Titans Sweep Regionals

FULLERTON REGIONAL: TITANS 16, UTAH 3

By Don Hudson

The Cal State Fullerton Titans did what they needed to do last night at Goodwin Field, defeating the Utah Utes, 16-3, to clinch their Regional championship. With the win, the Titans advance to Super Regional action against the winner of Monday's Vanderbilt vs. Louisville match-up.

Khris Davis led the 21-hit attack with three hits - including two home runs - and Tyler Pill (11-3) went eight strong innings in recording the victory.

The Utes earned the right to play a rematch with CSUF after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs, 9-7, in the afternoon's elimination game. The double-elimination format, with Utah playing their fourth game in three days, left their pitching cupboard bare, so they selected "crafty" lefthander Steven Streich, making his first career start.

The designated visiting team, Fullerton, put Streich on the ropes immediately. Christian Colon led off with a walk and Gary Brown bounced a single through the left side of the infield. Third batter Josh Fellhauer surprised the Utes with a perfect drag bunt past the pitcher to load the bases with nobody out. Jared Clark then smashed a groundball that 3B Nick Kuroczko fielded within a few feet of the bag, stepped on third for the force-out and threw to second base. The second-baseman took the throw for the force-out that made it a run-scoring double-play, but he did not attempt a throw to first for an around-the-horn triple play.

Hope sprung brightly for the Utes when Streich posted a zero in the top of the Fullerton second inning - equalling the number of goose-eggs the Utah pitching staff managed Friday night against the Titans. But Pill was more than equal to the task of maintaining his team's slim 1-0 advantage.

The Titans took advantage of a Utah error in building on their lead in the top of the third. Christian Colon singled and advanced to third base on a throwing error on an attempted force-out following Brown's groundball to the first-baseman. After Brown stole second uncontested, Fellhauer banged a base-hit into right-centerfield scoring both runners. Felly was gunned out at second on a great throw from CF Cooper Blanc, but his hit gave the Titans some breathing room at 3-0. (Click to enlarge this pic: it is a great look at a tag-out.)

After another scoreless frame by Pill, Khris Davis got the Titans going in the fourth inning with a leadoff home run. After Dustin Garneau walked, DH Shevis Shima pushed a perfect bunt for a base hit. After a Joe Scott sacrifice advanced both runners, Joey Siddons rammed a base hit up the middle through a drawn-in infield to make it 6-0. Siddons stole third and scored on Brown's double.

Utah's C.J. Cron hit a two-out solo homer in the bottom of the fourth to make it 8-1, but the Utes never got closer. Fellhauer led off the fifth with his third consecutive single and raced around to score on Jared Clark's double. Streich was replaced by reliever Robert Chimpky, who was unable to get the monkey off the back of the Utah pitching staff. Clark went to third on Davis' infield single and scored on Garneau's sacrifice fly. Davis later scored on a wild pitch. Scott got the rally recharged with a double deep to leftfield and scored on an RBI single by Siddons. Perhaps the best indicator of how well this game was going for Utah was when the count to Colon reached 3-2 with two outs and the first-baseman moved away from the base. Chimpky made a perfect pickoff throw to first - but the only people anywhere near it were Colon and the umpire and neither of them had a glove. Siddons advanced to second on the error and scored the fifth run of the inning when Colon singled to make it 12-1.

From that point on, both coaches substituted liberally. Khris Davis homered again in the eighth inning - his second of the game and fourth in three games.

Pill went eight solid innings in earning the win. After pitching a couple complete games earlier in the season, he had much shorter outings in recent starts against Cal Poly, UCLA, Pepperdine and Long Beach State, so I'm guessing he stayed in despite the lopsided score in order to "stretch him out" for upcoming action. Pill allowed seven hits and two earned runs, while striking out nine and allowing no walks or hit batters.

Colin O'Connell pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close it out.

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So what did we learn this weekend?

It is going to take much better teams than faced this weekend to beat the Titans. There was something to like about each of the other teams - Georgia Southern's hitting, Gonzaga's defense and Utah's spunk - but none were complete enough to give the Titans a real challenge.

