-game series on Saturday with a doubleheader and conclude it with a single game on Sunday.

HERE WE GO
1ST INNING — A two-out single by Brandon Meredith and a walk to Erik Castro put runners at first and second, but Santa Clara starter Nate Garcia gets out of it by getting Cory Vaughn on a fly out. Strasburg gets started quickly, striking out Matt Long and Kevin Madden swinging. He then hits Jon Karcich with a pitch before retiring Geoff Klein on a fly to left to end the inning.

2ND INNING — The Aztecs again get runners to first and second, this time with one out, but Garcia escapes again by getting Ryan O'Sullivan on a fly out and Pat Colwell with a strikeout. Strasburg gets Brady Fuerst swining to open the inning and closes it by getting Long swinging. In between he issues two walks — what would be his only walks of the game — but the Broncos can't do anything with this brief bit of wildness.

3RD INNING — A Brandon Decker walk, Meredith single and Castro walk load the bases with no outs. Garcia won't escape unscatched this time as singles by Blackburn and Jomel Torres produce a 2-0 lead. Madden opens the bottom of the inning with a single against Strasburg, who erases him a moment later with a grounder that SDSU's defense turns into a double play. The inning ends a batter later with Klein looking at strike three.

4TH INNING — Garcia gets the Aztecs in order and Strasburg does likewise to the Broncos, getting Andrew Biancardi with a swinging strikeout.

5TH INNING — RBIs by Vaughn, Blackburn and East Gust provide a three-run inning and a 5-0 lead that seems all but insurmountable with you-know-who on the mound. Strasburg underscores the point in the bottom of the inning by striking out the side.

6TH INNING — Garcia doesn't allow a run, but the damage has been done. Madden reaches on an error to open the inning for Santa Clara but Strasburg pays him no mind, getting the Broncos with a flyout, a strikeout and a popout. Klein is the strikeout victim, Strasburg's 10th of the game. It is his 10th double-digit strikeout performance in 11 starts this season.

7TH INNING — Both sides go down in order — Strasburg ending the inning with a strikeout of Kyle Van Dusen.

8TH INNING — Santa Clara reliever Cory Hall takes over for Garcia and quickly retires the Aztecs. Strasburg opens his final inning with a strikeout of Juan Parra and faces the minimum for the sixth time in eight innings.

STRASBURG'S LINE: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 12 SO

9TH INNING — Castro gets his third hit of the game, but never gets past first base. Andrew Leary relieves Strasburg and closes out the Broncos. Leary sandwiches two strikeouts around a single by Klein, then gets Biancardi on a grounder to third base to end the game.

PREGAME
San Diego State gets the week off from Mountain West Conference play, but the Aztecs face an important weekend nonetheless with a four-game series at Santa Clara.

SDSU (28-17) has 11 games remaining in the regular season and needs to secure as many victories as possible down the stretch to position the Aztecs for an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament should the team fail to win the MWC Tournament and the automatic postseason berth that comes with it.

Santa Clara (15-25) has struggled this season, so the Aztecs can ill-afford to give any ground against the Broncos. SDSU needs three wins this weekend. AT LEAST THREE WINS. SDSU comes into the weekend with an RPI of 27. But that's going to take a hit with Santa Clara (186), Air Force (268) and Utah (131) to close out the regular season. The Aztecs can't control how much their RPI slips, other than to win and let everything else take care of itself.

SDSU ace Stephen Strasburg (9-0, 1.54 ERA) takes the mound tonight looking for his 10th straight victory. Strasburg has 135 strikeouts on the season with just 13 walks over 70.1 innings.

Santa Clara dealt Strasburg one of his three losses last season, although shoddy defense behind the right-hander was mainly responsible for the Aztecs' 10-6 loss. Strasburg struck out nine and walked one over 5.1 innings against the Broncos. He allowed seven hits and seven runs, although only two of the runs were earned. It was only his third career start. Strasburg has improved some since then.

USD's Friday afternoon Blues

2009-05-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES — The road beckoned the blog to the City of Angels this weekend for the West Coast Conference showdown between USD and Loyola Marymount.

The Lions drew first blood today with a 6-5 win over USD that tightened things up atop the WCC standings. USD (27-19, 10-6 WCC) and LMU (27-21, 10-6) are tied for second place. Gonzaga (29-13, 11-5) leads the conference by a game after tonight's 5-0 win over Saint Mary's. USD, LMU and Gonzaga — along with fourth-place USF — are battling for the top two spots in the WCC. The first- and second-place teams meet in the WCC Championship Series to determine the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The Toreros have their backs to the wall now. They must win Saturday AND Sunday, otherwise LMU will move ahead of them in the standings as well as hold the tiebreaker advantage between the teams should it come into play. Gonzaga already has the tiebreaker over the Toreros after winning two of three games in their series last month. In the event of any ties in the standings, head-to-head competition will determine the host site and/or participants in the WCC Championship Series.

Eucalyptus trees, some as tall as 50 feet, ring the outfield wall at LMU's Page Stadium. But the most striking feature for those entering the ballpark is the Blue Monster — modeled after Fenway Park's Green Monster — that looms over left field. It is just 326 feet down the left-field line at the ballpark, but the 130-foot wide Blue Monster stands guard — rising 37 feet into the air. Set into the Monster is an old-school scoreboard that includes electronic features for ball, strikes, outs, hits and errors. But inning-by-inning scoring is updated manually, as are out of town scores for other WCC games.

With this backdrop, USD sent junior right-hander Matt Thomson (5-3, 5.30 ERA) to the mound against LMU senior right-hander Lee Roberts (6-0, 2.96 ERA).

Thomson (now 5-4) dug himself an early hole — fueled by two hits, two walks and two hit batters — allowing three runs in the first inning.

The Monster came into play several times during the game. There were three doubles — two by LMU — hit off it.

USD did well to avoid the wall altogether.

The Toreros' Sean Nicol lifted a ball over the Monster leading off the seventh inning for a home run that made it 6-4. USD's Austin Green may be a freshman, but he was astute enough to avoid the big wall as well. Green, batting in the ninth spot, homered just to the right of the Monster in the third inning for the Toreros' first run. He hit a ball in virtually the same spot in the eighth inning for another solo homer that made it 6-5.

That the Toreros came up a run short can be attributed to not getting the big hit when they needed it. USD outhit LMU 15-9, but the Toreros stranded 10 runners, including eight left in scoring position. The Lions stranded seven (three in the first), but they collected four of their six runs with two-out base hits. LMU also benefitted from two errors by USD third baseman Tony Strazzara, who allowed to balls hit to his backhand to go off his glove.

NCAA releases latest RPI rankings

2009-04-28T16:14:00.000-07:00

The NCAA released the RPI today, providing a glimpse at one of the components the selection committee uses to choose at-large teams and seed the bracket for the 64-team tournament.

San Diego State (28-17) checks in at No. 27 and is followed by USD (27-17) at No. 31.

The information was based on games played through Sunday.

North Carolina is No. 1. Georgia Tech, Rice, Cal State Fullerton and Miami round out the top 5.

Down the stretch they come

2009-04-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

USD remains in control of its destiny in the West Coast Conference after taking two of three games in its weekend series against Portland. San Diego State, meanwhile, lost two of three to TCU and now will need to finish strong AND get some help if the Aztecs
are to finish among the top two teams in the Mountain West Conference (the top two earn first-round byes in the MWC Tournament).

USD has a first-place showdown at Loyola Marymount this weekend, then closes out the regular season by hosting USF. The key to all this will be how the Lions do against USD and Gonzaga in their final two series. By the way, Gonzaga holds the tiebreaker advantage over USD and would host the WCC Championship Series if both teams tie for first, or edge out the Toreros for the second berth in the series if both teams tie for second.

The Toreros are hoping to get sophomore right-hander Kyle Blair (biceps tendinitis) back for the series.

Plan B for USD to reach the postseason would be gaining an at-large berth. The Toreros still have nonconference games remaining against UC Riverside, Arizona State (two) and UC Irvine that would enhance their resume.

Here's the current standings and remaining conference schedule for the top four teams:

West Coast Conference standings
TEAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CONF . . . . OVERALL
USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5 . . . . . 27-17
Gonzaga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5 . . . . . 28-13
Loyola Marymount . . . . . . . . . . 9-6 . . . . . 25-21
USF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-7 . . . . . . 22-22
Pepperdine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8 . . . . . . 24-19
Saint Mary's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8 . . . . . . 25-20
Portland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10 . . . . . 21-20
Santa Clara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11 . . . . . 15-24

Remaining WCC series for top four teams:
Gonzaga — vs. Saint Mary's, vs. LMU
USD — at LMU, vs. USF
Loyola Marymount — vs. USD, at Gonzaga
USF — at USD, at Portland

WCC Championship Series (best-of-three)
Second-place team at first-place team May 22-24
(winner receives automatic berth to NCAA Tournament)

The Mountain West Conference race is a jumble, as usual, because of its unbalanced schedule and weather cancellations. New Mexico and BYU lost the last game of this weekend's series because of rain and TCU lost its entire series against Air Force two weeks ago. That means the standings will be determined by winning percentage once again.

The top two regular-season finishers receive a first-round bye to the MWC Tournament. There is still a road for the Aztecs to get one of those spots, but they will need to win all six of their remaining games and New Mexico or BYU would need to lose twice or TCU would need to lose four times.

SDSU also has positioned itself for an at-large berth if it doesn't win the MWC's automatic berth. The Aztecs have a four-game series at Santa Clara this weekend to regroup for the final two weeks. Their RPI is currently 27 and they likely need to win at least nine of their final 11 games to keep their RPI in at-large range.

Here's the current standings and remaining conference schedule for the top four teams:

Mountain West Conference standings
TEAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CONF . . . . OVERALL
New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-6 . . . . . 31-12
BYU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-6 . . . . . . 24-16
TCU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4 . . . . . . 27-12
San Diego State . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-8 . . . . . . 28-17
UNLV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8 . . . . . . 22-21
Air Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9 . . . . . . 14-26
Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12 . . . . . 15-24

Remaining MWC games for top four teams:
New Mexico — UNLV, at Air Force
BYU — at TU, vs. UNLV
TCU — vs. BYU, vs. Utah, at UNLV
SDSU — at Utah, vs. Air Force

MWC Tournament
Double-elimination format May 19-23 at TCU
note: top two regular-season finishers receive first-round byes
(winner receives automatic berth to NCAA Tournament)

SDSU beats TCU 4-3

2009-04-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

RECAP

Stephen Strasburg (9-0) remains unbeaten in SDSU's 4-3 Mountain West Conference win over TCU before 3,072 at Tony Gwynn Stadium, the largest crowd ever to see a college baseball game at the school.

Strasburg struck out 14 and set SDSU single-season and career strikeout records, but also was touched for a three-run homer by the Horned Frogs' Bryan Holaday in the seventh inning that made it 4-3. Strasburg threw 121 pitches over seven innings, allowing four hits with one walk. He now has 135 strikeouts and 13 walks in 70.1 innings pitched this season.

SDSU closer Addison Reed got the game's final four outs, finishing off No. 16-ranked TCU (25-12, 6-4 MWC) for his national-leading 14th save.

SDSU's Brandon Decker led the offense with three hits and three RBI for the No. 19 Aztecs (28-15, 10-6 MWC).

HERE WE GO

1ST INNING — Strasburg comes out firing — striking out Corey Steglich, Taylor Featherston and Matt Carpenter to open the game. That still wasn't enough to get out of the inning, however. Carpenter reached base when the ball bounced high and rolled up the screen behind the plate. Strasburg got Chris Ellington to fly to left field to end the inning. A radar gun in the second row behind the plate gets two pitches at 100 mph in the first inning. He will be consistently 98-99 mph over the next several innings.

SDSU put two runners on with two outs, but Hoelscher got out of it when Cory Vaughn's sharp grounder was gloved by Featherston and turned into a force play at second base. SDSU leadoff hitter Pat Colwell lines a ball off the pitcher to open the bottom of the inning, but Hoelscher takes a few warmup pitches and seems no worse for it.

2ND INNING — Strasburg retires the side in order — getting Matt Curry on strikes. That strikeout is the 305th of Strasburg's career, breaking the SDSU record held by former teammate Bruce Billings.

Hoelscher can't find the strike zone when he returns to the mound, walking Mitch Blackburn (who moves to third on a wild pickoff throw) and Jomel Torres. Easton Gust then parachutes a single into short right-center to bring home Blackburn and make it 1-0. Ryan O'Sullivan strikes out, but then Coldwell walks to load the bases. Brandon Decker's single up the middle plates two, making it 3-0. It should be plenty of support for Strasburg, who hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his previous nine starts this season.

3RD INNING — Three up, three down, with a strikeout of Aaron Schultz mixed in between a couple of line outs.

The Aztecs get a couple of runners aboard, but don't make anything of it.

4TH INNING — Strasburg gets Featherston on strikes again, then gets Carpenter on a soft grounder to second. He took a perfect game into the seventh here against TCU last season. Any chance for perfection was eliminated when Carpenter reached on the first-inning strikeout/wild pitch. A no-hitter was still a possibility tonight before Chris Ellington chopped a one-out single between third and short. Shortstop O'Sullivan gloved the ball deep in the hole but his throw wasn't in time to prevent Ellington from being awarded a single. The inning ended with the next batter, Matt Vern, who became Strasburg's seventh strikeout victim.

Cory Vaughn chases strike three as the Aztecs strand two runners for the fourth straight innings.

5TH INNING — Curry strikes out before Bryan Holaday works a 1-2 count into TCU's first walk of the game. Strasburg then strikes out Jason Coats looking and Schultz swinging for his 10th strikeout of the game. It is the ninth time in 10 games that Strasburg has reached double-digit strikes (he had but six against UC Davis).

6TH INNING — Sterlich fouls off several two-strike pitches before fouling out to Meredith at first. Strasburg then strikes outs Featherston and Carpenter to end the inning. That gives him 12 strikeouts for the game and 133 for the season, tying his single-season record.

Decker singles in another run to make it 4-0. It seems like a huge advantage, but the Aztecs would need every bit of it soon enough.

7TH INNING — Ellington and Vern surprise Strasburg with a pair of singles, but the real shocker comes one out later when Holaday gets ahold of a 3-1 pitch and launches it over the left field wall for a three-run homer to make it 4-3. Strasburg is clearly perturbed with himself as Horned Frogs players circle the bases. He gets a new ball from plate umpire Bill Van Raaphorst, refocuses and then strikes out Coats swinging and Schultz looking to end the inning. The strikeout of Coats breaks his single-season strikeout record, not that it meant much to Strasburg at that point.

SDSU goes down in order in the seventh.

Strasburg is done for the game, with Andrew Leary coming on in relief in the eighth inning.

STRASBURG'S LINE — 7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 14 SO

8TH INNING — Leary finds himself in a predicament when TCU puts runners at second and third with one out. But he strikes out Ellington for the second out, then issues an intentional walk to load the bases and hands the ball to closer Addison Reed, who returns the situation to Defcon 1 by striking out pinch hitter Jimmie Pharr to end the inning.

9TH INNING — Reed gets Holaday on a tapper to the mound, then strikes out Coats and Schultz to end the game.

PREGAME

The Stephen Strasburg phenomenon should reach new heights tonight with a record crowd expected at Tony Gwynn Stadium for the junior right-hander's Mountain West Conference start against TCU.

No. 19-ranked SDSU (27-15, MWC 9-6) is in fourth place in conference, just behind New Mexico (11-5) and BYU (10-6). TCU (6-3) is in the mix, although the Horned Frogs have played far fewer games because of a bye and having last weekend's series at Air Force snowed out.

No. 16-ranked TCU is scheduled to send sophomore Sean Hoelscher (2-1, 7.00 ERA) to the mound.

Strasburg (8-0, 1.28 ERA, 121 SO, 12 BB in 3.1 IP) makes his 10th start of the season. He is coming off a 1-0 complete-game victory at New Mexico last week that people were still talking about this week. I saw good story in SDSU's Daily Aztecs the other day that included some choice comments from New Mexico coach Ray Birmingham, who said, in part: “There’s a guy down in San Diego State rumored to be worth $25 million. When he comes down here, we’re going to make him look like 25 bucks.”

All Strasburg did was strike out 14 batters — including the last two of the game with a runner at third base.

After the game, Birmingham was complaining about Strasburg pumping his fist when the game ended.

It's called emotion, Coach.

Strasburg has a chance to reach a couple of SDSU milestones tonight against TCU. He needs just four strikeouts to pass former teammate Bruce Billings (304) for most career strikeouts. Strasburg needs 13Ks to break the single-season record of 133 he set last season.

Strasburg had 14 strikeouts in an 11-5 win at TCU four weeks ago.

The largest crowd ever to see a college game is expected tonight to see what Strasburg has in store.

On Thursday, San Diego State sold out of tickets for regular seating. The school's supply of standing room only and picnic area seats was exhausted today.

Here are the top 10 crowds at Tony Gwynn Stadium:
3,158 — New York Yankees 12, SDSU 3 (March 30, 1998, exhibition)
2,857 — Texas 9, SDSU 3 (Feb. 4, 2005)
2,353 — Texas 13, SDSU 5 (Feb. 5, 2005)
2,102 — SDSU 4, UNLV 3 (March 13, 2009)
2,032 — BYU 4, SDSU 2 (March 20, 2009)
1,788 — Utah 2, SDSU 1 (Apr. 27, 2002)
1,549 — SDSU 6, Utah 5 (Apr. 28, 2002)
1,509 — USD 8, SDSU 4 (Apr. 15, 2003)
1,507 — SDSU 5, UC Riverside 4 (Feb. 5, 2002)
1,491 — SDSU 7, Fresno State 4 (May 15, 1997)
1,446 — SDSU 5, New Mexico 3 (May 3, 1997)

Injuries continue to plague Toreros

2009-04-24T15:09:00.000-07:00

USD took the field for today's West Coast Conference game against Portland glad to be home but with its numbers continue to dwindle.

The Toreros (25-16, 8-3 WCC) have managed to stay competitive this season despite a string of injuries that have tested their depth on the mound and in the field.

The latest setback was to third baseman Steven Chatwood, who suffered a broken leg Tuesday night at Cal State Fullerton when he slid into a wall just beyond the Titans dugout after making a catch on a foul fly. Chatwood, who was at third because starter Victor Sanchez is out for the year with a shoulder injury, has seen his season come to an end.

Tony Strazzara started at third today against the Pilots. Strazzara has played third before, but he looked shaky in the third inning when a chopper down the line got under his glove and led to a run for the Pilots (20-18, 4-8).

Freshman Jon Hotta was in center field for Zach Walters, who was inexplicably missing from the starting lineup.

Sophomore right-hander Matt Thomson is USD's Friday starter now, by virtue of injuries to sophomores Sammy Solis (herniated disk) and Kyle Blair (biceps tendinities). Junior A.J. Griffin has made some Friday starts, but was pressed into service at Fullerton and likely will be used later in the series. Senior Matt Couch also is a candidate to start, but it remains to be seen how Couch (shoulder) responds from the inning he threw against the Titans.

