With Cal State Fullerton all but having wrapped up the outright Big West regular season title, the battle for second place in the baseball standings is the primary focus this week as No. 23 UC Irvine hosts UC Riverside.
Anteaters, Highlanders On Tap
Highlighting action this week is a battle between two of the top Big West clubs in UC Irvine and UC Riverside. Both teams have postseason aspirations and are playing solid ball right now.
The Anteaters have won 12 of their last 16 games, including a key non-conference victory against No. 11 UCLA last week. UCI is a season-high 15 games above .500 at 32-17. In conference play, the ‘Eaters sit in second place with a 12-6 mark. UCI is ranked No. 23 in both the Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA polls.
The Highlanders responded to a four-game losing streak with five consecutive wins last week. The five-game win streak is a season-high for UCR. The Highlanders currently sit in fourth place in the Big West standings at 10-8. They need two wins in this series to reach the overall 30-win mark for the third time in the last four seasons.
UCI is 17-8 at Anteater Ballpark this season, but only 4-5 in conference games. In contrast, the Anteaters are 8-1 in Big West road games. UCR is a respectable 4-6 in conference road affairs, 6-2 at home. The Highlanders own a league-best 19 home wins in overall games.
Pacific returns to league action after a non-conference stint at Cal State Bakersfield last weekend. The Tigers own third place in the Big West, at 11-7, trailing UCI by one game. They attempt to continue their steady climb up the standings with a road series against Cal Poly, which completes a season-high nine-game roadtrip.
First place Cal State Fullerton is on hiatus this week from Big West play, but stays busy with four non-conference games against West Coast Conference opponents. The Titans have won seven straight and 16 of their last 17 games, and finish the regular season with eight straight at home.
Titans Clinch NCAA Berth
Cal State Fullerton’s sweep of Long Beach State last weekend clinched at least a share of the Big West regular season championship and wrapped up the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Titans are 18-3 in conference and lead second place UC Irvine by 4 1/2 games. CSF claims the outright title with one more win or one UCI loss.
It is Cal State Fullerton’s eighth Big West title (shared or outright) in the last 12 years and the program’s 24th conference title in its 36-year Division I history. CSF is heading to the postseason for the 32nd time in that 36-year span. In addition, the Titans have secured their 19th consecutive NCAA postseason appearance, the third-longest active streak behind Miami (37 years) and Florida State (32 years).
Tigers Reach 30-Win Plateau
For the sixth time in school history, Pacific notched 30 wins in a season after taking one of three games at Cal State Bakersfield last weekend. It marked the third 30-win season during the tenure of head coach Ed Sprague, who is in his seventh year at the Tiger helm. The Tigers most recently captured 30 wins in 2005 and 2006, and also recorded 30-win seasons in 1975, 1994 and 1999. The school record for victories (36) occurred in 1994. Pacific’s 11 Big West wins is the program’s most since 1999.
Weathers Announces Retirement
Long Beach State head coach Mike Weathers last week formally announced he will retire at the end of the 2010 season. Weathers has been involved with the 49er program for 18 years, including the last nine as the skipper. He is 310-207 at LBSU. Associate head coach Troy Buckley will assume the head coaching reins.
Distance Pitching
Endurance has become a hallmark of the UC Santa Barbara pitching staff in 2010. Gaucho arms have tossed seven complete games so far this season, a mark that is tops in the Big West. Junior Jesse Meaux recorded the seventh CG on Sunday as he mowed down UC Irvine hitters in a 2-1 victory. Meaux improved to 8-3 on the season and his eight wins ranks third in the Big West. In addition to Meaux, other Gaucho hurlers to go the distance include Mario Hollands (3) and Nick Capito (2).
Brown Sidelined By Broken Finger
Cal State Fullerton junior outfielder Gary Brown succeeded on stealing his conference-high 31st stolen base of the season and 79th of his career in the fourth inning of Sunday’s win at Long Beach State. Unfortunately, the steal didn’t come without a price. Brown sustained a fracture to the third metacarpal (middle finger) on his left (non-throwing) hand and will be sidelined for the next couple of weeks. Brown, who is on the 60-man watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, is having an MVP-type season. He leads the Big West in several offensive categories, including batting average (.438), runs scored (62), hits (92) and stolen bases (31). Brown also now ranks fifth all-time in the Big West record book with his 79 stolen bases.
Nix Earns National Honors
Tony Nix added to his awards haul as the reigning Big West Field Player of the Week was named the NCBWA Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week for the period ending May 16. Nix hit .654 (17-for-26) with nine of those hits going for extra bases. He scored 11 times and drove in 15, setting the school single-game record with six hits against Loyola Marymount.
Mound Turnaround
The UC Irvine pitching staff made quite an about face in four games last week. Coming off the final two games of the Cal Poly series, in which they allowed 39 hits and 28 runs for a whopping 14.82 ERA, the Anteaters went into shutdown mode. UCI yielded a total of four runs (three earned) in 36.0 innings for a microscopic 0.75 ERA, defeating UCLA once and UC Santa Barbara two out of three times in the process. UCI allowed only 20 hits and six walks in the four games, despite not having the services of ace left-hander Daniel Bibona.