Congratulations to senior Dustin Garneau for being named the Regional's Most Outstanding Player and to the seven Titans named to the All-regional team:

• Dustin Garneau (.583 average led team, three RBI, six runs scored, 5-for-5 performance in the winners bracket finale, no stolen bases allowed and enough kick saves to win the Vezina Trophy)


• Jared Clark (.500 average, three doubles, 4 RBI and more scoops than Baskin-Robbins on a summer day)


• Joey Siddons (.500 average, seven RBI, three multi-hit games, stellar defense at 3B)


• Khris Davis (.467 average, four home runs, eight RBI, six runs scored)


• Gary Brown (.467 average, three doubles, two stolen bases)


• Tyler Pill (1-0, 2.25 ERA, nine strikeouts, won Regional clincher)


• Noe Ramirez (1-0, 2.57 ERA, eight strikeouts)

The Titans led the Regional in most significant team and individual statistical categories. Just some of the highlights:

• Batted .476 as team and scored 41 runs in three games


• Khris Davis led all players in home runs, RBI and runs scored (tied).


• Best team ERA: 2.33. (Gonzaga was second at 8.44.)


• Brown and Clark were co-leaders in doubles with three each, while Scott was a co-leader in triples with two. (While paling, perhaps, to Davis' 1.267, Scott had a 1.000 slugging percentage this weekend.)
  

Those are all just numbers that won't mean a hill of beans later in the tournament against higher caliber teams. But the one thing the team can always control is attitude, hustle and teamwork. Those things were on display in abundance all weekend. I always enjoy getting the opinion of seasoned baseball observers that don't see the Titans very often and are more objective than me and probably you. My buddy "Tempe Tim" was in town this weekend and the things that stood out to him the most were the hustle and executing the fundamentals. Perhaps the play that stands out the most in his mind was Friday night when the Titans were leading by two touchdowns, yet RF Gary Brown was still diving face-first onto the warning track in pursuit of a foul ball.

Lastly, congratulations to Coach Dave Serrano (shown here intensely scouting his upcoming opponent) for his 200th career victory as a head coach in Division I baseball. I'm sure the personal milestone last night meant far less to him than the team's accomplishment of winning the Regionals.

Good luck to the Titans next weekend in what should be a very competitive Super Regional best-of-three series. We're just two wins away from the enxt step in the journey: "First to Practice, Last to Play."

Titans Clobber Utes in Regional Opener

FULLERTON REGIONAL: TITANS 18, UTAH 2

By Don Hudson

Play began Friday afternoon at Goodwin Field in the Fullerton Regional. After the third-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs beat second-seeded Georgia Southern, 19-10, the host and top-seeded Cal State Fullerton Titans took care of business against the Utah Utes, 18-2.

The Titans and Bulldogs will play a winners bracket game this evening at 6:00, while the Eagles and Utes will meet at 2:00 this afternoon in an elimination game.

Noe Ramirez was tabbed to get the starting assignment for the Titans based on his ability to bounce back on shorter rest in the event he would be needed for an inning or two in a Monday championship game. He looked jittery early in the game, as he issued a four-pitch walk to Nick Kuroczko in the first inning with two outs, followed by a wild pitch. But, as he has been all season, the freshman was tough as nails when he had to be and he retired cleanup hitter C.J. Cron to escape unharmed following a very early meeting on the mound with Coach Serrano.

The Utes sent Jordan Whatcott to the hill - a pitcher with wins this year over several ranked opponents. He not only had decent numbers pitching - particularly considering the conference and high altitude locations for many of their games - he also came into the game with seven pickoffs. He nearly used that skill to escape unscathed in the first inning when he threw to first just as Gary Brown broke for second (following an infield single) and was easily retired on a steal attempt. But Josh Fellhauer, Jared Clark and Khris Davis followed with singles, Davis' driving in Felly with the game's first run. The Titans scored only once, but they had four hits and established omens of an offensive barrage to come.

Noe's early jitters manifested themselves in the second inning when, following a two-out double by Rick Cornu, Noe wheeled around and attempted a pickoff at second base - but the spheroid was errantly miscast about forty feet wide of the bag and Cornu trotted to third. This brought about one of the game's great moments to me: the freshman seemed unsettled and three seniors the stature of Jared Clark, Joe Scott and Dustin Garneau met on the mound to help him relax. From Section K, I thought I saw glimpses of smiles and encouragement that helped Noe settle into his groove. He struck out Cooper Blanc to retire the side scorelessly.