USD's call to arms

2009-04-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

Pitching injuries have hit USD especially hard, costing the Toreros their entire weekend rotation at various points this season.

USD opened the year with senior Matt Couch still mending from last year's Tommy John surgery. Sophomore Sammy Solis was lost three weeks into the season with a herniated disk. And sophomore Kyle Blair has been sidelined in recent weeks with biceps tendinitis.

Couch, who had a cortisone shot recently to ease shoulder pain, is expected to be back for this weekend's West Coast Conference series against Portland. Solis is out for the season. Blair is expected to rest for another week with the hope that things will have calmed down enough to return to the mound the first week of may at Loyola Marymount.

Junior right-handers A.J. Griffin (6-2, 3 SV, 3.10 ERA, 54 SO in 49.1 IP), an All-American as the Toreros' closer the past two years, and Matt Thomson (5-2, 4.91 ERA, 68 SO in 62.1 IP) have stepped into the breach, along with relievers Scott DeNault, Tyler Fick and Matt Hauser.

"Credit goes to A.J. and Thomson, who have really been willing to tax their arms," said USD coach Rich Hill.

Griffin, who today was selected USD's male Athlete of the Year, is nothing short of amazing. He emerged as the school's closer as a freshman two years ago and earned All-American recognition after going 6-2 with 11 saves in 34 appearances. He made 29 appearances last season, set a school record with 14 saves and earned a spot on the U.S. National team.

Hill toyed with the idea of using Griffin starting and relieving this season, but kept him in the 'pen until the injuries mounted and forced his hand. Griffin's pitch eight shutout innings in his first collegiate start, an 8-0 win at Rice that marked the turnaround for a team struggling to get over .500.

So, in fact, the injuries haven't all been a bad thing.

"A lot of creativity has been borne out of it," said Hill.

Sophomore Zach Walters has been a hitter in search of a position the past two years at USD. He bounced around the infield for more than a year before finding a home in center field after starter Kevin Muno suffered a broken hand at Rice earlier in the year. Walters has been so good that Muno may have to move to left field now when he's healthy next month.

USD may uncover some hidden pitching talent, too.

Toreros coaches recently asked position players to raise their hands if they were interested in taking the mound to show off their arms. Several players volunteered. A couple showed some promoise. Freshmen outfielders Bryan Haar and Austin Green may even get a chance to pitch in tonight's game at Cal State Fullerton. Hill was especially impressed with Green, who hit 90 mph with his fastball and showed a good curve.

I knew Green had a strong arm (he put it on display from right field two years ago at the San Diego Showcase, a local high school event hosted that year by USD), so it will be interesting to see what he can do on the mound.

USD (25-15) has battled through the injuries and still has an opportunity to make this a memorable season. Despite losing series at Gonzaga and Saint Mary's the past two weekends, the Toreros are tied with LMU atop the WCC standings at 8-4. The top two teams in the regular season play for the conference's automatic NCAA Regionals berth. USD, with an RPI that is still in the 20s, also could be in line for an at-large berth.

MWC awards 2010-11 tournaments to SDSU

2009-04-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

The Mountain West Conference today announced that hosting rights for the 2010 and 2011 baseball tournaments have been awarded to San Diego State. The six-team, double-elimination tournaments will be held at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The MWC Tournament champion receives the conference's automatic NCAA Regionals berth.

SDSU, which hosted the 2001 tournament, will host the 2010 event May 25-29 (Tuesday-Saturday). This year's tournament will be played at TCU for the second straight year. BYU, New Mexico, UNLV and Utah also have served as host sites for the tournament.

TCU is the three-time defending tournament champion.

Aztecs No. 19 in latest Baseball America rankings

2009-04-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

San Diego State dropped to No. 19 in the Baseball America Top 25 rankings released today.

UC Irvine (26-10) ascended to No. 1 in the rankings for the first time in school history on the strength of a three-game sweep of UC Riverside. A midweek loss at USD wasn't held against the Anteaters.

The Aztecs were ranked No. 15 a week ago, but a midweek loss to UCLA and two losses in three games at New Mexico cost the club four spots in the rankings.

SDSU (26-15) plays Long Beach State at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Tony Gwynn Stadium before playing host to Mountain West Conference rival TCU in a crucial three-game series this weekend. The Aztecs won two-of-three games between the games at TCU last month.

The Aztecs are in fourth place in the MWC with a 9-6 record. New Mexico and BYU are 10-5 and TCU is 6-3. The Horned Frogs had their entire three-game series against Air Force cancelled over the weekend by snow and the games will not be made up. That means the MWC regular season champion will have to be determined by winning percentage since conference teams will not play the same number of games.

Strasburg slams door on New Mexico in 1-0 win

2009-04-17T18:16:00.000-07:00

RECAP

San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg (8-0) pitched a six-hit shutout for a 1-0 Mountain West Conference road win over New Mexico. Freshman Brandon Meredith's solo home run in the fourth inning for the Aztecs provides all the offense in the game. Strasburg makes it hold up with his first complete game of the season, striking out 14 while allowing just one walk. It is the first shutout of the season for the Lobos, who were averaging 9.9 runs a game.

The victory gives No. 15-ranked SDSU (26-13, 9-4 MWC) sole possession of first place in the conference over New Mexico (28-11, 8-5).

Things got tense in the late innings. The Aztecs threw out a runner at the plate to end the eighth inning. Strasburg, who threw nearly 130 pitches, stranded a runner at third base in both the fifth and ninth innings. New Mexico moved a runner to third with one out in the ninth, but Strasburg struck out the next two hitters to end the game.

Strasburg now leads the nation with 121 strikeouts and strikeouts/nine innings with 17.19 (the national record is 16.8 by Houston's Ryan Wagner). He is also among the nation's leaders in victories (8) and ERA (1.28). He moved into second place on SDSU's career strikeouts list with 301 (Bruce Billings is the leader with 304) and is approaching the single-season strikeout record he set last season with 133.

Something else to ponder: Strasburg has four more regular-season starts plus one start in the MWC Tournament and remains on pace to become the 16th pitcher in NCAA history to reach 200 strikeouts in a season. He would accomplish the feat in 14 appearances. No one else on the list did it in fewer than 19 appearances.

Strasburg's next start is Friday, April 24, vs. TCU at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

PREGAME

No. 15-ranked San Diego State travels to New Mexico for a first-place showdown with the Lobos, who sit atop the Mountain West Conference with the Aztecs. Both teams are 8-4 in the MWC coming into the three-game series in Albuquerque.

SDSU junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg (7-0, 1.49 ERA, 107 SO/11 BB in 54.1 IP) makes his ninth start of the season. New Mexico was the only MWC to avoid Strasburg last season. He missed his start against the Lobos with a cold that became a severe inner ear infection. It preceded his breakout game the following week when he struck out 23 batters against Utah.

Still weary from last week's roadtrip to Las Vegas (and wearing a barrel after dropping $31 in video poker), the blog will follow the game from our home offices in Santaluz (four miles north of the Ted Williams Parkway as the crow flies). Our vast network of information sources will be monitored for developments as they develop.

The teams take the field on a cold, misty evening with the temperature in the 40s.

HERE WE GO

1ST INNING — New Mexico strting pitcher John Hesketh retires the Aztecs in order to start the game. Strasburg takes the mound and immediately strikes out leadoff hitter Mike Brownstein looking, then gets Max Willett swinging (catcher Erik Castro throws down to first to get the putout) and Ryan Honeycutt on a fly to left.

One thing I've noticed in recent weeks is that Strasburg has gotten several strikeouts on wild pitches, including one last week at UNLV in which Ryan Thornton reached first base when the ball got past Castro. With teams trying to jump on Strasburg's fastball early the past couple of outings, he has switched to offspeed pitches and his curveball has made a few batters look silly. So much so that he's gotten strikeouts on balls bouncing in the dirt in front of the plate.

2ND INNING — The Aztecs get Cory Vaughn and Castro to second and third with one out, but can't get them home when Easton Gust grounds out Mitch Blackburn flies out. New Mexico's Rafael Neda singles off Strasburg to open the bottom of the inning. The Lobos have something going one out later when an error by Gust gives them runners at first and second. SDSU shortstop Ryan O'Sullivan helps Strasburg get out of it, catching a popup before turning a ground ball into the third out of the inning.

3RD INNING — SDSU goes down in order again. Meanwhile, Strasburg allows the leadoff hitter to reach base again, this time with a walk to Daniel Gonzalez. Gonzalez is sacrificed to second base before Willett strikes out. Honeycutt singles to put corners at the corners, but Neda strikes out (with Castro throwing down to first base for the putout).

4TH INNING — Brandon Meredith's leadoff homer to left field finally gives Strasburg a run to work with. It is the third homer of the season for the freshman from Montgomery High, who came into the game batting .289. Hesketh strands two runners later in the inning to prevent further damage. Strasburg strikes out Dane Hamilton to open the bottom of the inning before Brian Cavazos-Galvez singles to center. But Castro erases Cavazos-Galvez quicker than you can say his name on a steal attempt and Strasburg gets Justin Howard on a gronder to short to end the inning.

5TH INNING — SDSU is retired in order for the third time in five innings. Hesketh is pithing a heckuva game. He just picked the wrong day to do it. Perhaps a glimpse of hope for New Mexico when Adam Courcha leads off with a triple. Not to worry. Courcha is left standing around when Strasburg gets a grounder to third base for one and retires the next two batters on strikeouts. Willett ends the innings with is third strikeout of the game.

6TH INNING — Meredith and Castro open the inning with a walk and single, respectively, but are stranded when Hesketh sets down the next three hitters in order. Strasburg must have his curveball working again. Honeycutt strikes out leading off and for the third time Castro has to throw down to Meredith at first base for the putout. Neda then grounds out to second base before Hamilton strikes out looking. Strasburg has nine strikeouts and will return to the mound looking for his eighth double-digit strikeout game in nine starts.

7TH INNING — Pat Colwell's two-out double puts a runner in scoring position, but Brandon Decker follows with a flyout and the threat ends. Strasburg comes out with his strongest inning of the game — striking out Cavazos-Galvez, Howard and Courcha all swinging. That's 12 strikeouts for the game, 119 strikeouts for the season and 299 strikeouts career for Strasburg, who ties Mike Erb (1985-87) for second place on SDSU's all-time strikeout list.

Strasburg opened the season listed No. 15 on the school's career strikeout list. Former teammate Bruce Billings (2004-07) is the only one ahead of Strsburg now at 304. Enjoy it for another week, Bruce. Or another two innings? Craig Elsten on the Aztecs' internet broadcast has Strasburg at 96 pitches through seven innings.

Strasburg set SDSU's single-season strikeout record last season with 133. He is positioned to break that with next week's home start against TCU. Strasburg struck out 14 against the Horned Frogs at TCU three weeks ago.

8TH INNING — New Mexico employs a different method of retiring the Aztecs in order for the fourth time, using three different relievers to get the three outs. In the bottom of the inning, Gonzalez leads off with a single to right and nearly gets picked off after rounding hard when Vaughn throws behind him at first. Brownstein sacrifices Gonzalez to second to put the tying run 180 feet away. But pinch hitter Kevin Atkinson's grounder to third freezes the runner as the Aztecs get the second out. Honeycutt strokes a 2-2 pitch to left field for a single. On the internet broadcast, Craig Elsten says Decker fields the ball before Gonzalez rounds third. But Gonzalez is waved to the plate, anyway. Decker's throw is so fr ahed of Gonzalez that Castro could have enjoyed some peanuts and Cracker Jack before easily making the tag to end the inning.

9TH INNING — The Aztecs don't make anything of a two-out walk, trusting a 1-0 lead to their All-American. Strasburg returns with a complete-game shutout on his mind. Neda leads off with a single to left field before pinch runner Cameron Monger is sacrificed to second. Monger then surprises the Aztecs by stealing third base. SDSU brings the infield in. Strasburg takes care of Cavazos-Galvez himself with a strikeout, his 13th of the game and 300th of his career. Strasburg gets two quick strikes on Howard, then wastes a slider outside for a ball. Strasburg's next pitch is a strike that Howard can't handle and the game is over.

STRSBURG'S LINE — 9 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 14 SO (121 SO/12 BB in 63.1 IP this season with a 1.28 ERA)

Toreros get boost by beating No. 3 UC Irvine

2009-04-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

The bitter taste from USD's series loss at Gonzaga over the weekend was washed away today with a 7-4 victory over No. 3-ranked UC Irvine at Cunningham Stadium.

USD catcher Nick McCoy got things started for the Toreros with a home run leading off the second inning. Teammate Chris Engell added three hits and Steven Chatwood had two RBI.

On the mound, USD's Matt Hauser (1-1) picked up his first win in relief of starter Scott DeNault. Darrin Campbell closed out the Anteaters for his first save.

It is an important midweek win for the Toreros, who are trying to build their resume for an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament should an automatic berth escape them. Irvine (23-10) came into the game with an RPI of 7. USD (24-13) had an RPI of 24.

The teams meet again May 12 at Irvine.

A postseason get together is forecast in Baseball America's projected Field of 64 posted online today. BA's Aaron Fitt has UC Irvine hosting a first-round regional that includes USD, USC and Canisius.

The same article has San Diego State reaching the postseason and going to a regional host by Cal State Fullerton that includes Boston College and defending national champion Fresno State. In fact, the Mountain West Conference is projected to have an unprecedented three Regionals teams, with TCU and New Mexico joining the Aztecs. The MWC has never had more than one team — its tournament champion — selected.

We'll See.

The No. 15-ranked Aztecs (25-13) can expect to see their RPI — which was 25 — slip after tonight's 7-3 home loss to UCLA (14-19). SDSU had its biggest rally of the season last month at UCLA, scoring six runs in the ninth inning for a 10-6 win. UCLA — with an RPI of 98 — rallied tonight with five runs in the eighth to overcome the Aztecs.

UCLA's Gavin Brooks (Rancho Buena Vista) came on in the ninth inning closed out the game.

Aztecs rise to No. 15 in the nation

2009-04-13T09:49:00.001-07:00

San Diego State moved up three spots today to No. 15 in the nation in Baseball America's newest Top 25 rankings.

The uptick came on the strength of last week's 3-1 record, which included a midweek win at Long Beach State and a Mountain West Conference series win at UNLV, where the Aztecs (25-12) won two of three games.

MWC rival TCU is right behind SDSU at No. 16 in the rankings.

USD (23-13), which was ranked No. 25 last week, fell out of the rankings after losing two or three games in the Toreros' West Coast Conference series at Gonzaga over the weekend. The Bulldogs jumped into the rankings for the first time in school history, debuting at No. 22.

LSU took over the top spot in the rankings after winning two of three games at SEC rival Alabama. The Tigers replace Arizona State, which fell to No. 4 after losing a midweek series to Arkansas.

The top 25 rankings include seven West Coast teams — No. 3 UC Irvine, No. 4 ASU, No. 6 Cal State Fullerton, No. 14 Oregon State, No. 15 SDSU, No. 18 Cal Poly, No. 22 Gonzaga — and TCU.

Aztecs, Toreros in good standing

2009-04-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

It's way too early to count chickens, but San Diego State and USD are well positioned to reach the postseason. Both SDSU and USD share first place in their respective conferences as the season turns toward the home stretch.

The Aztecs took two of three at UNLV and are tied with New Mexico, with a showdown looming this weekend in Albuquerque. USD lost two of three over the weekend at Gonzaga, which could come back to bite the Toreros if the teams tie for the regular season championship. The series winner hosts the WCC Championship Series.

Both teams can secure automatic berths by winning their conference's postseason events. Plan B would be an at-large berth, which also seems within the realm of possibility (although it would be the first ever for a MWC team). Strong RPIs, overall record and record in their last 10 games are among the keys to at-large selection.

SDSU's RPI was as high as ninth earlier in the season after winning two of three at TCU — according to RPIs modeled by boydsworld.com. The Aztecs' RPI sits at 27 now and will drop some — call it the curse of the MWC — with series remaining against New Mexico (65), Utah (123) and Air Force (266). Only TCU (7) is ahead of SDSU in RPI among conference foes.

USD's RPI is at 25, with conference series remaining against Loyola Marymount (67), USF (103), Saint Mary's (115) and Portland (184).

Best-case scenario: Both teams reach the postseason and SDSU hosts a first-round NCAA Regional. The Aztecs are expected to make a host bid. They would have to play themselves into position to be at least a No. 2 seed to host one of 16 four-team regionals. The West is expected to get three and perhaps four regional sites. Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine, Stanford and Oregon State are other West Coast schools that could be in position to bid and host. SDSU was the site for a regional in 2007 that was hosted by USD.

Perhaps we're getting ahead of ourselves here, though. There's still a lot of baseball to be played before the postseason arrives.

Mountain West Conference standings
TEAM CONF OVERALL
San Diego State . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4 25-12
New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4 28-8
TCU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3 22-10
BYU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5 20-13
UNLV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7 16-18
Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9 13-18
Air Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7 11-22

SDSU's remaining MWC games

April 17-19 at New Mexico

April 24-26 vs. TCU

May 8-10 vs. Air Force

May 14-16 at Utah

MWC Tournament

Double-elimination format May 19-23 at TCU

note: top two regular-season finishers receive first-round byes

(winner receives automatic berth to NCAA Tournament)

West Coast Conference standings

TEAM CONF OVERALL

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2 23-13

Loyola Marymount . . . . . . . . . . 7-2 22-15

Gonzaga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3 23-10

Pepperdine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5 20-13

USF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5 16-20

Saint Mary's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6 19-17

Santa Clara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6 13-17

Portland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7 17-16

USD's remaining WCC games

April 17-19 at Saint Mary's

April 24-26 vs. Portland

May 1-3 at Loyola Marymount

May 8-9 vs. USF

WCC Championship Series (best-of-three)

Second-place team at first-place team May 22-24

(winner receives automatic berth to NCAA Tournament)

Strasburg, offense lead SDSU past UNLV 15-4

2009-04-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

RECAP

LAS VEGAS — San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg (7-0) remains unbeaten, striking out 13 in the Aztecs' 15-4 win over UNLV in the opener of a three-game Mountain West Conference series. Strasburg increases his nation-leading strikeout total to 107 in a six-inning effort in which he allowed one earned run.

No. 18-ranked SDSU (24-11, 7-3 MWC) continues its offensive surge, collecting 15 hits against the Rebels (15-17, 4-6). SDSU catcher Erik Castro hit a three-run homer and had a game-high five RBI and teammates Easton Gust and Ryan O'Sullivan each collected three hits for the Aztecs.

PREGAME

LAS VEGAS — I thought they had a flyover for the national anthem, but I've never seen a 747 used for a flyover. No, we're in the flight path of McCarron International Airport. Nonstop landings. And it seems they use Earl E. Wilson Stadium here to line themselves up for landings. Will there be more pitches or planes tonight? It will definitely be close.

