It was a great weekend at Santa Ana Star Field for the Lobos (23-9, 12-3), who swept Fresno State in the three-game series. The Lobos won Friday night in a fairly standard pitchers’ duel, taking the game 2-1. However, Saturday was one of the craziest games you will ever see, as the Lobos came back in an unlikely fashion to win 14-13 in twelve innings. That set them up to finish the sweep in the Sunday finale, which they did with a 7-4 victory. It was very important sweep for the Lobos, as they were tied with Fresno State entering the weekend. This gives them a three-game lead on the Bulldogs and they won’t have to make a trip to Fresno for a series this season. At the halfway point of the conference, the Lobos are in first with a 12-3 record, leading the 8-4 Air Force Falcons, who have had three games postponed. The Lobos have positioned themselves to where they are in the conversation for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, and with another great week they will find themselves in the top 25 across all college baseball polls. The Lobos and Air Force will only play one series this season, when the two teams finish off the regular season up in Colorado Springs. It could be possible, and preferable, that the Lobos will have the regular season title wrapped up before then.
Scattered Thoughts:
- Chris DeVito and Carson Schneider won MW Player and Pitcher of the Week for their great weeks against Fresno State.
- Speaking of DeVito, he is on track for an All-American Season, which would be the Lobos’ first All-American selection since DJ Peterson three years ago.
- Due to a short bench, the Lobos were forced to use pitchers in left field in Saturday’s crazy game, as well as having pitchers hit in their spot in the order. Christian Tripp pitched two perfect innings to get the win, but was also 1 for 1 at the plate.
- The Lobos need to get Michael Eaton back and healthy soon to add more depth to the Lobo team. Jared Holley had a great week, but was limited due to a quad injury.
- The Lobos hit six home runs in the game on Saturday with 5 of those being two-run home runs. In the 10th inning the Lobos hit two two-run home runs on 2-2 counts to tie the game.
- In the 12th inning, Fresno State did something I have never seen before, and probably shouldn’t see again. With runners on first and second with one out they intentionally walked a hitter to pitch to Andre Vigil, loading the bases and in the process giving the Lobos more ways they could win the game. Vigil ended up coming through with a base hit to win the game.
Pitching Performances:
The Lobo starters had another good week on the mound, with Carson Schneider being the dominant starter this weekend.
Carson Schneider (6-1) was named MW Pitcher of the Week for his great start on Friday Night, going 8 1/3 innings allowing only 5 hits, 1 run and 3 walks, while striking out 6. Schneider has thrived in this role and I don’t expect it to end anytime soon.
Tyler Stevens (4-2) pitched well enough to win in the crazy game on Saturday, although he ended up getting a no-decision. Stevens went 6 2/3 innings allowing 6 hits, 5 runs and 4 walks, while striking out 5.
Colton Thomson (4-1) was good again in the Sunday role for the Lobos, going 8 innings allowing 10 hits, 4 runs and 2 walks, while striking out 9.
Hitters:
Chris DeVito is a special player and he proved it again this weekend, going 9-15 with 6 runs, 7 RBIs and 3 home runs in the game on Saturday. DeVito is now hitting .438 with 11 home runs and 48 RBIs on the season, which is ridiculous.
Carl Stajduhar, as I mentioned in the series preview, has the ability to have a monster series even when he’s struggling, and he did just that this weekend. Stajduhar ended up going 9-13 with 2 runs, 5 RBI, 2 walks, a double, a triple, and a home run. He also hit for the cycle in the game on Saturday, with his home run tying the game in the ninth to complete the cycle.
Luis Gonzalez had another good weekend at the top of the order, finishing the week 4-14 with 4 runs, 2 RBI, 2 walks, 2 doubles, and a home run.
Jared Holley had another great week in the two-hole, finishing the week 4-11 with 6 runs, an RBI, a walk and two doubles.
Up Next:
The Lobos head to the Bay area in California to play two mid-week games before facing San Jose State in San Jose this weekend. On Tuesday the Lobos will face Santa Clara (14-16) then will face San Francisco (10-24). Expect James Harrington to get the start for the Lobos on Tuesday and for Luis Gonzalez to get the start on Wednesday. I think that the Lobos should win both games, which would set them up nicely to go 5-0 this week.