Saturday, February 21, 2009

USD rallies for second straight win

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.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Strasburg gets off to strong start

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

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

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.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Mountain West Conference play begins

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