Anyway, San Diego State is here for a three-game Mountain West Conference series against UNLV. The No. 18-ranked Aztecs (23-11, 6-3 MWC) are tied atop the conference with TCU. UNLV (15-16, 4-5) has struggled ever since being swept by SDSU four weeks ago in the opening series of conference play.

SDSU's Stephen Strasburg (6-0) makes his eighth start of the season. Strasburg has a 1.49 ERA with 94 strikeouts and 10 walks in 48.1 innings pitched.

The game time temperature is pleasant enough at 62 degrees (it's expected to drop to 54), but a strong southwest wind is blowing from behind the stadium and out to center field.

HERE WE GO

1ST INNING — Brandon Meredith reaches on a two-out error, but Erik Castro strikes out to end any opportunity of mounting a threat.

Strasburg starts UNLV leadoff hitter J.J. Sferra with a strike, but then Sferra parachutes a single into short left field. Teammate Bryan Resnick sacrifices Sferra over to second with a bunt down the first base line. Strasburg then registers his first strikeout of the game, getting Jarred Frierson with a curveball. Strasburg goes 3-2 to Ryan Thornton (seemingly squeezed on ball three by plate umpire Jason Rogers), but gets Thornton looking at strike three on an inside fastball to end the inning.

2ND INNING — SDSU's Josh Chasse doubles just inside the third base bag off UNLV starting pitcher Jeff Urlaub, scoring teammate Mitch Blackburn with the game's first run. Blackburn led off the inning with a walk and moved down to second on an error. Easton Gust's single up the middle and Ryan O'Sullivan's double to right-center score two more runs to make it 3-0. It's a substantial lead, considering Strasburg hasn't given up more than two runs in any of his starts this season.

First-pitch swinging works wonders as UNLV's Rance Roundy singles and teammate Brian Gilbertson follows with a run-scoring double to make it 3-1. Strasburg restores order thereafter, sandwiching an infield out around two strikeouts to retire the side without further damage.

I've seen Strasburg's fastball touch 97 mph on one of the radar guns here, but he's using far more curves and sliders tonight than earlier in the season. Changing his approach is no surprise, really, given that UNLV saw Strasburg just four weeks ago.

3RD INNING — The Aztecs strand runners at first and third.

Strasburg starts bring more heat, making his other pitches even more effective. He strikes out Sferra on a ball in the dirt and gets Resnick looking. It is Strasburg's 100th strikeout of the season. Frierson throws his bat at a ball that he pokes up the middle for a single. Frierson is erased stealing a few moments later on a throw by catcher Erik Castro that arrives a few minutes before the runner.

4TH INNING — One of the things impressive about SDSU's offense this season is that the players have put the pressure on the opposition. It's been the other way around much of the time in recent years. It pays off here as Gust and O'Sullivan reach with singles and Pat Colwell follows with a good bunt down the first-base line. Just put the all in play and make them make a play. Urlaub overthrows first base, Gust scores, O'Sullivan moves to third and then he, too, scores on a sacrifice fly to right field by Meredith. Colwell then steals second and scores on Castro's single to center. It's 6-1 Aztecs and Urlaub's day is done.

Roundy gets a two-strike single off Strasburg with one out. A strikeout and a fly out make it moot.

5TH INNING — The Aztecs put two runs on against reliever Corey Hales, who gives way to Justin Baca, whogives up two RBI singles and a three-run homer to Castro. Castro lifted the ball into the air in right-center and let the jet stream do the rest for his seventh home run of the season.

I'm wondering if Strasburg will be taken out of his rhythm after sitting in the dugout so long at the top if the inning, but he strikes out Anthony Morel looking to open the inning. Chad Claus then bunts down the third-base line for a base hit and Sferra follows with a sharp single. But Resnick strikes out looking and Frierson strikes out swinging and that is that. The Frierson strikeout is Strasburg's 10th of the game, giving him double-digit strikeouts for the seventh time in eight starts.

The PA announcer reminds fans that no flash photography is allowed at UNLV. It seems some of them came to get a look and a photo of Strasburg. A good crowd begins to thin, having gotten a glimpse of the nation's top pitcher and seeing enough to know the Rebels aren't coming back from an 11-1 deficit.

6TH INNING — SDSU scores fur runs on only two hits, helped by passed balls and wild pitches to build a 15-1 lead.

Strasburg walks one but also strikes out the side, giving him 13 strikeouts for the game. He is approaching 100 pitches and likely done for the game.

Strasbug's line — 6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 13 SO. He now has 107 SO/11 BB in 54.1 IP

7TH INNING — The Aztecs are retired in order — thanks to a double play — then Matt Skipper replaces Strasburg on the mound. The trickle of fans leaving picks up, leaving family and friends in the stands.

8TH INNING — Nothing of note.

9TH INNING — The game is all but decided but UNLV drags it out by getting to Skipper, forcing the Aztecs to go to the bullpen again and bring in Kegan Sharp to get the final out.

Roadtrip: Las Vegas

2009-04-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

The blog hits the road today, bound for Las Vegas and the opener of San Diego State's three-game Mountain West Conference series against UNLV.

What happens in Vegas won't stay there. It will appear on the blog.

Stephen Strasburg (6-0) is the scheduled starter for the Aztecs, moved up a day because of the Easter weekend. Strasburg struck out just six — what's wrong, what's wrong — in last week's win against UC Davis at Petco Park. He went six innings, allowing three singles, two walks and a hit batter.

We'll see how Strasburg fares in UNLV's thin air. We'll also see what the Rebels try against him after losing to Strasburg and the Aztecs 4-3 in the conference opener four weeks ago at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Strasburg struck out 14 and walked one over seven innings in the game.

First pitch for the Aztecs (23-11, 6-3 MWC) and the Rebels (15-15, 4-5) isn't until 7 p.m., giving us plenty of time for the four-hour +/_ drive today from San Diego. It's about 314 miles from my driveway to the parking lot at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, almost entirely on the I-15 north. Key points along the way include:

— The Flying J truck stop/convenience store/restaurant/sideshow in Barstow, which will give you gas at the pumps or in the diner. It provides plenty of people-watching possibilities.

— Zzyzx road, which doesn't go much of anywhere but does have its own Wikipedia reference. According to this entry, "The name Zzyzx was given to the area in 1944 by Curtis Howe Springer, claiming it to be the last word in the English language." After countless trips past the road I finally pulled off once to see if there was anything befitting such a great name. I guess there was once, but it is little more now than a 4 1/2 miles long road, dead-ending in both directions. Big mistake taking exit there. I should have stayed on the highway and always wondered/speculated. Roadtrip America provides better details about the road's history and old "Doc" Springer. So there's that.

— The World's Largest Thermometer in Baker, which also has a Wikipedia reference right here. I drove past it once on the way to Omaha for the College World Series and the temperature read 112. The next day I was driving through the Colorado mountains near Glenwood Springs and the temperature gauge in my car read 44 degrees.

— Primm, Nevada, just past the California-Nevada border. I liked it better when it was named Stateline, but I guess there was some confusion because there's a Stateline at the northern border, too. It is a good spot to stop when the urge strikes to ride a roller coaster or get a $5 steak at the Silver Spur Steakhouse. I was tempted to book a night's stay at Buffalo Bill's Casino. Cost: $9. Only problem is it's 40 miles from Las Vegas. I opted for the Tuscany Suites & Casino, splurging for $30.

— The Strip. I have budgeted $20 for entertainment. I don't think that will be enough to see a show, so it likely will all go on two hands of Blackjack or all on red 14 at the craps table.

Strasburg will pitch Thursday at UNLV

2009-04-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

San Diego State junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg's next start has been moved up a day to Thursday at UNLV.

Strasburg originally was to go Friday against the Rebels and junior left-hander Nate Solow was to throw in Thursday's opener of the three-game series in Las Vegas. But Solow pitched Sunday against UC Davis and is unavailable.

Strasburg (6-0) has a 1.49 ERA and leads the nation with 94 strikeouts (with 10 walks) in 48.1 innings pitched. He struck out 14 against UNLV in a 4-3 Aztecs victory four weeks ago at Tony Gwynn Stadium, starting SDSU on a three-game sweep of the Rebels.

The No. 18-ranked Aztecs play a nonconference game at Long Beach State tonight at 6:30, then hop on a bus tomorrow for UNLV.

SDSU (22-11, 6-3 MWC) are tied atop the MWC standings with TCU. UNLV (15-16, 4-5) is in fifth place.

Aztecs, Toreros both in Top 25

2009-04-06T09:30:00.001-07:00

San Diego State moved up three spots in Baseball America's Top 25, rising to No. 18 in the nation. SDSU (22-11) split a home-and-home with UCSB and took three of four against UC Davis over the weekend.

The BA rankings released this morning also included USD (22-11), which returned at No. 25. The Toreros opened the season at No. 11 but tumbled out of the Top 25 by losing nine of their first 17 games. USD has won 14 of 16 games since, including a three-game sweep at Santa Clara over the weekend.

Arizona State has replaced Cal State Fullerton atop the new rankings.

Toreros score 22 runs again and again

2009-04-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

USD third baseman Victor Sanchez reinjured his shoulder in Tuesday's game at UC Riverside, putting his season in doubt.

The injury forced Sanchez off the 25-man roster for this weekend's West Coast Conference series at Santa Clara, meaning the Toreros would be without their biggest bat.

Somehow, they made do.

USD scored 22 runs in Saturday's 22-10 victory over the Broncos and repeated the feat today in a 22-7 win that completed a three-game sweep (the Toreros won Friday's opener 9-4). First-place USD should expect to be back in the Baseball America Top 25 when new rankings are released on Monday.

Shortstop Sean Nicol homered twice and Nick McCoy and Mike Lugo also homered for the Toreros, who had 23 hits in the game.

USD is now 22-11 on the season and 6-0 in the WCC, putting the Toreros in complete control of their destiny the remainder of the season. The next five weeks of conference play look like this: at Gonzaga, at Saint Mary's, host Portland, at Loyola Marymount, host USF. Nicol went 3-for-7 with 5 RBI. Lugo and Jon Hotta each had 4 RBI. Zach Walters led the way with five of USD's 23 hits.

The Toreros collected 22 hits in Saturday's win. Right fielder James Meador led the team with four hits in that one. Hotta, McCoy and Chris Engell each had three RBI.

Steven Chatwood and Tony Strazzara replaced Sanchez at third base during the season, going a combined 6-for-18 with 5 RBI and 5 runs scored.

The Toreros are batting .322 as a team, led by Meador (.392) and Walters (.391).

A.J. Griffin (5-1) picked up Sunday's win, allowing one run on three hits over five innings. Matt Thomson (5-0) was Saturday's winner, remaining unbeaten on the season. Thomson has been outstanding this season, but it didn't look like it was his day. He allowed eight runs on six hits in the second inning (10 runs in seven innings overall) as the Toreros fell behind 8-5 before going all '27 Yankees on Santa Clare.

It remains to be seen how badly Sanchez's shoulder is injuted. It is the second straight season the sophomore from Norwalk has been so bothered. Sanchez was having a monster freshman season last year when he injured his shoulder on a swing at the plate midway through the season. Sanchez was never the same when he returned from a week of rest. He had 11 homers when he was hurt. He finished the season with 12 (which still led the team).

USD will remain in Northern California for a game Tuesday at Stanford before heading to Spokane, Wash., for the series against Gonzaga. The Bulldogs (20-8, 4-2 WCC) took two of three this weekend from Pepperdine (17-13, 1-5), which has seen its season unravel the past two weeks. The Waves, preseason favorites to win the WCC, were swept by USD in the opening weekend of conference play.

LMU (19-14, 5-1) is in second place after taking two of three from Portland.

Aztecs beat UC Davis 14-0 at Petco Park

2009-04-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

RECAP
San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg is overshadowed by the Aztecs' offense, which collects 14 runs on 15 hits in a 14-0 victory over UC Davis at the Padres' Petco Park. SDSU catcher Erik Castro leads the Aztecs with two home runs and six RBI. Teammate Ryan O'Sullivan also homers for the Aztecs (20-10).

Strasburg (6-0) fails to register double-digit strikeouts for the first time in seven starts, getting but six Ks against the Aggies, who seem content to shorten their swings and just try to make contact to avoid strikeouts. The junior right-hander allows three hits and walks two over six shutout innings. Strasburg now has 94 strikeouts and 10 walks in 48.1 innings this season.

PREGAME
San Diego State opens a four-game series this weekend with a special venue for today's first game — Petco Park.

SDSU ace Stephen Strasburg (5-0) will be on the mound for the No. 21-ranked Aztecs (19-10), who have the week off from Mountain West Conference play. UC Davis sends freshman David Popkins to the mound. It is the first collegiate start for Popkins, who prep about five miles from Petco at St. Augustine High.

Here's a story I did today in the Union-Tribune leading into the game.

Following the game, the Padres play the Angels at 7:05 p.m. in an exhibition game.

Also, the MWC announced its 10th Anniversary baseball team and Strasburg was the only active member of the 13-man squad. SDSU had five players selected — closer Royce Ring, shortstop Taber Lee, third baseman Nick Romero and outfielder Anthny Gwynn.

Padres GM Kevin Towers is sitting in the fourth row on the field level adjacent to scouting director Chief Gayton. They are all but drooling, and it isn't in anicipation of fish tacos being delivered to their seats. They have the nation's No. 1 prospect on their mound — a guy who could probably step in as the Padres' No. 3 starter when the season opens next week — but know they'll likely never have a chance to draft him, even though they possess the third pick.

Before the game, Towers says: What amazes me is this guy added 10 mph (between his freshman and sophomore years). When guys gain 10 mph, they usually lose command, and this guy kept it."

Towers also commented on a cut fastball that approaches 100 mph, saying: "I haven't seen somebody throw that hard with movement on a baseball (the way Strasburg does). This guy sits at 96, 97, 98. Hard to believe he sits at that all the time and has command of the pitch. I can't remember anybody ever doing that."

HERE WE GO

1ST INNING — Strasburg shows an unusual lack of command early on, going 3-2 to two of the first three hitters. Leadoff hitter Daniel Cepin gets an infield single that SDSU shortstop Ryan O'Sullivan can't make a play on. Cepin is sacrificed to second, then Strasburg walks Ty Kelly. Tony Bongiovanni is Strasburg's first strikeout victim of the game. He gets out of the inning a batter later when Ryan Scoma hits into a fielder's choice. The scoreboard radar gun doesn't register the first 10 pitches or so, but Strasburg hits 96, 97, 98, 99 on several pithes thereafter. Strasburg needs 22 pitches to get out of the inning.

The Aztecs get going right away, cashing in walks to Pat Colwell and Brandon Meredith. Catcher Erik Castro singled in the first run and Mitch Blackburn brought home the other with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.

2ND INNING — Strasburg has a 1-2-3 inning, but UC Davis puts the ball in play each time.

3RD INNING — Another 1-2-3 inning, and again the Aggies get the bat on the ball each time. One strikeout in three innings is something of a moral victory. UC Davis hitters are taking half swings, just trying to make contact. SDSU does more damage against Popkins, getting making it 4-0 when Brandon Meredith scores on a wild pitch and Cory Vaughn comes home on an infield out.

4TH INNING — UC Davis gets leadoff hitter Ty Kelly on when O'Sullivan juggles a grounder at shortstop. Strasburg strikes out the next two hitters, however. After issuing a walk to Grant Hirneise, followed by a wild pitch, Strasburg strands runners at second and third when he freezes Joseph Medeiros for a called strike three that ends the inning.

SDSU boosts its lead to 9-0 with a five-run fourth inning highlighted by Erik Castro's three-run homer to right field.

5TH INNING — UC Davis left fielder Rikki Foster leads off with a single to left for the team's second hit (and first one to leave the infield). Foster is forced at second a few moments later and Strasburg then gets out of the inning with a double play grounder. He isn't dominating in his customary fashion — racking up the strikeouts — but he is pitching effectively. You just know after the game some reporter will ask him what was wrong. All he's done is allowed two singles through five shutout innings. Strasburg has thrown 74 pitches now.

The story of the game shifts from Strasburg to his catcher, Castro, who homers again, this one a two-run shot off UC Davis reiever Tim Busbin that lands in the beach sand beyond the 400-foot fence in right-center. That gives Castro six RBI for the game.

6TH INNING — Strasburg hits leadoff batter Grant Bauer with a pitch, strikes out Kelly, allows a single to right to Bongliavanni, strikes out Scoma looking and gets out of the inning when Hirneise grounds out to third base. He has thrown about 90 pitches and is probably done for the day with the Aztecs leading 11-0.

STRASBRG's LINE: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 SO in 93-pitch outing. It is the first time in seven starts this season that Strasburg did not strike out at least 11 hitters. He now has 94 strikeouts and 10 walks in 48. 1 IP.

7TH INNING — Reliever John Pecoraro replaces Strasburg and sandwiches two strikeouts between two singles and a walk. Pecoraro gets out of the inning with a routine 9-3-5-4-2 out.

The Aztecs make it 13-0 on Matt Skipper's RBI double and an error by UC Davis first baseman Grant Hirneise on a hard-hit ball by Zach Babitt.

8TH INNING — SDSU's James McLaughlin comes in and retires the Aggies in order.

Ryan O'Sullivan clubs SDSU's third homer of the game, a solo shot to left field off UC Davis' Will Chapman that makes it 14-0. It is O'Sullivan's first career home run.

9TH INNING — George Snyder comes on and retires the Aggies in order to end the game.

Couch makes return in USD loss at Riverside

2009-03-31T21:46:00.000-07:00

USD's Matt Couch returned to the mound for the first time in more than a year in tonight's game at UC Riverside, although it was a less than storybook finish in the senior right-hander's return from Tommy John surgery. Couch was in line for a victory before the Highlanders rallied for an 8-7 win.

Couch, who blew out his arm during a start at Hawaii-Hilo on March 15, 2008, had last weekend's West Coast Conference-opening series against Pepperdine circled on his calendar months ago. He worked tirelessly over the summer, all fall and into the spring to be ready to return. He was available over the weekend, even warming up Sunday as the Toreros completed a three-game sweep of Pepperdine, but didn't get into a game.

USD coach Rich Hill handed the ball to Couch for tonight's game. He allowed two doubles among the first three hitters he faced and allowed two runs to the Highlanders in the inning. Couch settled down thereafter, retiring the side in order in both the second and third innings. Couch was on a strict pitch count and Chris Jensen replaced him in the fourth. Couch was designated for a limited outing, so he was in line for the victory after USD took a 6-2 lead in the third. The opportunity to win in his return escaped Couch when UC Riverside rallied for six runs after he departed. For the game, Couch allowed three hits and one earned run over three innings. A control specialist, Couch did not have a strikeout or walk a batter.

Still, it was encouraging seeing Couch back on the mound and had to be comforting to the USD faithful, especially with sophomore left-hander Sammy Solis (herniated disk) sidelined for the season. Couch ranks among the national leaders with 23 career victories. He could pitch his way into a weekend starting spot or serve in a late-inning role if the Toreros keep closer A.J. Griffin in the starting rotation.