Pineda Having Outstanding Season
Cal State Northridge junior Ryan Pineda is having an exceptional season, tying for the Big West lead in RBI (55) and ranking fourth in runs scored (49), 10th in hits (64) and second in home runs (13). He also has added a dimension to his game that he didn’t exhibit his first two seasons in a Matador uniform - speed on the basepaths. After stealing all of two bases his freshman and sophomore years, Pineda has 24 stolen bases in 2010. The 24 swipes ranks him second in the Big West.
Watch List Updates
Several Big West players are up for prestigious national awards as the season hurtles down the home stretch.
UC Irvine’s Daniel Bibona is among the nation’s best being considered for the Golden Spikes Award and College Baseball Foundation’s Pitcher of the Year. Cal State Fullerton teammates Gary Brown and Christian Colon are also on the 60-man watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, presented to the top amateur baseball player in the country. Colon is on a pared down 25-man list for the Brooks Wallace Award, recognizing the nation’s top shortstop. Noe Ramirez of Cal State Fullerton joins Bibona on the CBF’s Pitcher of the Year watch list.
The CBF instituted a new award - the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award - and Cal State Fullerton teammates Nick Ramirez and Tyler Pill are on that 25-man watch list. The Olerud Award recognizes a player who makes an impact both on the mound and at the plate. The Titans are the only school with two players on that watch list. All three CBF awards will be announced July 2 in Lubbock, Texas.
UC Irvine’s Kyle Necke is on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association midseason watch list for the Stopper of the Year Award. The Johnny Bench Award, honoring the nation’s top catcher, now includes six Big West players on that list - Cal Poly’s Ross Brayton, Cal State Fullerton’s Billy Marcoe, Cal State Northridge’s Dominic Piazza, Francis Larson of UC Irvine, UC Riverside’s Robert Brantly and Joe Oliveira of Pacific.
NATIONAL AWARDS
Big West nominees only
GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD
Daniel Bibona, LHP, UC Irvine
Gary Brown, OF, Cal State Fullerton
Christian Colon, SS, Cal State Fullerton
BROOKS WALLACE AWARD
Christian Colon, SS, Cal State Fullerton
COLLEGE BASEBALL FOUNDATION PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Daniel Bibona, LHP, UC Irvine
Noe Ramirez, RHP, Cal State Fullerton
JOHN OLERUD TWO-WAY PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Tyler Pill, RHP/OF/DH, Cal State Fullerton
Nick Ramirez, RHP/1B, Cal State Fullerton
NCBWA STOPPER OF THE YEAR
Kyle Necke, RHP, UC Irvine
JOHNNY BENCH AWARD
Ross Brayton, Cal Poly
Billy Marcoe, Cal State Fullerton
Dominic Piazza, Cal State Northridge
Francis Larson, UC Irvine
Robert Brantly, UC Riverside
Joe Oliveira, Pacific
College Baseball Foundation Has Three On Updated Watch Lists
The College Baseball Foundation placed three Big West players on its updated 25-man watch lists for both the Brooks Wallace Award and Pitcher of the Year. The Brooks Wallace Award, which recognizes the nation’s top shortstop, includes Cal State Fullerton junior Christian Colon among the list of 25 being considered for the award. Colon is hitting .348 with 12 home runs and 41 RBI. He is No. 2 in the Big West in homers and tied for second with 49 runs scored.
Two Big West candidates for Pitcher of the Year are UC Irvine senior Danny Bibona and Cal State Fullerton sophomore Noe Ramirez. Bibona leads the conference in wins (9), ERA (2.10) and strikeouts (100). Ramirez is 6-1 on the year with 67 strikeouts in 64.1 innings.
Both awards will be presented on July 2 in Lubbock, Texas, as part of the College Baseball Awards Show.
Big West Vs. Top 25
Cal Poly 0-4
Cal State Fullerton 3-4
Cal State Northridge 2-1
Long Beach State 6-5
UC Davis 1-1
UC Irvine 1-2
UC Riverside 0-5
UC Santa Barbara 1-3
Pacific 1-2
Most Multi-Hit Games
Gary Brown, Cal State Fullerton 28
Brian Martin, Pacific 27
J.B. Brown, Pacific 25
Mike Walker, Pacific 23
Jeff Cusick, UC Irvine 23
Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton 23
Steve Tinoco, Long Beach State 22
Carlos Lopez, Cal State Fullerton 22
Most Multi-RBI Games
Nick Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton 16
Jeff Cusick, UC Irvine 14
Justin Shults, UC Riverside 14
Ryan Pineda, Cal State Northridge 13
Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton 13
Mike Walker, Pacific 12
Longest Hitting Streaks
Jeff Cusick, UC Irvine 25
Nick Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton 20
Brennan Metzger, Long Beach State 19
Dominic D’Anna, Cal State Northridge 18
Carlos Lopez, Cal State Fullerton 17
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