Aztecs jump into Baseball America Top 25

2009-03-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

San Diego State made its debut in the Baseball America Top 25 this morning, checking in at No. 21 following a series win at TCU.

The Aztecs (18-9), who are off to their best start in seven years, took two of three games against the defending Mountain West Conference champions. SDSU beat the Horned Frogs 11-5 behind Stephen Strasburg's 14-strikeout performance. The Aztecs rallied for two runs in the ninth inning yesterday to conclude the series with a 2-1 victory.

SDSU appeared briefly in the top 25 last year after opening the 2008 season by taking three of four games against USD, gaining the No. 22 spot in the poll before falling back out of the rankings the following week.

The Aztecs are one of three MWC teams ranked in this week's Baseball America Top 25. New Mexico (24-4) is ranked No. 18. TCU (15-9) is one spot behind the Aztecs at No. 22.

Cal State Fullerton (18-4) is the nation's top-ranked team. LSU (21-6), Arizona State (19-4), Rice (17-7) and North Carolina (20-6) round out the top five. Here is the complete poll.

USD (19-10), ranked No. 11 to open the season, failed to return to the top 25 despite a three-game sweep of Pepperdine, which had been ranked No. 17, in the opening weekend of West Coast Conference play. Pepperdine dropped out of the rankings.

SDSU is off from conference play this week (the MWC has only seven teams, so one team is off each week). The Aztecs play at UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday and host UCSB on Wednesday before hosting a four-game series this weekend against UC Davis. The first game of that series is to be played Friday at Petco Park. Game time is 2:30 p.m. and Strasburg is the scheduled starting pitcher.

Also today, Strasburg was selected MWC Pitcher of the Week for the fourth time this season. SDSU pitchers have earned the award each of the season's six weeks.

Imeson becomes UCSD's career hits leader

2009-03-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

UCSD's ninth straight win yesterday was highlighted by second baseman Garrett Imeson breaking the school's career hits record.

The Tritons, ranked No. 6 in the nation, beat San Francisco State 8-7 at Triton Field. UCSD improved to 19-7 on the season and 16-4 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.

Imeson got the record out of the way early, stroking a first-inning double to the gap in right center for his 258th career hit. That broke the record former UCSD catcher Bob Natal established during the mid-1980s. Imeson, a senior from Stockton, is batting .323 with two homers and 19 RBI. He is a three-time all-CCAA selection.

The Tritons lead the CCAA, although defending champion Sonoma State (14-8), Cal State Stanislaus (13-8) and Cal State Los Angeles (12-8) are close behind. UCSD plays a four-game series this weekend at Chico State (20-13, 11-9 CCAA).

You call that a crowd

2009-03-29T21:20:00.001-07:00

Word out of the Big Apple earlier in the week was that a sellout crowd was expected for today's St. John's-Georgetown game, the inaugural event to be played at the New York Mets' new 42,000-seat Citi Field.

It was cause for concern since they were taking aim at the NCAA single-game attendance record of 40,106, set when San Diego State beat Houston 4-0 on March 11, 2004 in the inaugural game at Petco Park. For those who missed it: SDSU's Scott Shoemaker pitched a three-hit shutout against the Cougars, striking out 14 batters.

When the turnstiles stopped spinning today at Citi Field, only 22,397 people showed up to see Georgetown's 6-4 win.

Nice try New York.

Not really.

A reported 30,000 tickets were sold for the game and the other 12,000 given to charity. That in itself made the record worthy of a big, fat asterisk, but I decided to let this thing play out before offering comment. The 22,000 and change who did show up rank just seventh on the all-time list. So much for that.

The focus quickly shifted to ooohing and ahhhing over the new ballpark, which, apparently is still in the flight path of La Guardia Airport. Seems that old-time ballpark ambiance they're trying to create is kind of lost when a 747 flies overhead and temporarily blots out the sun and drowns out the crowd. But maybe that's just me. Citi was built adjacent to Shea Stadium, which has already been hit by a wrecking ball.

They did have former Mets reliever John Franco, a St. John's alum, throw out the first pitch. I would rather have seen Keith Hernandez. Or Kramer.

Here's a link to a story on first impressions of the new ballpark if you think I'm going all Bitterman. I guess their audacity of trying to break the record made me a little overprotective.

Anyway . . .

Here's the top 10 single-game regular season crowds:

40,106—San Diego State (4) vs. Houston (0), March 11, 2004, Petco Park, San Diego

28,836—Georgia Tech (12) vs. Georgia (5), May 11, 2004, Turner Field, Atlanta, Georgia

27,673—LSU (9) vs. Tulane (5), April 10, 2002, Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

27,134—TCU (6) vs. Houston (4), Texas (5) vs. Rice (4) and Tulane (6) vs. Texas Tech (4), Feb.
11, 2006, Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas

25,175—Long Beach St. (5) vs. San Diego State (0), March 13, 2004, Petco Park, San Diego

23,984 — Vanderbilt (7) vs. Arizona st. (6), Texas A&M (3) vs. Houston (2), and rice (7) vs.
Baylor (0), Feb. 10, 2007, Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas

22,397 — Georgetown (6) vs. St. John's (4), March 29, 2009, Citi Field, New York

21,995—Baylor (3) vs. Tennessee (2), Oklahoma St. (3) vs. Houston (2), and Rice (3) vs. Texas
A&M (1), Feb. 12, 2005, Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas

21,724—Texas (6) vs. Rice (3), Feb. 14, 2004, Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas

21,620—Georgia (10) vs. Georgia Tech (7), April 24, 2007, Turner Field, Atlanta, Georgia

USD where it wants to be after Pepperdine sweep

2009-03-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

It never ceases to amaze me how seasoned baseball observers will come to a conclusion based only on a small sampling of the season.

How do you decide that what happens in a week — or worse, a weekend — is the way it's going to be in a 56-game season? Especially when those observations are made at the start of the year when everything is still shaking out.

But that was the sense I got hanging around USD's Cunningham Stadium in the season's first three weeks of the season. Was it that USD had lost four of five games to crosstown rival SDSU or that the Toreros were struggling to get above .500? How soon they forget. USD was 7-7 last season when the Toreros went on a 10-game winning streak. USD won a school-record 44 games by the time it was over. The Toreros came within a game of advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals, their season ended by a Fresno State team that went on to win the national championship.

USD was 8-9 this year after losing the first two games of a series at Rice. Winning the last game of the three-game series against the Owls got USD back to .500, but it didn't prevent the Toreros from tumbling out of the top 25. That victory did start a stretch of 11 wins in 12 games that has USD at 19-10 and knocking on the door of the top 25 again. We'll see Monday if Baseball America answers.

By the way, that 19-10 record? It's exactly where the Toreros were this time last year. With one big difference. They opened West Coast Conference play in 2008 by losing two out of three games to Santa Clara. USD opened WCC action this weekend with a three-game sweep. Either USD or Pepperdine has won every WCC championship since 2000 and they are the favorites for the 2009 title as well. The sweep ensures that the Toreros will host the WCC Championship Series (a best-of-three affair) should the teams meet to determine who receives the conference's automatic NCAA Tournament berth.

A few highlights in the sweep of the Waves:

— Two homers by right fielder James Meador in Friday's 8-6 win.

— Freshman Bryan Haar's first two collegiate homers, one on Friday and another in Saturday's 4-0 win.

— Matt Thomson's two-hit, complete-game shutout in Saturday's victory. Campbell had a career-high 10 strikeouts.

— A.J. Griffin closing out the victory over the last 2 2/3 innings in Friday's opener and pitching the first five innings on the way to a 9-4 win in today's finale.

— USD is now 10-1 against Pepperdine since 2007.

SDSU sounds rallying cry this season

2009-03-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

San Diego State's pitching has been outstanding this season, but what I'm most impressed with at the season's midpoint is the Aztecs' ability to rally for victories. It is a characteristic that has been noticeably absent in recent years.

Consider:

— SDSU rallied for two runs in the ninth inning today at TCU for a 2-1 victory over the Horned Frogs. It was a huge win, allowing the Aztecs (18-9, 6-3 MWC) to take the series and control of the Mountain West Conference. TCU (15-9, 3-3), ranked No. 16 in the nation, has won the MWC regular season and tournament titles all three years since moving over from Conference USA. But the Aztecs took it to them, setting up a big rematch April 24-26 when TCU comes to Tony Gwynn Stadium.

— SDSU rallied for six runs in the ninth inning of a 10-6 victory at UCLA.

— The Aztecs scored runs in the eighth and ninth innings for a 9-8 win over Kansas.

— Cory Vaughn hit a three-run walkoff homer in the 10th inning of a 6-4 win over USD.

— SDSU scored seven runs in the eighth inning for an 8-7 win over Southern Utah.

The only game I recall SDSU coughing up a lead was in a 4-2 loss against BYU last week after Stephen Strasburg had staked the Aztecs to a 2-0 lead through seven innings. Strasburg has been outstanding, of course, but starters Tyler Lavigne, Jon Berger and Nate Solow also have pitched well. Relievers Kegan Sharp and James McLaughlin both have ERAs under 3.00. Closer Addison Reed's ERA is 0.87 and he already has eight saves (Royce Ring set the school record in 2002 with 17). The pitching staff's collective ERA is 3.44.

The pitching staff has kept SDSU in virtually every game. The big difference to me, though, is the Aztecs' ability to rally for victories. The key now is keeping it up. SDSU has struggled down the stretch each of the past two seasons when the hitters have stopped hitting. It's been 18 years since SDSU made its last postseason appearance. This is an NCAA Tournament team if the Aztecs avoid an offensive collapse this season.

Strasburg, SDSU offense shine in 11-5 win at TCU

2009-03-27T15:31:00.000-07:00

RECAP
San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg strikes out 14 batters over eight innings — his sixth double-digit strikeout game in six starts — and allows three hits and two runs (both earned) on a windy night in Fort Worth, Texas, with temperatures in the 40s. The Aztecs' offense pounds out 17 hits and the result is an 11-5 Mountain West Conference victory at TCU.

SDSU (17-8, 5-2) and TCU (14-8, 2-2) continue the three-game series with games Saturday and Sunday.

Strasburg (5-0) allows a wind-aided leadoff homer by TCU's Ben Carruthers, then retires 14 batters in a row, 10 of them by strikeout. By the way, Strasburg began the season ranked No. 15 on SDSU's career strikeout list with 180. He has 88 strikeouts for the season )with just 8 walks), giving him 268 career strikeouts. That ranks third in school history, behind only Bruce Billings (304) and Rick Navarro (299).

Strasburg's next scheduled start is Friday, April 3, against UC Davis in a game to be played at Petco Park. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. An exhibition game between the Padres and Angels will follow, in case anyone wants to stick around.

PREGAME

Leadership of the Mountain West Conference is at stake this weekend with San Diego State (16-8, 4-2) visiting No. 16-ranked TCU (14-7, 2-1), which has won the MWC regular season and tournament titles three straight years since moving over from Conference USA. TCU took two of three from the Aztecs last year at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

SDSU sends junior right-hander Stephen Strasurg (4-0) to the mound. Strasburg pitched seven shutout innings last week against BYU, in a game the Cougars came back to win after Strasburg departed. For the season, Strasburg has a 1.57 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 34.1 innings.

Strasburg had one of his best outings of the season last year against TCU, taking a perfect game into the seventh inning at Tony Gwynn Stadium before TCU's Ben Carruthers hit a double for what would be the Horned Frogs' only hit in the game. Strasburg went the distance in a 4-1 win, walking one with 13 strikeouts.

The blog will follow this game from a distance, using our extensive network of information sources to make it seem like we're there.

HERE WE GO

1ST INNING — The Aztecs stake Strasburg to a 3-0 lead before he ever takes the mound. SDSU catcher Erik Castro's three-run homer off TCU starting Tyler Lockwood provides the runs. Ben Carruthers shocks Strasburg with a leadoff homer for the Horned Frogs. It is only the third collegiate home run allowed by Strasburg and, as noted above, comes from a player who has been somewhat of a thorn in the pitcher's side. Strasburg shrugs off the HR and gets three straight outs, the last two on strikeouts.

2ND INNING — Strasburg retires the side in order, getting TCU's Taylor Featherston and Matt Vern on strikeouts.

3RD INNING — Castro hits a one-out double for SDSU, putting him halfway to the cycle (note: Castro does not have a triple in his collegiate career), but the Aztecs can't get him home. Strasburg picks up where he left off in the second, getting TCU's Jimmie Pharr and Corey Steglich and that pesky Carruthers all on strikeouts. That's seven of the first nine outs recorded on strikeouts.

4TH INNING — Mitch Blackburn's leadoff double is cashed in one-out later on Pat Colwell's sacrifice bunt, giving the Aztecs a 4-1 lead. When Strasburg returns, he gets Matt Carpenter on a tapper back to the mound, then strikes out Chris Ellington and gets Matt Curry on a flyout to end the inning.

5TH INNING — Castro doubles again, giving him three hits in three plate appearances. Cory Vaughn follows with a two-run homer, putting the Aztecs up 6-1. Strasburg strikes out the side again, getting Featherston, Vern and Pharr all swinging. That gives Strasburg 11 strikeouts for the game and a sixth dougle-digit strikeout performance in six starts. At this point, Carpenter and Bryan Holaday are the only two TCU starters who have avoided striking out.

6TH INNING — Brandon Meredith makes it 7-1 when he is hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force home a run. TCU scraped together a run on a leadoff double by Steglich and a couple of infield outs, but the most notable thing about the inning is it concluded without any strikeouts by the Horned Frogs.

7TH INNING — Brandon Decker drives in teammate Easton Gust on a fielder's choice to make it 8-2. In the bottom of the inning, a leadoff walk to Curry didn't amount to anything when an infield out, strikeout and fly out followed.

8TH INNING — Chris Wilson slams a one-out homer. Three more hits and a TCU error — the Horned Frogs' fourth of the game — follow as the Aztecs stretch their lead to 11-2. The only question now is how deep Strasburg goes. BYU rallied for a 4-2 win after he departed last week. Such a rally seems rather unlikely tonight by TCU, but it is college baseball and stranger things have happen. Strasburg runs back out and immediately gets Pharr and Steglich swinging at strike three. Carruthers hits an infield popup to end the inning.

9TH INNING — Castro gets a single for his fourth hit of the game, lacking — you guessed it! — a triple in his bid for the cycle. It is SDSU's 17th and final hit of the game. Chase Thomas replaces Strasburg and allows three runs with two outs before James McLaughlin comes on to get the final out in the Aztecs' 11-5 win.

STRASBURG's LINE — 8 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 14 SO. Strasburg (5-0) now has 88 SO/8 BB in 42.1 IP and a 1.70 ERA.

Strasburg under the microscope now

2009-03-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg has enjoyed a swift rise on the way to becoming the top prospect in the nation.

And deservedly so.

From his 23-strike performance last year against Utah, to being the only collegian on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in Beijing, to the 102 mph fastball he's been clocked throwing while dominating college hitters this year, Strasburg has done everything he can do to become the first pick in the 2009 draft.

Intense scrutiny and critical examination were bound to come as the June draft approached.

It's now official. It's here.

Last week, it was Sports Illustrated and the Wall Street Journal watching Strasburg pitch against UNLV. On Friday, it was an ESPN film crew and writer looking in on Strasburg against BYU. They were among those following him around the field at Tony Gwynn Stadium during and after SDSU's 4-2 loss to the Cougars. Strasburg didn't look too eager to answer questions about his brilliance when the bottom line was the Aztecs lost.

Questions about the draft have begun to seep into the conversation, although Strasburg is trying to keep his focus on the field with the Aztecs. He would not answer draft questions on Friday. Nor should he. No good can come for him right now by getting into all that publicly. Of course, maintaining his focus will become more and more of a chore as the season progresses, especially in light of other national media attention in recent days.

ESPN's Peter Gammons reported recently that Strasburg's advisor, Scott Boras, is going to look for a six-year, $50 million contract for his client.

Today there was an interesting piece by Thomas Boswell in the Washington Post examining the success of pitchers selected at the top of the draft over the past 44 years.

There also was a piece today by Rob Neyer of ESPN.com that also examined the history of "can't-miss" pitchers missing in the draft.

Needless to say, the success rate for position players is much higher than the success rate for pitchers.

Boswell isn't telling the Nationals not to pick Strasburg. What he's telling them is don't break the bank if you do it.

He makes some goods point.

Still, how can any team pass up a player who appears to be the best pitching prospect to come along in a generation?

The legend keeps growing about Strasburg's velocity, with it reported that he has hit 103 MPH according to a story by Yahoo's Steve Henson, who has a good chart on players who have touched 102 mph or higher. But velocity is no guarantee of success. Most of those on the list have flamed out. Randy Johnson is the only Hall of Fame-caliber player. Justin Verlander is the only other starting pitcher.

Of course, history and charts have no direct bearing on Strasburg's future.

All I know is Strasburg is under the microscope now and I have a sense this is going to be more of a challenge to deal with than any hitter he faces this season.

Strasburg is MWC Pitcher of the Week

2009-03-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

San Diego State's Stephen today was selected Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week, the third time this season the junior right-hander has been so recognized. He also was selected Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week for the fourth time this season.

This honor comes for Strasburg's 15-strikeout performance in last week's 4-2 MWC loss to BYU. Strasburg departed after seven innings with the Aztecs leading 2-0. He allowed two hits and walked to in seven shutout innings. Strasburg (4-0) has 74 strikeouts in 34.1 innings this season and an ERA of 1.57.

Strasburg is scheduled to start again on Friday when the Aztecs open a MWC series at TCU.

SDSU pitchers have won all five MWC Pitcher of the Week awrds this season. Strasburg teammates Tyler Lavigne and Jon Berger won the other two for the Aztecs.

USD battles injuries as well as opposition

2009-03-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

The injury bug has bitten USD so badly in recent weeks that it even extended to a Toreros batboy, who went down in the first game of today's doubleheader against Brown.

With USD batting in the bottom of the seventh, the Toreros' Chris Engell laid a perfect bunt down the third-base line for a two-out single. All eyes were focused on Engell beating out the bunt and teammate Tony Strazzara coming home from third base before everyone noticed a batboy down just beyond the USD on-deck circle. The kid was running out to retrieve Engell's bat when he was inadvertently hit in the chest as USD's James Meador took a practice swinging in the on-deck circle.

The boy's mother and father came down from the stands and joined a Toreros trainer and Meador, who came to his aid.

The batboy apparently just had the wind knocked out of him. He was back on his feet after a minute or two, got a high five and a fist pump from a couple Toreros players and a big hand from the crowd.

If only USD's other injuries could be overcome so quickly. Such is not the case. The list of the more prominent players who are missing in action:

— Starting pitcher Sammy Solis, who is out for the season with a herniated disk in his back. Solis looked strong in a season-opening victory over Southern at the MLB Urban Youth Academy. It was shoulder tendinitis that made Solis miss his second start. Then the back flaired up. He didn't look the same in a loss to San Diego State. Solis should heal with rest rather than surgery, according to USD coach Rich Hill.v"He will be fine next year," said Hill. "It was something that started coming on in the fall. He didn't participate in any fall drills at all. The thing got better. He was good. Seeing a chiropractor and was 100 percent healthy."

— Leaoff hitter and center fielder Kevin Muno, who is out for 6-8 weeks after breaking the third and fourth metacarpals in his left hand after being hit by a pitch last week at Rice. "We're hoping he's there for the WCC Championship Series and NCAA Regionals," said Hill.

— Catchers Nick McCoy and Steven Chatwood, who are battling knee and groin injuries, respectively. McCoy was due for an MRI to learn the extend of his injury. Preliminary diagnosis was meniscus damage, which means he could be back. Chatwood appears day-to-day depending on how he respondes to treatment.

This is all on top of early-season injuries to first baseman Jose Valerio (thumb), outfielder Bryan Haar (hamstring) and closer A.J. Griffin (shoulder). Valerio has been used as a defensive replacement but isn't swinging a bat. Haar has been eased into the lineup. Hill said Griffin, who had a cortisone shot a few weeks ago, is good, and who can argue after Griffin tossed eight innings of shutout relief last week in a win at Rice.

With injuries to some comes opportunity for others.

Freshman outfielder Jon Hotta (Oceanside High) and junior catcher Brian Farris have made the most of their chances in the starting lineup. It means the Toreros will have more depth, be more tested, when the games that make or a break a season arrive. Hotta is batting .286 (4-for-14) and could give the Toreros a big boost on the base paths. He stole 24 bases last season for the Pirates. Farris was pretty much a spectator before the injuries to McCoy and Chatwood. Now he's started five games and he was hitting .304 (7-for-23) coming into the second game of today's doubleheader against Brown.

The loss of Solis, one of the Toreros' top two starters, can be overcome on a pitching staff that is among the deepest in the nation. Especially with the impending return of senior Matt Couch, who is expected back from Tommy John surgery next week. That's just in time for USD's West Coast Conference-opening series against Pepperdine.

Kyle Blair, Matt Thomson and Griffin are expected to form the Toreros' weekend rotation. Darrin Campbell and Couch will be the first relievers called upon.

"Thomson, A.J. and Blair are obviously our go-to guys," said Hill. "We could go with A.J. for an inning on Friday, start Thomson on Saturday and A.J. on Sunday. Or we could close Thomson, He's a could candidate for the one inning deal, and start him on Sunday.

"We haven't really figured out what we're going to do, but it's going to be something like that. It's going to be seventh game of the World Series. Every game's an elimination game.

"The real key to this thing is going to be Couch. We'll throw him right into the fire. . . . Probably to close."

The schedule is accommodating USD to some degree.

The Toreros fell out of Baseball America's Top 25 after two losses in three games at Rice that dropped their record to 8-9. But Columbia came to town at the beginning of the week with only one win on the season. Three games later, the Columbians departed, still with just one win. Brown is here now. The Bears also came to town with just one win. They took USD to 10 innings today before losing 4-3. The Toreros are now 13-9 with three games left against Brown and a game Tuesday against Long Beach State before Pepperdine comes in to open WCC play.

Strasburg gets 15Ks, but BYU gets to SDSU bullpen

2009-03-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

RECAP
Stephen Strasburg strikes out 15 in seven shutout innings, but BYU gets the best of the SDSU bullpen in a 4-2 Mountain West Conference win over the Aztecs at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Strasburg's fastball touches triple digits, but sits mostly in the 97-99 mph range as he reaches double-digit strikeouts for the fifth time in five starts this season. The Cougars (13-7, 4-1 MWC) scores three runs in the eighth off SDSU reliever Andrew Leary on the way to their second straight win in the series against the Aztecs (13-8, 3-2).

PREGAME

San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg (4-0, 1.98 ERA) makes his fifth start of the season, facing BYU in the second game of the Mountain West Conference series at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Strasburg has 59 strikeouts (11 vs. Bethune Cookman, 16 vs. Nevada, 18 vs. USD, 14 vs. UNLV) in 27 1/3 innings this season. Right-hander Blake Torgerson () goes for the Cougars, who won last night's game 6-2.

SDSU (13-7, 3-1 MWC) and BYU (12-7, 3-1) are tied in the MWC standings.

SDSU hosts a student tailgate on the field adjacent to the ballpark and 1,100 students show up. Don't know if it is the free food or free Strasburg T-shirts that brings them out. School officials are happy either way, especially when more than half of the students walk through the gates to cheer on the Aztecs.

The students help pack the stands, producing a crowd that rivals the 2,102 (third all-time) that attended last week's game against UNLV. The gathering is particularly impressive given that the SDSU men's basketbll team is playing simultaneously in an NIT game at USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion.

HERE WE GO

1ST INNING — Strasburg comes out strong, striking out the side. BYU's Kent Walton and Andrew Law are caught looking at strike three. At least Sean McNaughton gets the bat off his shoulder, swinging late on strike three. The Aztecs get two hits, but leave runners at first and third.

2ND INNING — Strasburg sandwiches strikeouts around a fly to left field by BYU's Brandon Relf. SDSU doesn't make anything out of Chri Wilson's leadoff single.

3RD INNING — Kasey Ko leads off the third with a fly to left, then Strasburg gets two more strikeouts. That's seven for those keeping track at home (and the guy at the right-field railing who puts up a big K with each strikeout). The Aztecs get another leadoff single, by Pat Colwell, but nothing comes of it.

4TH INNING — Walton leads off with a single, giving BYU its first base runner, but Strasburg gets a strikeout and two groundouts to get out of the inning. SDSU gets a two-out single from Mitch Blackburn, but nothing else.

5TH INNING — Strasburg strikeouts out the side for the second time, giving him 11 strikeouts for the game. That's makes him 5-for-5 this season in double-digit strikeout performances. Kasey Ko, the only player in the BYU lineup who has avoided striking out, coaxes a two-out walk before Strasburg strikes out Chad Nacapoy to end the inning. The Aztecs threatened again. With one out, Colwell is hit by a pitch and Brandon Decker follows with a single to right field. Colwell moves to third when BYU right fielder Michael Bowen juggles the ball. Brandon Meredith then hits his third fly to right field of the game. This one brings Colwell home from third to make it 1-0. Another run comes home when Erik Castro's two-out fly ball to center field is lost in the lights by BYU's Stetson Banks.

6TH INNING — BYU actually gets something going when Walton gets a one-out walk and Law follows with a single to put runners at first and third. But Strasburg puts three straight strikes past McNaughton for the second out. The next batter, Steve Parker, watches a pretty good 1-1 pitch that home plate umpire Dale Luker calls a ball. The next pitch doesn't look as good, but Luker calls it a strike (makeup for a previous transgression?) and Parker mumbles a few words to the umpire, before he looks at strike three. Parker chips some more at Luker, who chases him back to the dugout. It is the third time Strasburg has struck out the side in six innings. He now has 14 strikeouts for the game.

7TH INNING — Strasburg gets Relf looking at strike three to open the inning before Bowen grounds to second for the second out. Strasburg throws a ball on the first pitch to Ko, then an SDSU trainer jogs out with pitching coach Rusty Filter following behind. Strasburg appears to be fine, finishing out the inning with Ko flying out to left field. Ko is the only hitter in BYU's lineup who avoids striking out. That makes Ko one of only two players — Nevada first baseman Shaun Kort is the other — to avoid striking out among the 45 starters Strasburg has faced this season. The crowd won't realize it until the eighth inning, but Strasburg's night is done.

STRASBURG'S LINE: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 15 SO. His ERA drops to 1.57 with the seven shutout innings. His fastball touches triple digits, but is clocked mainly in the 97-99 mph range.

8TH INNING — Right-hander Andrew Leary relieves Strasburg. And BYU rallies. The Cougars collect four hits and three runs off Leary, costing Strasburg an opportunity for his fifth straight victory. BYU gets the go-aead run when McNaughton scores all the way from first on a single to center by Parker. McNaughton was running on the play, but the Aztecs still seemed caught off guard when he was waved home to make it 3-2. The Aztecs squandered an opportunity to tie the score, leaving runners at the corners.

9TH INNING — BYU scores an insurance run, making it 4-2.

SDSU beats Kansas; USD takes Columbia

2009-03-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

Freshman right-hander Ryan O'Sullivan picked up his first collegiate victory tonight in San Diego State's 1-0 win over Kansas at Tony Gwynn Stadium. O'Sullivan limited the Jayhawks to three hits over seven innings and struck out three.

SDSU closer Addison Reed finished off Kansas in the ninth inning, but not before the Jayhawks made things tense. Kansas placed the tying run at second base with one out following a leadoff single and sacrifice bunt. Reed got a strikeout for the second out, but a hit batter and an error loaded the bases. A popup to first base ended the threat and the game.

Reed now has seven saves for the Aztecs, who have improved to 12-6 with a five-game winning streak.

USD 6, COLUMBIA 2

Junior right-hander Matt Thomson allowed one earned run in seven innings in USD's 6-2 win at Cunningham Stadium, the third straight victory for the Toreros after losing six of seven. Thomson struck out six and walked just to to improve to 3-0 for the Toreros, who are now 11-9 on the season.

Shortstop Sean Nicol and second baseman Chris Nicol collected three hits apiece for USD. Bryan Haar and Zach Walters each had two RBI.

USD beats Columbia in return from road

2009-03-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

There was no rest for a weary USD team, which returned to the field today and beat Columbia 10-3 at Cunningham Stadium just hours after returning from a weekend roadtrip at Rice.

The Toreros rebounded from two straight losses against the Owls to win Sunday's series finale and carried that momentum into today's game against Columbia. Scott Denault won in relief of Toreros starter Chris Jensen, who allowed one run over six innings with four strikeouts. Denault was charged with two unearned runs, but picked up his fourth victory of the season when USD busted out for seven runs over teir final two at-bats.

Sean Nicol and Austin Green had two RBI piece and teammates Chris Engell and Bryan Haar each had two hits.

USD, which fell out of Baseball America's Top 25 for the first time this season, evened its record at 10-9. The Toreros play Columbia again on Tuesday and Wednesday — hoping to fatten up on a team that is 1-10 — and then host Brown for three games this weekend. USD is in the midst of a scheduled 10 games in 11 days.

Strasburg to start Friday against BYU

2009-03-16T20:32:00.000-07:00

San Diego State announced today that junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg will pitch Friday in the Aztecs' Mountain West Conference game against BYU, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

SDSU originally announced that Strasburg would pitch in Thursday's opening game of the three-game series against the Cougars. No reason was given for the change, although it does keep Strasburg on a Friday routine. Strasburg improved to 4-0 last week in a 4-3 victory over UNLV. He has a 1.98 ERA and 59 strikeouts against 5 walks in 27 1/3 innings.

Here is SDSU's rotation for the week (all games at home):

Ryan O'Sullivan — Tuesday vs. Kansas, 6
Goldy Simmons — Wednesday vs. Kansas, 6
Nate Solow — Thursday vs. BYU, 6
Stephen Strasburg — Friday vs. BYU, 6
Tyler Lavigne — Saturday vs. BYU, 1

SDSU's Berger is MWC Pitcher of the Week

2009-03-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

San Diego State senior right-hander Jon Berger was named Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week for his 10-strikeout performance in the Aztecs' 6-1 victory over UNLV. Berger, a Las Vegas native, faced just three batters in six of the eight innings he pitched against the Rebels. He allowed just one run, five hits and did not walk a batter.

Berger's performance continued a string of outstanding pitching for the Aztecs. SDSU pitchers cornered the MWC award each week this season. Tyler Lavigne was selected the first week of the season after pitching a two-hit shutout against USD and Stephen Strasburg received the award each of the previous two weeks with wins over Nevada and USD.

The SDSU pitching staff has compiled a 3.39 ERA through 17 games, one reason the Aztecs are off to an 11-6 start.

SDSU sweeps UNLV; USD beats Rice

2009-03-15T20:09:00.001-07:00

San Diego State completed a three-game sweep of UNLV in the opening week of Mountain West Conference play with a lopsided 15-2 win over the Rebels.

Right fielder Cory Vaughn led the way with a 4-for-4 performance that included his third home run of the season and produced seven RBI. Vaughn singled in the first and third innings, tripled in the fifth, walked in the sixth and hit a three-run homer in the seventh.

SDSU starting pitcher Tyler Lavigne (3-0) remained unbeaten, allowing three hits and one earned run over five innings.

The Aztecs (11-6, 3-0 MWC) have now won fur straight games. UNLV (11-6, 0-3) was riding an eight-game winning streak before coming to town.

USD 8, RICE 0

It was bad enough that USD lost Friday night to Rice on a one-hitter. Then the Toreros had to wait through a Saturday weather postponement and a three-hour, eight-minute rain delay today before getting the best of the No. 9-ranked Owls in an 8-0 shutout win at Rice's Reckling Park.

USD made it all worth the wait when A.J. Griffin came on in the second inning for starter Matt Thomson and pitched eight innings of three-hit ball. Griffin (1-1) struck out eight and walked three in the longest outing of his career.

Freshman Bryan Haar led USD with three RBI. Teammates Chris Engell and James Meador each added two RBI for the Toreros. Meador's came on a two-run homer in the ninth.

The rain forced USD (9-9) and Rice (10-5) to shorten the series from four games to three.

Aztecs make it two in a row over UNLV

2009-03-14T17:37:00.001-07:00

San Diego State right-hander Jon Berger struck out a career-high 10 batters over eight innings today in the Aztecs' 6-1 Mountain West Conference victory over UNLV at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

Berger (1-2) pitched seven shutout innings before allowing a run in the eighth, using an effective changeup to get the Rebels swinging on several occasions. The senior from Las Vegas allowed five hits and did not walk a batter in his most effective outing of the season.

The Aztecs (10-6, 2-0 MWC) collected five hits and three runs in the fifth inning off UNLV starting pitcher Tanner Peters (2-1). SDSU, which has struggled offensively in the early going, added three more runs in the eighth off the Rebels bullpen. The Aztecs loaded the bases on a single by Brandon Decker, a walk to Brandon Meredith and a single by Erik Castro, then cashed in on a wild pitch, a throwing error by UNLV catcher Drew Beuerlein and a single by Jomel Torres.

UNLV (10-6, 2-0) loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth off reliever James McLaughlin before SDSU closer Addison Reed was summoned from the bullpen. Reed struck out the side to end the threat and record his sixth save.

The teams conclude the series Sunday at 1 p.m.

Aztecs hang on for 4-3 win over UNLV

2009-03-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

RECAP

Stephen Strasburg strikes out the first six hitters he faces as the Aztecs build a 4-0 lead through the first two innings in their Mountain West Conference opener against UNLV. Strasburg (4-0) finishes with 14 strikeouts over seven innings as SDSU hangs on for a 4-3 win before 2,102, the third-largest crowd in Tony Gwynn Stadium history. There are a few tense moments in the ninth inning as the Rebels rally for a run off closer Addison Reed, who strands runners at first and second to get his fifth save.

PREGAME

San Diego State opens play in the Mountain West Conference tonight at home against UNLV, which comes to town with an eight-game winning streak.

The Rebels face their biggest task of the year against SDSU junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg (3-0, 1.77 ERA), who has 45 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings this season. UNLV is expected to start senior left-hander Jeff Urlaub (2-0, 3.94 ERA) against the Aztecs, who are coming off Wednesday's 10-6 comeback win at UCLA.

The MWC plays a 24-game unbalanced schedule (one 3-game series against four opponents and a pair of 3-game home-and-home series against two opponents). SDSU plays both TCU and UNLV six times this season, which means the Aztecs likely will rise or fall based on their play against the Horned Frogs and Rebels. The MWC Tournament is at TCU again this year, with the tournament champion earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.

Here's a look at how MWC teams did coming into conference play:

#12 TCU 10-2 .833
New Mexico 13-3 .813
UNLV 11-3 .786
SDSU 8-6 .571
BYU 8-6 .571
Utah 6-7 .462
Air Force 5-6 .455

HERE WE GO

1ST INNING — Strasburg gets two quick strikes on UNLV leadoff hitter Ryan Thornton, wastes a pitch outside, then gts Thornton looking at strike three. J.J. Sferra then steps in and sees three straight balls. A rare walk? (Strasburg has 45 strikeouts against 4 walks in 20 1/3 innings this season). Nope. Sferra fouls off four pitches before missing on a fastball for strike three. Drew Beurlein then steps up, sees a ball and two strikes and then he, too, swings through strike three. One Strasburg pitch is clocked at 101 mph in the inning and two of the strikeouts come on 97 and 96 mph offerings.

The Aztecs take a quick 3-0 lead in the first on a one-out RBI single to left field by Brandon Meredith and a two-out, two-run single by T.J. Thomas that just falls in front of Sferra in center.

2ND INNING — Strasburg finds himself in a bit of a predicament when Rance Roundy and Scott Berke open the inning with singles to right field. No problem. Strasburg strikes out Jesse Wight and Jarred Frierson looking before Anthony Morel goes down swinging. That's six strikeouts in two innings for those scoring at home. Strasburg has struck out the side 10 times now in 21 complete innings this season. He has at least two strikeouts in 19 of 23 innings. In the bottom of the second, catcher Erik Castro gives SDSU a 4-0 lead with a solo homer to right-center.

NOTABLE: This is shaping up as one of the largest crowds in history at Tony Gwynn Stadium, which seats approximately 3,000. The stands approached capacity when Strasburg threw the game's first pitch. At the time, there were still nearly 200 fans in line to buy tickets. The ticket line still had more than 100 fans in it in the top of the second and nearly 50 fans in the top of the third, when the PA announcer asked fans to scoot closer together where possible to allow more people to get seated.

Here are the top 10 crowds at Tony Gwynn Stadium:
3,158 — New York Yankees 12, SDSU 3 (March 30, 1998, exhibition)
2,857 — Texas 9, SDSU 3 (Feb. 4, 2005)
2,353 — Texas 13, SDSU 5 (Feb. 5, 2005)
1,788 — Utah 2, SDSU 1 (Apr. 27, 2002)
1,549 — SDSU 6, Utah 5 (Apr. 28, 2002)
1,509 — USD 8, SDSU 4 (Apr. 15, 2003)
1,507 — SDSU 5, UC Riverside 4 (Feb. 5, 2002)
1,491 — SDSU 7, Fresno State 4 (May 15, 1997)
1,446 — SDSU 5, New Mexico 3 (May 3, 1997)
1,427 — SDSU 11, USD 2 (Feb. 22, 2008)

EDIT: In the eighth inning, attendance is announced at 2,102.

3RD INNING — UNLV gets a run back when Strasburg balks Thornton home from third base. Thornton would never have scored had SDSU shortstop Ryan O'Sullivan held onto a throw a few momets earlier when Thornton stole second base after walking. Thornton went to third on a single by Sferra. Strasburg adds to more strikeouts in the inning, but the strikeout streak ends at eight — at least momentarily — when Roundy grounds out to shortstop to end the inning.

4TH INNING — Strikeouts of Beake and Wight give Strasburg 10 for the evening — his fourth double-digit strikeout game in four starts this season — before Frierson ends the inning with a flyout to left field.

5TH INNING — Strasburg strikes out leadoff hitter Anthony Morel. Bryan Resnick then singles to right, but is eliminated on the front end of a double play when Thornton hits a grounder to shortstop.

6TH INNING — Sferra employs a new strategy when he swings at a wild pitch for strike three, then races to first when the ball bounces past Castro and goes to the backstop. Beuerlein then doubles to right field — perhaps the hardest hit ball this season against Strasburg — to score Sferra and make it 4-2. Strasburg gets out of it with a strikeout of Roundy, a popup to second base and a strikeout of Wight. That's 14 strikeouts in six innings.

7TH INNING — Strasburg doesn't strike out a batter in the inning, but the most concern comes when he slides into first base to make a putout on Resnick. Strasburg tweaks his left ankle slightly, visits with an SDSU trainer for a moment, then finishes out the inning.

8TH INNING — Chase Thomas replaces Strasburg for the Aztecs.

Strasburg's line for the game — 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 14 SO. That gives Strasburg 59 SO in 27 1/3 innings this season.

9TH INNING — UNLV rallies for a two-out run and has runners at first and second against SDSU closer Addison Reed. But Thornton lines out to O'Sullivan at shortstop and a moment later the Aztecs are standing in front of their dugout singing the fight song after another victory.

USD falls to Rice 9-2 in series opener

2009-03-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

USD dropped to .500 on the season with a 9-2 loss today at Rice in the opener of a four-game series between the teams.

Rice collected eight hits and eight runs (five earned) in 5 2/3 innings off USD starting pitcher Darrin Campbell (1-3). The No. 9-ranked Owls (9-5) led 4-0 through three innings before USD was able to put a run on the board. A three-run fifth inning by Rice made it 7-1 and all but put the game away.

The No. 20-ranked Toreros (8-8) committed an uncharacteristic four errors in the game.

USD's James Meador and Zach Walters each had two hits to lead the Toreros offense.

Friday's game begins at 4:30 p.m. here. Rice will have a live broadcast. Here's a LINK to the Rice page that should hook you up to either the Gametracker, Video or Audio of the game. Go to the NEXT EVENT box on the page and click on your preference.

SDSU beats UCLA 10-6 with big rally in ninth

2009-03-11T22:18:00.000-07:00

San Diego State posted one of its biggest rallies in the Tony Gwynn era tonight, and it came at the expense of a UCLA team that hasn't been able to do much of anything right this season.

The Aztecs rallied for six runs in the ninth inning for a 10-6 victory over the host Bruins at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins (3-11) had lost 10 straight games before Tuesday's 5-3 win over UC Santa Barbara. So much for putting that behind them. This one is going to sting for awhile.

Baseball America picked UCLA to win the Pac-10 this season, but the Bruins have stumbled out of the gate for the third straight year.

SDSU (8-6) had to rally throughout tonight's game just to have a chance in the ninth. After trailing 5-1 through five innings, the Aztecs scored once in the seventh and twice in the eighth. They came into the ninth inning trailing 6-4.

In the ninth, SDSU loaded the bases with a walk and a pair of singles. The Aztecs first run of the inning then scored on a wild pitch. Freshman first baseman Brandon Meredith drove in the tying and go-ahead runs with a double. Two more hits and a groundout produced three more runs for the Aztecs, who turned the lead over to closer Addison Reed to put the game away.

SDSU opens Mountain West Conference play this weekend with a three-game series against UNLV at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg takes the mound for the Aztecs at 6 p.m. in Friday's opener.

Is Strasburg the best there ever was?

2009-03-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

Buster Olney's COLUMN today at ESPN.com is on San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg and raises the question: Is Strasburg the best college pitcher ever?

At least one scouts thinks so.

MLB.com also takes a look at Strasburg in its first DRAFT REPORT, which leads off with analysis of the 2009 draft's consensus No. 1 overall pick.

Here's a BLOG POST I did last week that shows how Strasburg stacks up against some of the best pitchers in college history. He's on an early pace to do some amazing things. The numbers will be even more incredible if the Aztecs can somehow make it to the NCAA Tournament.

By the way, Strasburg earned conference and national Player of the Week honors for the second straight week in recognition of his 18-strikeout performance in last week's 5-3 win over USD.

Toreros beat SDSU 10-7 to avoid sweep

2009-03-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

RECAP
San Diego State commits five errors, USD collects 10 hits and the Toreros win 10-7 at Tony Gwynn Stadium to avoid a four-game sweep in the series. USD pitchers retire 15 straight SDSU batters over the final five innings. USD's Matt Thomson (2-0) goes eight innings and strikes a career-high nine batters for the win. Toreros closer A.J. Griffin pitches the ninth for his second save.

SDSU (7-6) next is at UCLA in a Wednesday night game before playing host to UNLV this weekend to open Mountain West Conference play. USD (8-6) goes to Long Beach State on Tuesday night before traveling to Rice for a four-game series.

PREGAME
USD and San Diego State conclude their four-game series today at 1 p.m. at SDSU's Tony Gwynn Stadium. The Aztecs (7-5) are trying to complete a four-game sweep. The No. 11-ranked Toreros (7-6) are trying to stay above .500 and gather themselves before hitting the road for a demanding week that includes a Tuesday game at Long Beach State followed by a four-game series at No. 9-ranked Rice.

Junior left-hander Nate Solow makes his first start this season for the Aztecs. Solow went 6-7 last season with a 4.24 ERA, 96 strikeouts and 31 walks in 91.1 innings. He is expected to be the team's No. 2 starter behind Stephen Strasburg. He was suspended the first two weeks of the season for a "violation of team rules."

USD is expected to start junior right-hander Matt Thomson, who is 1-0 with a 3.97 ERA, 18 strikeouts and 7 walks in 11.1 innings.

HERE WE GO
It's a beautiful afternoon for baseball — and lunch. The Tri-Tip from Hunter's Steakhouse is superb today (no compensation was provided for this endorsement) as we settle in. On Friday night, I got to the chuckwagon stand behind Tony Gwynn Stadium a few minutes after they closed down. Wasn't going to make that mistake today.

2ND INNING — USD catcher Nick McCoy singles in teammate Victor Sanchez with the game's first run, but SDSU comes right back in the bottom of the inning when Brandon Meredith (Montgomery High) jumps on the first pitch from Matt Thomson and rockets it over the left-field fence to make it 1-1. It is Meredith's first collegiate homer.

3RD INNING — SDSU falls behind by two runs with some sloppy play. USD's Steven Chatwood goes to first with one out after being hit by a pitch from Nate Solow. Sean Nicol follows with a deep drive to center field that goes off the glove of Pat Colwell and is ruled an error, putting runners at second and third. James Meador gets Chatwood home with a sacrifice fly to center. Solow strikes out Chris Engell, but the ball gets away from catcher Erik Castro and is ruled a wild pitch when Engell hustles down to first. USD coach Rich Hill has Engell steal second a couple of pitches later. Engell stops midway down the line, but Castro holds the ball a few steps in front of the plate, looks down to Nicol at third base and finally throws down to second. The Aztecs have Engell caught, but first baseman Guy Willeford drops the ball and Nicol comes home to make it 3-1. Whew!

4TH — The third inning was bad for the Aztecs, but the fourth was even worse. Much worse. SDSU made three errors — one by first baseman Willeford, one by second baseman Mitch Blackburn and one by shortstop Ryan O'Sullivan. Third baseman Easton Gust would have completed the all-error infield when he allowed a high foul popup to drop just in front of the third-base bag, but Gust was graciously excused for the misplay. When the dust settled, the Toreros had sent 11 batters to the plate, collected four hits and scored seven runs to make it 10-1. The big blows were back-to-back two-run doubles by Chatwood and Nicol. The Aztecs came back with two runs in the bottom of the inning on Meredith's two-run double to make it 10-3.

DEFENSIVE CHANGES FOR THE AZTECS — Apparently seeing enough of his infielders, SDSU coach Tony Gwynn moves Castro from behind the plate to first base (Chris Wilson goes in at catcher), replaces Blackburn with Zach Babitt at second base and O'Sullivan with Tyler Marmion at shortstop. And just for good measure, the Aztecs replace Brandon Decker with Jomel Torres in left field. Gust, at third base, somehow survives the infield purge.

5TH — SDSU restores order as reliever Goldy Simmons retires the Toreros in order on three infield grounders that are fielded flawlessly. The Aztecs chip away with a run-scoring double by Torres before Cory Vaughn launches a three-run homer to left field off Thomson that makes it 10-7. Vaughn, who hit a walk-off homer in the 10th inning Friday night to give SDSU a 6-4 win, makes it a game again.

SDSU bullpen keys 6-5 win over USD

2009-03-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

RECAP
San Diego State beats USD for the third straight day, taking a 6-5 win from the Toreros at Cunningham Stadium. USD scores five runs against SDSU starter Tyler Lavigne, who shut out the Toreros two weeks ago, but fails to score off the SDSU bullpen in the eighth inning after putting runners at first and third with no outs. Three SDSU relievers check USD on three hits over three shutout innings. It the fourth straight win for SDSU (7-5) this season against the Toreros (7-6). Lavigne (2-0) gets the win and Addison Reed records his fourth save.

PREGAME
It's Game 3 of the four-game series between San Diego State and No. 11-ranked USD at the Toreros' Cunningham Stadium. The Aztecs are going for their fourth straight win against the Toreros this season and seventh win in eight meetings dating to last year.

SDSU won the series opener 5-3 behind an 18-strikeout effort by Stephen Strasburg on Thursday and won 6-4 in 10 innings on Friday thanks to Cory Vaughn's walkoff homer.

USD sophomore left-hander Sammy Solis (1-0, 1.50 ERA, 9 SO/0 BB in 6.0 IP) returns to the mound after missing his last start with shoulder tendinitis. SDSU counters with Tyler Lavigne (1-0, 1.88 ERA, 10 SO/4 BB in 14.1 IP), who pitched a two-hit shutout against the Toreros here in the season's opening week as part of the MLB Urban Youth Academy Invitational.

HERE WE GO

1ST INNING — SDSU jumps on top 2-0, with Cory Vaughn's sacrifice fly and Brandon Meredith's single to right bringing in the runs. USD counters with a run in the bottom of the inning on James Meador's RBI single to right field to make it 2-1.

2ND INNING — The Aztecs add a run on Easton Gust's infield out to make it 3-1.

5TH INNING — USD's Austin Green scores from third when Haar hits into a double play. The Toreros knot the score 3-3 one batter later when Kevin Muno homers to left field.

6TH INNING — The Aztecs come right back, scoring three runs on five hits to make it 6-3. That will be it for Solis, who settles in after the second but isn't nearly as effective as he was in a season-opening win over Southern. In the bottom of the inning, Nicol leads off with a triple and scores on Sanchez's single to center. Sanchez scores one-out later on Zach Walters' sacrifice fly to center field to make it 6-5.

8TH — The Toreros keep grinding, getting a leadoff double by Chris Engell and an infield single by Green to put runners at the corners with no outs. SDSU goes to the bullpen for the second time, bringing in left-hander Craig Rasmussen. Pinch hitter Tony Strazzara strikes out swinging after getting ahead in the count 3-0. USD then tried squeezing in the tying run with Haar at the plate, but Rasmussen fields the ball and flips it with his glove to catcher Erik Castro who tags out Engell at the plate for the second out. Rasmussen has done his job. He hands the ball to Aztecs closer Addison Reed, who will be asked to get the final four outs. Reed starts Muno with two strikes and then gets him swinging on a fastball that tails outside to get out of the inning.

9TH INNING — Reed retires Chatwood on a fly to center, Meador on a strikeout, before Nicol drops a two-strike single into right field. That brings up the powerful Sanchez, who leads USD with three homers on the season. Nicol steals second on the first pitch to Sanchez to get into scoring position. It doesn't matter when Reed gets Sanchez to pop up to O'Sullivan at shortstop to end the game.

SDSU beats USD 6-4 on Vaughn's walkoff HR in 10th

2009-03-06T18:22:00.000-08:00

RECAP
SDSU's Cory Vaughn hits a 1-2 curveball from USD closer A.J. Griffin for a three-run, walkoff homer in the 10th inning at Tony Gwynn Stadium that gives the Aztecs a 6-4 victory. It is the third straight victory over the Toreros (7-5) for SDSU (6-5), giving the Aztecs the season series between the teams.

PREGAME

The four-game series between No. 11-ranked USD (7-4) and San Diego State (5-5) continues today with the series moving to Tony Gwynn Stadium.

USD's Kyle Blair (1-0, 4.05 ERA, 17 SO, 8 BB in 13.1 IP) takes the mound against SDSU's Jon Berger (0-2, 4.61 ERA, 9 SO, 0 BB in 13.2 IP)

The Aztecs have won two games against USD this season, beating them 3-0 two weeks ago behind a two-hitter by Tyler Lavigne and 5-3 yesterday in a game highlighted by Stephen Strasburg's 18-strikeout performance.

SDSU has won 5 of the past 6 meetings between the teams, including taking 3 of 4 last season. USD had dominated the season before that, winning 9 of 11 games.

Berger defeated USD last year in his first start as an Aztec, pitching seven shutout innings in which he allowed just four hits, walked one and struck out three. It was quite a contrast to the rest of the season for Berger, who finished with a 2-7 record and an 8.54 ERA.

A late-arriving crowd will swell to 1,089 by mid-game.

HERE WE GO

2ND INNING — The Aztecs take a 1-0 lead in the second inning when freshman Jomel Torres (Eastlke High) singles in teammate Cory Vaughn from second base. Vaughn opened the inning with a walk and got into scoring position at second base on an infield out.

3RD INNING — Berger checks the Toreros without a hit through the first three innings. A two-out walk to James Meador in the first inning is the Toreros' only base runner to this point. The Aztecs make it 2-0 in the bottom of the inning when Vaughn lines a Blair fastball to center field to score teammate Pat Colwell from second base.

4TH INNING — USD comes to life. Steven Chatwood opens the inning with a walk, then Meador gets the Toreros' first hit with a single to center that just eludes SDSU shortstop Ryan O'Sullivan. A balk moves the runners to second and third. Sean Nicol had been showing bunt at the plate, but now he is allowed to swing away and lines a double to left field that makes it 2-2. Nicol advanced to third on an infield out and then scored when O'Sullivan dropped a a fly ball in short left-center that would have ended the inning. Left fielder Brandon Decker should have called O'Sullivan off and made the play. Instead, the ball falls and USD leads 3-2.

7TH INNING — A potential inning-ending double play goes awry for USD, allowing the Aztecs to score the tying run to make it 3-3. Decker hit a sharp grounder to second that led to a force of Colwell, but Nicol's throw to first got by Zach Walters and allowed Zach Baitt to come home with the tying run. USD closer A.J. Griffin is on the mound now for the Toreros, having replaced Blair with one out in the inning. It's Griffin's first appearance in more than a week after sitting out with mild shoulder tendinitis.

8TH/9TH INNINGS — SDSU's Keegan Sharp and Griffin keep both sides scoreless to send the game into extra innings.

10TH INNING — Meador leads off the inning with a walk, moves to second base on a wild pitch that gets away from catcher Chris Wilson and comes home on Nicol's single to right-center to give the Toreros a 4-3 lead. Nicol stole second and third, but was then caught in a run-down on a squeeze play that went awry with Chris Engell at the plate. Engell singled to center a few moments later.

Griffin comes out for his fourth inning of work and walks leadoff hitter Brandon Decker on four stright pitches. USD coach Rich Hill comes out to talk to Griffin and his infielders before Mitch Blackburn steps to the plate. Griffin then walks Blackburn on four straight pitches. Griffin recovers to strike out O'Sullivan looking for the first out. Up steps Cory Vaughn, who quicky finds himself in an 0-2 hole. Griffin misses just outside with his next pitch, then Vaughn jumps on an offspeed pitch and launches it over the fence in left-center for a game-winning three-run homer. It is the only hit allowed by Griffin in three-plus innings on the mound.

The 6-4 win is the third straight victory for SDSU (6-5) over the Toreros (7-5) this season.

The teams meet again Saturday at 1 p.m. at USD's Cunningham Stadium.

Matusz putting up O's in spring training

2009-03-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

The Baltimore Orioles don't want to rush former USD ace Brian Matusz, the O's first-round pick last June, but Matusz seems like he's in a hurry to get to the major leagues.

Matusz pitched three scoreless innings yesterday in a spring game against the Marlins. The left-hander from Cave Creek, Ariz., has yet to allow a run in three spring appearances (including one against the Italian national team) this year.

The Orioles are trying to get Matusz to develop his fastball and changeup, as The Baltimore Sun mentioned in
THIS REPORT on Matusz this morning.

Here's a link to some PHOTOS of Matusz tracing his journey so far from USD to this spring in Florida. I would have thought the Orioles could get him a lower number than 86. Then again, maybe it's his favorite number. I'll have to ask.

By the way, No. 17, the number Matusz wore for three years at USD, is on the back of Orioles DH Aubrey Huff.

Strasburg and strikeouts

2009-03-05T21:14:00.000-08:00

A few thoughts and notes following Stephen Strasburg's 18-strikeout performance today in San Diego State's 5-3 win at USD:

What we're seeing here, folks, is history. This is one of the most exciting aspects of college baseball, being able to watch a player take the national stage right before your eyes. We saw it last season at USD with Brian Matusz and Josh Romanski. This alredy is bigger.

Word has spread on Strasburg. An overflow crowd of 1,117 showed up at USD, a gathering I have not witnessed there since top-ranked Texas came to town three years ago.

If the crowds at San Diego State are not approaching 3,000 by the end of the season, then something is wrong. Heck, they should get nearly 500 a game just for the Tri-Tip ($9 with beans and potato salad).

IN THREE GAMES, Strasburg has struck out 26 of the 27 players he has faced in the starting lineup. Nevada's Shaun Kort is the only player who has avioded being a strikeout victim.

Strasburg's career strikeout numbers and averages:
2007 — 47 SO in 37 IP or 1.27 SO/inning (25 appearances, all in relief)
2008 — 133 SO in 97.1 IP or 1.37 SO/inning (13 appearances, all starts)
2009 — 45 SO in 20.1 IP or 2.21 SO/ining (three starts)

— Strasburg opened the season ranked No. 15 on SDSU's career strikeout list with 180. He struck out 27 batters in first two starts, passing Rory Shortell (192), Norm Marr (194), Noel Mickelson (195), Tom Biscotti (205) to move into 11th place. With 18 strikeouts against USD, Strasburg passed Bob Cluck (209), Bill Blount (219), Rob Brown (221) and Erik Plantenberg (224) to move into seventh.

Here are the six SDSU pitchers still ahead of him:

304 — Bruce Billings
299 — Mike Erb
243 — Rick Navarro
237 — Bill Ruzich
228 — Brian Scott
227 — Jeremy Cook

THE TWO TOP SEASONS this decade — heck, two of the best years in NCAA history — have been by USC's Mark Prior (who graduated from University of San Diego High School) in 2001 and Long Beach State's Jered Weaver in 2004.

Here are their numbers from those seasons:

PRIOR: 15-1 record, 20 G, 138.2 IP, 1.69 ERA, 202 SO, 18 BB

WEAVER: 15-1 record 19 G, 144 IP, 1.62 ERA, 213 SO, 21 BB

There was no universal start date until last season (don't get me started on that), so Prior and Weaver had the advantage of making more starts with the regular season spread over four more weeks. In addition, the Trojans advanced to the College World Series, so Prior was able to make three postseason starts, and the Dirtbags made it to the Super Regonals, so Weaver got two more starts. Prior needed that last CWS start against Georgia to break the 200-strikeout mark.

At Strasburg's current pace, he would have 215 strikeouts if he pitches the same number of innings (97.1) as last season. Prior's SO/BB ratio of 11.22 was absurd and Weaver's 10.14 wasn't far behind. Strasburg's was 8.31 (133 SO/16BB) last season. It is 11.25 (45 SO/4 BB) in the early going this year.

THE SINGLE-SEASON NCAA RECORD for strikeouts is 234 by Hawaii's Derek Tatsuno in 1979. Of course, that was before the NCAA limited schools to a 56-game regular season and teams could play virtually as many games as they wanted (former SDSU shortstop Rigo Rodriguez holds a record that can't be broken — 90 games played in 1982).

The pitchers who have recorded at least 200 strikeouts in a season:

234 — Derek Tatsuno, Hawaii (1979, 22 G, 174.1 IP)
229 — Gary Gentry, Arizona St. (1967, 22 174.0 IP)
220 — Mike Loynd, Florida St. (1986, 25 G, 164.0 IP)
217 — Evan Thomas, Florida Int’l (1996, 20 G, 146.2 IP)
217 — Floyd Bannister, Arizona St. (1975, 21 G, 157.1 IP)
213 — Jered Weaver, Long Beach St. (2004, 19 G, 144.0 IP)
213 — Floyd Bannister, Arizona St. (1976, 25 G, 186.0 IP)
213 — Eddie Bane, Arizona St. (1972, 20 G, 144.0 IP)
208 — Brian Barnes, Clemson (1989, 23 G, 146.0 IP)
205 — John Hoover, Fresno St. (1984, 22 G, 176.2 IP)
204 — Kris Benson, Clemson (1996, 19 G, 156.0 IP)
204 — Greg Swindell, Texas (1985, 26 G, 172.0 IP)
202 — Mark Prior, Southern California (2001, 20 G, 138.2 IP)
202 — Ben McDonald, LSU (1989, 26 G, 152.1 IP)
202 — Richie Lewis, Florida St. (1986, 28 G, 127.0 IP)

The biggest thing that stands out to me is how many more innings it took these guys to get into the 200-club than it will take Strasburg at this pace. Even if his pace slows, as it likely will, he should still approach 200 strikeouts.

One other thing: What in the heck was Floyd Bannister doing throwing 186 innings in 1976?

THE NCAA RECORD for strikeouts/9 innings is 16.8 by Houston's Ryan Wagner (148 in 79.1 IP) in 2003. Strasburg is averaging 19.9 strikeouts/9 innings through the season's first three games.

I would include more numbers, but my head might explode.

Strasburg turns in 18K performance in 5-3 SDSU win

2009-03-05T13:55:00.000-08:00

RECAP
San Diego State All-American Stephen Strasburg strikes out 18, allows five hits and two runs over 8 innings in the Aztecs' 5-3 win over No. 11-ranked USD. It is the most strikeouts ever at the Toreros' Cunningham Stadium, eclipsing the mark of 16 strikeouts posted last season by USD ace Brian Matusz.

PREGAME

San Diego State and USD open a four-game series today with a 2 p.m. start at the Toreros' Cunningham Stadium.

Junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg (2-0, 1.46 ERA, 27 SO in 12.1 IP) will be on the mound for the Aztecs. USD sends right-hander Scott DeNault (2-0, 1.86 ERA, 6 SO in 9.2 IP) to the mound for his first career start.

Strasburg's coming out party was in the 2008 season opener against USD when he outdueled Toreros ace Brian Matusz in his first collegiate start. Strasburg went eight innings, allowing two runs and five hits with seven strikeouts in an 11-2 Aztecs win. That game was at SDSU's Tony Gwynn Stadium. This is Strasburg's first start at USD.

Strasburg struck out 16 in his last start, a 5-2 home victory last week against Nevada. Strasburg was clocked at 102 mph on one radar gun, and I'll try to peek over the shoulders of a few scouts this afternoon to see how fast he's bringing it.

DeNault has finished his warmup pitches and we're underway.

FIRST INNING
DeNault gets out of the first without allowing a run, stranding SDSU's Brandon Decker at third base. Decker tripled with one out when USD center fielder Kevin Muno allowed a sun ball to get over his head.

The crowd, swelling to near capacity as Strasburg approaches the mound, gets louder in anticipation of the All-American's first pitch. Strasburg makes quick work of leadoff hitter Muno for his first strikeout. Steven Chatwood gets a quick strike, prompting one fan to yell out, "Show bunt. It's your only chance." Two pitches later Chatwood walks back to the dugout as Strasburg's second strikeout vicim. USD's James Meador then grounds a ball to first base and SDSU's Brandon Meredith takes it himself to end the inning.

More than two dozen scouts line the second and third rows in the stands, many of them with speed guns. Strasburg is clocked at 99 mph by most (one guy had him at 100 mph).

RANDOM ASIDE: SDSU's Ryan O'Sullivan fouled off a ball in the top of the first that just missed USD pitching coach Eric Valenzuela's Envoy parked just beyond the Toreros bullpen down the left-field line. It's a danger zone for foul balls. Valenzuela must have a zero deductible on his SUV.

SECOND INNING
The Aztecs take a 1-0 lead on Decker's infield chopper with the bases loaded.

USD came right back in the bottom of the inning when Sean Nicol led off with a booming double that got over the head of SDSU center fielder Pat Colwell and Victor Sanchez singled to center to bring Nicol home. Strasburg got out of the inning with a double play and a strikeout.

Get this: DeNault, using an effective curveball had four strikeouts in two innings. Strasburg had three.

THIRD INNING
Strasburg struck out Tony Strazzara to open the bottom of the third before No. 9 hitter Nick McCoy jumps on a fastball and sends it sailing over the left-field fence for a 2-1 Toreros lead. McCoy sprints around first before going into a trot around second. SDSU pitching coach Rusty Filter visits Strasurg, who walks the next hitter, Muno. Muno steals second. After Chatwood strikes out, Meador lines a single to right field. SDSU's Cory Vaughn comes up throwing and his throws nails Muno at the plate to end the inning.

SDSU wanted to set the tone for this four-game series by starting Strasburg here, but the No. 11-ranked Toreros have gone right after him. Meanwhile, USD is on its third pitcher in four innings as Chris Jensen and Darrin Campbell follow DeNault to the mound.

Buoyed by the 2-1 lead, a USD fan shouts out: "This isn't the Mountain West. The closest you're getting to Omaha is Utah."

FOURTH INNING
A double play prevents the Aztecs from getting anything going in the top of the inning. Strasburg retires the side in order in the bottom, getting the last two batters swinging to give him seven strikeouts.

FIFTH INNING
SDSU ties it 2-2 when O'Sullivan's two-out single to left field scores teammate Easton Gust from third. Strasburg retires the side in order again, and he again gets the last two batters on strikeouts. He catches McCoy looking this time around.

SIXTH INNING
The Aztecs load the bases with two singles and a walk, then take a 4-2 lead on singles by Colwell and Decker. Strasburg takes it from there, striking out all three hitters he faces in the bottom of the sixth to give him 12 strikeouts for the game. After struggling a bit early on, Strasburg is sailing now. He has retired nine straight batters — seven on strikeouts.

SEVENTH INNING
Strasburg strikes out the side again, giving him 15 for the game. With 106 pitches, the only question is whether he will come out for the eighth.

EIGHTH INNING
Strasburg does return. And why not? He strikes out Jon Hotta, McCoy and Muno (who reaches on a drpped third strike) before Chatwood flies to center to end the inning. That's 18 strikeouts.

NINTH INNING
The Aztecs add an insurance run to make it 5-2.

SDSU closer Addison Reed replaces Strasburg.

Strasburg's line for the afternoon: 8 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 18 SO, 1 BB. He threw 116 pitches, including 79 for strikes.

Reed allows Meador's infield single and Sean Nicol's looping single to center. But Victor Sanchez flies out to right field, Engell looks at a called third strike for the second out. Walters singles in Meador to make it 5-3. Reed gets two quick strikes on pinch hitter Bryan Haar, wastes a pitch outside, then gets Haar swinging to end the game.

Fullerton beats Aztecs again

2009-03-03T20:04:00.000-08:00

It wasn't as sloppy as last week, but the result was the same.

No. 7-ranked Cal State Fullerton defeated San Diego State 7-2 Tuesday at Tony Gwynn Stadium, returning to the scene of last week's 8-6 Titans win.

Last week's game was marked by mistakes — on both sides — the Aztecs just made more of them than Fullerton did.

The Aztecs (4-5) got out to a 2-0 lead tonight, scoring on two-out singles by Brandon Decker and Mitch Blackburn. SDSU got just two more hits — Guy Willeford's single in the seventh and Matt Parker's single in the ninth — the rest of the way.

SDSU freshman right-hander Ryan O'Sullivan, who made his first career here against the Titans last week, cruised through the first three innings, allowing just a second-inning single. Fullerton pushed a run across against O'Sullivan in the fourth, however, slicing into a 2-0 Aztecs lead. The Titans added three more runs in the third off the Valhalla High alum. He wasn't hit hard (three singles), but the Titans (6-2) used the hit-and-run effectively to make something happen.

O'Sullivan's line last night: 6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO.

The numbers were similar last week — 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO — but O'Sullivan appeared more composed this time around. His progress bears watching this season.

Now about that offense . . .

Toreros make it four in a row

2009-03-03T19:03:00.000-08:00

Is no comfortable lead going to be safe this season for USD?

Not until the middle relief improves. The Toreros watched early leads dwindle in the season's first two games against Southern and Bethune-Cookman. USD held on to win both games, so not much was made of it. There is something of a trend developing here, however.

The No. 11-ranked Toreros built an early 11-run lead Tuesday against Western Carolina at Cunningham Stadium, then watched the Catamounts rally for seven straight runs before order was restored. USD won 14-7 for its fourth straight victory.

The Toreros (7-3) scored six runs in the first inning against Western Carolina right-hander Matt Benedict, who got his first start after compiling a 0.00 ERA in three relief appearances that covered four innings. Back to the bullpen?

You had to know it wasn't Benedict's day the way the game began. Kevin Muno beat out a grounder to third base to open the game; Steven Chatwood hit a grounder to the hole at short for another infield single, then James Meador placed a bunt just past Benedict on the third-base side of the mound for a single. The bases were loaded and the Toreros had not even gotten the ball out of the infield.

That changed when Victor Sanchez hit a ball to right field that just kept carrying — all the way over the fence for a grand slam.

This was going to be a game in which the Toreros used much of their second-tier pitching in order to save the best arms for this weekend's four-game series against San Diego State. Still . . .

Western Carolina rallied for five runs against Matt Hauser and added two more against Scott DeNault, who had been stellar in the early going. DeNault had not allowed a run this season and picked up wins in both ends of a double-header sweep Saturday against Kansas State and Nevada. He walked the first two hitters he faced against the Catamounts.

Matt Thomson was expected to be USD's starter for Thursday's game against SDSU, but the Toreros needed him to get the final four outs against Western Carolina.

Does that mean a Kyle Blair-Stephen Strasburg matchup at Cunningham Stadium? We'll see.

USD was encouraged to see the bats going. The Toreros collected 16 hits in the game, including four by Chatwood and three by Sean Nicol. They also stole eight bases, including three by Nicol.

Notable also was the first appearance by freshman Bryan Haar (Grossmont High), who started at first base. Haar has been slowed by a hamstring injury, which is probably why he was pulled for a pinch runner in the fifth inning.

Strasburg named Pitcher of the Week

2009-03-02T20:46:00.000-08:00

San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg earned conference and national Pitcher of the Week honors for his 16-strikeout performance on Thursday night in the Aztecs' 5-2 win over Nevada.

The Mountain West Conference selected Strasburg one week after bestowing the same honor on teammate Tyler Lavigne for his two-hit shutout of USD. This is the ninth time Strasburg has been the MWC Pitcher of the Week in his two-plus seasons at SDSU. He received the honor seven times last year, including five weeks in a row.

The Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week is through Collegiate Baseball magazine. It is the fourth time Strasburg has been selected for that award.

Strasburg is 2-0 this season with a 1.46 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings.

His next scheduled start is Thursday in a 2 p.m. game at USD.

UCSD's Kehoe CCAA Player of the Week

2009-03-02T19:40:00.000-08:00

UCSD's Evan Kehoe (Mira Mesa High) earned Wilson/California Collegiate Athletic Association Player of the Week after leading the Tritons to three victories last week against Cal State Los Angeles.

Kehoe had 10 hits in his first 11 at-bats. The sophomore first baseman collected at least two RBI in each game of the series. He was 11-for-17 in the four games with 11 RBI.

No. 17-ranked UCSD is now 10-4 on the season and 7-1 in CCAA play heading into this weekend's four-game series at defending conference champion Sonoma State.

What to make of the Toreros

2009-03-02T09:13:00.000-08:00

USD is sitting at 6-3 following the first two weeks of the season, riding a three-game winning streak and still ranked No. 11 in the nation by Baseball America.

That's all well and good, but it hides the fact that the Toreros are still searching to find answers in key areas. USD coach Rich Hill loves to tinker with his club (especially the batting order) even in good times, so there's no telling how much he will move the parts around.

The biggest concern in my mind is where the team is supposed to be so deep — the pitching staff. It's sporting a 4.95 ERA in nine games, which can partly be explained away by the competition. Oklahoma can bang. But the pitchers have hit 23 batters already and walked 34 more. That's six base runners a game they're allowing without making hitters earn their way on.

Sammy Solis is reportedly experiencing some tendinitis and Kyle Blair hasn't found his groove yet, so the Toreros' projected No. 1 and No. 2 starters are a question mark. The middle relief has been spotty at best, failing to stop the bleeding in an 11-2 loss to Oklahoma and a 14-6 loss to Pacific last week.

There have been bright spots. SCOTT DeNAULT (2-0) has not allowed a run in four relief appearances covering eight innings. Matt Hauser has compiled a 2.89 ERA in three appearances (one start) covering 9 1/3 innings.

The offense lacks for power — third baseman Victor Sanchez has two of the team's five homers — so the Toreros have to make up for it with execution, timely hits and heads up base-running. It doesn't help that two of the players who had breakout seasons a year ago, first baseman Jose Valerio and catcher Nick McCoy, have struggled at the plate in the early going. McCoy's defense will keep in the lineup to some degree, although junior Steven Chatwood has come on. Valerio will have to get it going before too long, or Hill will move someone else into the lineup.

Pleasant surprises early on have been junior transfer CHRIS ENGELL (.391, 5 RBI), who is settling in at second base, Chatwood (.381) and sophomore Tony Strazzara (.308), two returners who saw limited playing time a year ago and freshman outfielder Austin Green (.267), who has seized an opportunity afforded by injury.

Nine games is much too early to pass judgment. Heck, USD was under .500 (5-6) after 11 games last year and went on to the best record in school history.

Just saying what I'm seeing.

ASU's Leake takes no-hitter into 8th vs. Missouri

2009-02-28T12:13:00.000-08:00

Right-hander Mike Leake, the pride of Fallbrook High, carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning on Friday against Missouri before the Tigers' Andrew Thigpen doubled to break it up. Leake got three straight outs after that and left after eight innings with a 2-0 lead

Baseball America's John Manuel was at the game on the first day of the DeMarini Invitational and watched Leake win the duel against Missouri's Kyle Gibson. Leake, the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year last year, is already 2-0 this season. He came into the season with a 24-5 career record, one of only three Sun Devils pitchers to win 20+ games coming into their junior year.

Here's the link to Manuel's report: LEAKE STORY

BA ranks Leake No. 22 among its top 100 College Prospects.

Strasburg deals against Nevada

2009-02-26T18:41:00.000-08:00

San Diego State junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg had it going in his 2009 home debut against Nevada, striking out 16 batters in 6 2/3 innings and clocking 102 mph on the radar gun in SDSU's 5-2 win Thursday night at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

Strasburg struck out the side in the first, third, fifth and sixth innings. He allowed a one-out single to right field by Nevada's Brett Hart in the second inning. Hart was erased on an attempted steal of second, meaning Strasburg had still pitched to the minimum. Rght fielder Cory Vaughn drop a fly ball that would have ended the fourth, allowing the Wolf Pack to extend the inning with a single by Shaun Kort before Strasburg struck out Brett Hart to get out of it. Nick Malino singled in the fifth for Nevada's third hit.

The Aztecs broke through for three runs in the third — all with two outs — on a wild pitch and a two-run single by freshman Brandon Meredith. SDSU added two more runs in the fifth.

That was more than enough offense the way Strasburg was throwing. He departed with two outs in the seventh after allowing two runs on a two-out walk, a double and a single that made it 5-2.

Strasburg's line for the game — 6 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 16 SO, 1 BB.

Strasburg struck out 11 last week in the season-opener, a 6-3 win over Bethune Cookman at the MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton. He struck out every starter in the lineup at least once, although he had to work at times to stay in command. He topped out at 99 mph against Bethune Cookman. Word is that he hit 102 mph on back-to-back pitches during an intersquad three weeks ago. Strasburg did it for the first time — seven times, actually — in a game tonight against Nevada.

More on Strasburg's velocity here in the game story I did for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Strasburg's next scheduled outing is Thursday, March 5, in a 2 p.m. game at USD.

Lavigne earns MWC Pitcher of the Week

2009-02-23T16:35:00.000-08:00

San Diego State junior right-hander Tyler Lavigne was named Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week for the two-hit shutout he tossed Sunday in the Aztecs' 3-0 victory over 11th-ranked USD.

Lavigne, a transfer from the College of Southern Nevada, allowed only four balls to be hit out of the infield, three of them fly balls caught for outs. He retired the first nine batters he faced before allowing up an infield single open the fourth inning. That base runner was short-lived, however, as a double play and strikeout ended the inning.

Lavigne, using an excellent sinker, got 18 ground ball outs. He struck out five and walked one.

Observations from opening weekend

2009-02-23T08:14:00.000-08:00

It seems like the opening weekend of the 2009 season took forever to get here. And it did. Darn universal start date (two years ago USD and San Diego State had played more than a dozen games by this point). But that's an old rant. What's new? Here's a few observations:

— Friday's season opener gave us the first glimpse of SDSU All-American Stephen Strasburg, and the junior right-hander from West Hill High didn't disappoint. Strasburg opened the game with a 98 mph fastball, touched 99 later in the inning and dominated Bethune Cookman. And it wasn't as if Strasburg was in midseason form. He struggled more with his .

— There were several memorable moments Saturday at the MLB Urban Youth Academy, from Duke Snider and Frank Robinson throwing out first pitches to the Bethune Cookman and Southern marching bands entertaining the crowd. The 60-member Bethune band, accompanied by four gyrating dancers, livened things up along the third-base line adjacent to the USD dugout. They were all over Toreros shortstop Sean Nicol whenever he jogged back to the dugout after an at-bat, giving Nicol his marching orders: "left, right, left, right, left, right. . . ." Among those introduced during the day was actor James Van Der Beek. His baseball connection wasn't clear. I don't recall ever seeing him swing a bat on "Dawson's Creek." He did make a pitch for Katie Holmes, though.

— The Toreros have high hopes this season for USD sophomore right-hander Kyle Blair, but he was plagued Saturday against Bethune Cookman with the inconsistency that marked his freshman season last year. He hit three batters in the first inning, and was further hindered by the plate umpire's inability to identify the strike zone. Blair bears watching to see how quickly he can get it together. When he was good last year, he was great.

— A couple of local freshmen made impressive debuts. USD's Austin Green (Patrick Henry), who got an opportunity with teammate Bryan Haar (Grossmont) nursing a sore hamstring, collected a few hits to make a case for a regular spot in the starting lineup. SDSU's Ryan O'Sullivan stood out defensively at shortstop. It's early — real early — but O'Sullivan has the potential to be something special for the Aztecs before he's done.

— If SDSU junior right-hander Tyler Lavigne is even close to as good this season as he was in pitching a two-hitter Sunday at USD, then the Aztecs' starting rotation could have the depth to carry the club to the postseason for the first time since 1991.

SDSU's Lavigne two-hits USD

2009-02-22T20:28:00.000-08:00

San Diego State junior right-hander Tyler Lavigne was a bundle of nerves warming up in the bullpen before yesterday’s game against USD.

“I get nervous,” said Lavigne, a transfer from College of Southern Nevada who was making his first start in an Aztecs uniform.
Lavigne said he sometimes needs 20 minutes of pregame throwing on the sidelines “to get all my adrenaline out.”
When Lavigne took the mound against the Toreros he said he was still shaking, although he could have fooled anyone watching.

Lavigne sure fooled the No. 11-ranked Toreros, tossing a two-hit shutout in the Aztecs’ 3-0 win as a near-capacity crowd of 717 looked on under a canopy of clouds at Cunningham Stadium.

“He just threw strikes,” said USD coach Rich Hill. “Everything was at the knees. When you locate underneath the kneecaps to both sides of the plate, good things are going to happen. We just pounded the ball into the ground all game long.”

Lavigne pitched to just two batters over the minimum through the first six innings. An infield single by Kevin Muno in the fourth inning was the Toreros’ only hit before Steven Chatwood’s two-out double in the seventh.

“He kept the ball down in the zone all day and threw a good mix of pitches,” said Muno “We couldn’t really guess on any pitches.”

The Aztecs (2-1) collected eight hits off three USD pitchers, who combined to hit six batters. Jomel Torres led SDSU with two hits and teammate Easton Gust had two RBI.

SDSU scored single runs in the third, fourth and sixth innings and could have (should have?) had more but for two double plays turned by the Toreros (2-1).

It didn’t matter the way Lavigne was pitching. He never labored during a 105-pitch outing in which he faced the minimum six times — including the eighth and ninth innings — and never faced more than four batters in an inning.

Lavigne, who struck out five and walked one, said his recipe for success was simple: “Keep the ball low, get ground balls and not stress out too much.”

Utilizing his command and a strong sinkerball will make Lavigne a nice compliment to hard-throwing Stephen Strasburg and Nate Solow at the top of the SDSU rotation.

It also will ratchet up this rivalry.

USD had dominated the series in recent years, winning nine of 11 games before the Aztecs won three of four games to open the 2008 season.

“It really hadn’t been a rivalry until last year,” said SDSU coach Tony Gwynn. “USD had pounded us pretty good. Last year we were able to turn it around a little bit. Anytime these two teams get together it’s going to be competitive and spirited.”

The teams meet for a four-game series March 5-8.

Perhaps USD will have figured out Lavigne by then. The Toreros sure had no answers against him yesterday.

USD rallies for second straight win

2009-02-21T20:26:00.000-08:00

COMPTON — For the second straight day, No. 11-ranked USD built a big early lead and needed every bit of it.
The Toreros led by six runs early against Bethune Cookman on the way to a 9-6 victory Saturday afternoon at the MLB Urban Youth Academy Invitational.

USD’s first three hitters reached base off Bethune Cookman starting pitcher Eric Thomas, and all three came around to score to provide an early 3-0 lead for the Toreros (2-0).

Kevin Muno singled to start the game, James Meador then walked and Victor Sanchez followed with a single to score Muno with the game’s first run. Meador scored on Nick McCoy’s grounder to shortstop and Sanchez scored on Jose Valerio’s sacrifice fly to center field.

Although staked to the early lead, USD sophomore right-hander Kyle Blair had troubles of his own in the first inning, hitting three batters. The Wildcats scored one run in the inning to make it 3-1, but Blair avoided further damage by striking out Alejandro Sanchez to end the inning with the bases loaded.

USD padded its lead to 5-1 in the third on RBI singles by Zach Walters and Austin Green.

Blair sailed through the next two innings, retiring the side in order in both the second and the third.

The 60-member Bethune Cookman marching band sat in the stands adjacent to the USD dugout along the third base line and entertained fans between innings. Band members also playfully chided the Toreros, including chanting “left, right, left, right, left, right” whenever shortstop Sean Nicol jogged back to the dugout after at-bats.

Muno led off the fourth inning with a home run to right-center field on an 0-2 pitch from Thomas. Two batters later, Sanchez launched a deep home run to left field that made it 7-1. Band members didn’t have much to say about that.

Bethune Cookman got back in the game in the bottom of the fourth when an error by Valerio at first base and back-to-back walks loaded the bases with no outs to fuel a five-run rally that made it 7-6.

Blair, who allowed four hits, six runs (five earned) and struck out five, gave way to Matt Thomson in the sixth inning.
Thomson restored order, pitching four scoreless innings for the save. Thomson allowed just one hit and struck out six.

USD got some breathing room in the eighth inning when Meador greeted reliever Justin Dahl with a two-out triple that scored Green and Muno to make it 9-6.

Muno led the Toreros with three hits. Meador and Sanchez had two RBI apiece.

USD plays host to San Diego State on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Cunningham Stadium.

Strasburg gets off to strong start

2009-02-20T20:21:00.000-08:00

COMPTON — San Diego State right-hander Stephen Strasburg set the bar so high for himself last season that outstanding has been reduced to routine.

Strasburg clocked 98 mph with his first pitch in yesterday’s season opener against Bethune Cookman. No big deal. He routinely registers triple digits on the radar gun.

Strasburg had 11 strikeouts against the Wildcats — getting every player in the starting lineup at least once. Ho hum. That’s not even half as many strikeouts (23) as Strasburg had last year against Utah.

At least Bethune Cookman made Strasburg break a sweat in SDSU’s 6-3 win over the Wildcats in the MLB Urban Youth Academy Invitational.

“The second inning on they really made him work,” said SDSU coach Tony Gwynn. “You figure that’s what people are going to do. They’re not going to throw in the towel just because he’s throwing hard. But Strassy struck with his guns. He kept pounding the strike zone. I thought he threw the ball well.”

Said Strasburg: “They’re a (regular) Regional team. They hung in there against me and I was able to get some tough outs in key situations. . . . I wanted them to show me they could hit my good stuff. I really just challenged them all game.”

The Aztecs batted around in the second inning, collecting five hits and four runs — beginning with T.J. Thomas’ leadoff homer — against Wildcats starter Hiram Burgos. Burgos came in with pretty good credentials himself — 9-1 with a 1.58 ERA last season — but he couldn’t match Strasburg.

“I don’t think our guys were intimidated or overmatched by the No. 1 pitcher in the nation,” said Bethune Cookman coach Mervyl Melendez. “We just have to take advantage of our opportunities when they present themselves against a pitcher like that.

“He’s not used to being behind, of course. One base hit in the first inning changes how he pitches. We just needed to do a better job early on and get in his head a little bit to see how he reacts to adversity.”

The closest Strasburg came to adversity when he allowed runners to reach second and third with two outs in the first. He promptly struck out the Wildcats’ Chris Brown to end the threat.

Strasburg had a shutout going through 5 2/3 innings before Brown dropped a single in front of SDSU right fielder Cory Vaughn to make it 4-1. It was the last of 105 pitches thrown by Strasburg, who allowed three hits, two walks and the one run.

Bethune Cookman got two hits with two outs in the ninth against SDSU closer Addison Reed to bring the tying run to the plate before Reed got Alejandro Jimenez to fly out to shortstop Ryan O’Sullivan to end the game.

Aztecs aim to end postseason drought

2009-02-20T16:10:00.000-08:00

The Mountain West Conference was created 10 years ago and over the past decade it has never received an at-large berth to the NCAA Regionals in baseball.

In fact, the conference didn’t even get an automatic berth when it debuted in 2000. And guess who would have gone to the playoffs that season?
San Diego State.

The Aztecs won the inaugural MWC tournament championship, but the NCAA didn’t give automatic berths to first-year conferences. Figures.

SDSU has been outside looking in ever since. It’s been one thing or another — porous defense, subpar pitching , sluggish offense, take your pick — that has dashed the Aztecs’ postseason hopes.

A generation has now passed since SDSU’s most recent postseason appearance in 1991.

SDSU coach Tony Gwynn thinks about it all the time.

“Every day,” said Gwynn, whose team went 31-28 last season. “That’s never going to change. Obviously, that’s what you want to do. That’s your goal.”

The Aztecs take the first step toward that goal this afternoon when they open the 2009 season against Bethune Cookman at the MLB Urban Youth Academy Invitational in Compton.

Junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg, the nation’s top-rated pitcher, will be on the mound for SDSU .

“Obviously, having a guy like Strasburg on your staff is a huge thing,” said Gwynn. “But he’s got enough pressure already. We’re just asking him to lead our young guys and give us a chance to win.

“Everybody points the finger at Stephen being the saviour, but we have to get production from everybody.”

Pitching should be the team’s strength. Junior left-hander Nate Solow, who would be the ace of many staffs, is the Aztecs’ No. 2 starter. Senior right-hander Jon Berger also is an experienced starter. Freshman right-hander Ryan O’Sullivan figures to get weekday starts, but could pitch himself into the weekend rotation. And sophomore right-hander Addison Reed acquitted himself well in the closer’s role last season.

“We feel like our strength is our pitching,” said Gwynn. “Offensively, you just don’t know until you play somebody.”
Senior C/3B Erik Castro (.25, 5 HR, 29 RBI), junior OF Pat Colwell (.313, 3 HR, 25 RBI), INF/OF Brandon Decker (.325, 23 RBI) and sophomore OF Cory Vaughn (.243, 6 HR, 28 RBI) are returning starters.

Highy-regarded freshmen O’Sullivan (Valhalla High) and Brandon Meredith (Montgomery High) have earned starting spots at shortstop and first base, respectively.

Others must step up, however, if the Aztecs are to end the stranglehold TCU has held on the MWC title since the Horned Frogs joined the conference three years ago.
In a preseason coaches/media poll, TCU was selected to win the MWC once again. The Aztecs were picked for second place.

“We’ve come out of the gate playing pretty good baseball the last couple of years,” said Gwynn. “We just haven’t been able to finish.

“So if we’re going to struggle, I’d rather struggle early and play good late.”

NOTABLE

— The offense went AWOL in the closing weeks of both the 2007 and 2008 seasons. A search party has been dispatched. It will report back in May.

— Middle defense has been a strong suit the past two years, but the core up the middle — shortstop Ryan O’Sullivan, second baseman Mitch Blackburn and center fielder Pat Colwell — is all new.

— O’Sullivan, a freshman from Valhalla High, is positioned to make quite an impact as the team’s starting shortstop, No. 4 starting pitcher and key offensive contributor.

Toreros re-arm with Solis, Blair

2009-02-20T15:48:00.000-08:00

Pitchers Brian Matusz and Josh Romanski led USD to a national profile the past three years, particularly last season when the Toreros came within a win of reaching the NCAA Super Regionals.

Nearly half of the Toreros’ school-record 44 victories in 2008 came with either Matusz (12-2) or Romanski (9-1) on the mound. Romanski also was one of the Toreros’ top hitters.

Now that the left-handers have moved on — Matusz with the Baltimore Orioles organization and Romanski with the Milwaukee Brewers — it is time for someone else to take the ball and throw with it.

“You can’t replace those guys,” said USD coach Rich Hill. “The other guys are going to have to take the opportunity to step up.
“In a tradition-rich program — look to USC football as the model — somebody’s ready to step in every single year. At a private school with limited resources like us, it’s difficult to do. . . . We’re not deep. We have a small roster where we pour our scholarship money into a few guys and roll with it.”

Sophomores Sammy Solis, a left-hander from Arizona, and Kyle Blair, a right-hander from Northern California, were eased into the mix a year and responded well. Ready or not, Solis and Blair will be front and center this season.

The Toreros, ranked No. 11 in Baseball America’s preseason rankings, open the 2009 season on Friday against Southern University at the MLB Urban Youth Academy Tournament in Compton. Solis (3-1, 3.83 ERA, 42 SO/49.1 IP in 2008) will be on the mound against Southern. Blair (8-4, 3.86 ERA, 99 SO/74.2 IP) follows the next day against Bethune Cookman.

“They are quite large shoes to fill, but I think everyone here is up to the task,” said Solis. “Obviously, without Matusz and Romo there are some doubts. But not with us. I think we’re stronger than we were last year, and we’re excited to get out there.”

Blair, staying with the shoe analogy, wants to take it one step further.

“Not just fill the shoes, but make that shoe size a little bigger,” he said.”If Matusz wears an 11 1/2, hopefully, I’m going to wear a 12. . . . I don’t feel any pressure at all. You just go out and do your thing.”

The load won’t be shouldered entirely by Solis and Blair. Not with the return of two other talented sophomores — Matt Thomson and Darrin Campbell — as well as senior Matt Couch (recovering from Tommy John surgery) and All-American junior closer A.J. Griffin.

But all eyes will be on the Toreros’ No. 1 and No. 2 starters to watch their development. Hill and USD pitching coach Eric Valenzuela will do their best to mold Solis and Blair. But much of it is up to the players themselves.

“Michelangelo used to look at a slab of marble and see the sculpture inside it,” said Hill. “That’s how every kid is. They are that sculpture inside that marble and they’re very unique.

“We all get in trouble when we start comparing Kyle Blair to player X, or Sammy Solis to player Y. They’ve just got to be their own person and do their own thing.”

NOTABLE

— The schedule is front-loaded with home games (31 of the first 40 are at the Toreros’ Cunningham Stadium), so a strong start is not only important it’s expected.

— Power will not be the offense’s strong suit, so the Toreros will have to showcase their speed. Shooting for the school record (105 SB in 1980) would be a good goal. CF Kevin Muno led the Toreros last season with 21 SB. Freshman LF Bryan Haar, who swiped 17 last season at Grossmont High, could challenge him this year.

— Junior closer A.J. Griffin, another Grossmont High alum, set a USD record with 14 saves last season. The All-American could see some starts as well this year, perhaps in midweek games or on Sundays when he hasn’t appeared in a weekend series.

Mountain West Conference play begins

2008-03-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

The season is less than three weeks old and Mountain West Conference play has already arrived for San Diego State, which opens at home tonight against BYU. It seems to have arrived so quickly because the season began so late, delayed four weeks this year by the new NCAA-mandated uniform start date. Whatever. Here's a glance at the Aztecs and a quick look around the rest of the conference:

AZTECS UPDATE

SDSU (7-7) opened the season strongly with three wins in four games -- averaging 11 runs a game -- against crosstown rival USD. That vaulted the Aztecs into the Top 25 -- at No. 22 by Baseball America magazine -- for the first time since Tony Gwynn became head coach in 2003. SDSU has had its ups and downs since then, especially at home, where the Aztecs have lost six of their past seven at Tony Gwynn Stadium ...

The starting pitching is not as deep as last season, but sophomore RHP Stephen Strasburg (1-1, 3.72 ERA, 21 SO in 19 1/3 IP), sophomore LHP Nate Solow (1-2, 2.89 ERA, 20 SO in 18 2/3 IP) and senior RHP J.R. Murphy (1-1, 5.06 ERA, 16 SO in 16 IP) have been solid early on. Freshman RHP Addison Reed (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 SV) has the makings of an exceptional closer ...

The offense has been led by senior 2B Garett Green (.333, 3 HR, 16 RBI) and SS Troy Hanzawa (.417, 1 HR, 9 RBI), junior 3B Nick Romero (.296, 1 HR, 11 RBI) and freshman RF Cory Vaughn (.320, 1 HR, 11 RBI) ...

Catching is a concern with starter Matt Parker out for the year with a stress fracture in his right ankle and backup Bubba Ruddy limited in his return from labrum surgery.

AROUND THE MWC

TCU (8-5): The Horned Frogs were picked in a preseason poll to win their third straight MWC championship. Their pitching wasn't expected to be as deep this year, but they come into conference with a 3.72 team ERA. That's nearly two runs better than any other MWC school.

New Mexico (8-6): The Lobos opened the season with seven straight wins, but have struggled since (losing 18-1 and 10-1 at No. 1 Arizona State hurt most).

BYU (7-7): The Cougars, picked for second (just ahead of SDSU) in the preseason poll, opened the season with 13 straight road games. Starter Jake Wortham (1-1, 7.66 ERA) has struggled early, but not Jordan Muir(1-1, 2.70) and Tyler Westensee (1-0, 2.45). Junior SS Dan Vargas (Montgomery High) leads the team with a .365 batting average.

UNLV (7-7): The Rebels have the same record as the Aztecs, although their strength of schedule doesn't stack up.

Utah (5-8): The Utes lead the MWC with a .326 team batting average, but it hasn't helped them much in the win column.

Air Force (4-8): The Falcons, perennial last-place finishers, shouldn't be taken for granted this season after registering wins against Mississippi State, Ohio State, Maine and Penn during the preseason.

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

Today: BYU at SDSU, 6

Tomorrow: BYU at SDSU, 6

Saturday: BYU at SDSU, 1