The pesty Jeff Newman led off the second with a walk before Scott popped out on an attempted sacrifice. Joey Siddons then also bunted in the air, but the diving pitcher Whatcott gloved the ball in fair territory and could not hang on, allowing Siddons to reach on a single. After a Christian Colon single loaded the bases, the wheels were about to fall off the defensive wagon of the Utes. Gary Brown bounced a ball to the left of shortstop Michael Beltran, who knew he would have to hurry to double up the blazing Brown. Beltran booted the ball and them made an ill-advised throw to first, which ended up in the dugout. (It was scored as a two-base throwing error, but I would have charged an error on the boot - which was why all the runners were safe - and a second error on the throw allowing the runners to advance a base.)

With the Titans now leading 3-0, Fellhauer was hit by a pitch to load up the bases and bring the RBI Machine, Jared Clark, to the plate. Clark drilled a double deep to right-centerfield to score two runs and make it a 5-0 lead. Whatcott escaped even worse damage when he retired two Titans with the bases loaded (5 LOB in the first two innings).

The Utes ran into a crucial out in the third inning, after which the Titans never looked back. After two singles to open the third inning gave the Utes some hope, Tyler Yagi failed twice on sacrifice attempts and then struck out. When Noe Ramirez threw a pitch in the dirt to the next hitter, Dustin Garneau blocked it and kept it near his feet. The runner on second attempted to advance to third. Garneau threw to 3B Siddons, who caught the throw, ran over to the Omaha West tent for a couple scrumptious pulled pork sliders and came back with plenty of time to apply the tag.

By the time the third inning ended, the aggressive play of the Titans had put the outcome out of question. Scott walked to open the inning, went to second on a sacrifice by Siddons and scored on an RBI single by Colon. Brown then drilled a double deep to centerfield, scoring Colon. Clark followed with another run-scoring double and the score was 8-0 and the rout was one.

From that point on, the Titans just played their game. Noe settled down and pitched very well: he gave up seven hits in seven innings, striking out eight and allowing just two runs (on a two-run homer by the Utes' Kuroczko.) The offense tied the season-high of eighteen runs and had a season-best 24 hits.

Late game highlights included a three-run homer by Khris Davis (his thirteenth of the season), a triple by Joe Scott and an RBI double by Jeff Newman. Kyle Mertins and Ryan Ackland finished up with a scoreless inning of work each.


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So what did we learn last night?

I'm still not exactly sure what a 'Ute' is. Every time I hear the word, I flash back to that scene from "My Cousin Vinnie":


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVjbf-dHjW0


The offense put up some sick numbers. How about the top five hitters combining for fifteen hits and eleven RBI? Every starter got at least one hit and seven had multiple hit games. Jeff Newman had another classic Jeff Newman game: three hits, two walks and four runs scored.

But as great as the offense was and as good as the pitching was, the defense may have been even better. Scott made an excellent play on a ricochet shot off Noe Ramirez and he also turned a sweet double-play. Shevis Shima also had a nice turn late in the game. Clark scooped a couple low throws out of the dirt. But it might have been Colon whose star was brightest. Here is a sound bite I heard in Section K last night on a slow chopper towards shortstop: "That's going to be a very tough play......well, it would have been a very tough play if it was anybody but Colon."

I loved the quote from Utah leftfielder Tyler Yagi in the Salt Lake newspaper this week after winning the Mountain West Conference Tournament: "We all know that we're one of the hottest teams right now. I don't know....if I was Fullerton, I'd be a little scared right now, because we're pretty hot." Congratulations to the Titans for playing so well under such adverse circumstances.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs are ranked #19 by Baseball America and should be a formidable opponent tonight. They scored nineteen runs yesterday: it will be interesting to see how well they fare against Daniel Renken and the strong Titans defense. This is what it's all about - hope to see you out at Goodwin Field and Omaha West today.

Fullerton Regional Preview

By FullertonBaseballFan

#2 Seed – Georgia Southern Eagles

Overall Record – 42-15
Conference Record – 20-8 (2nd place)
How they qualified for a regional – Won the Southern Conference Tournament (Davidson 4-3 in 11 innings, Appalachian State 6-5, Furman 16-4, Elon 7-3)
Last Regional Appearance – 2002
RPI/ISR – 32/39

Season Summary

Georgia Southern went 33-25 in 2008 despite averaging 10 runs per game, hitting 114 HR’s and having 109 SB’s because of a pitching staff that had a 7.04 ERA. The Eagles expected to contend for a regional this season if they were able to get better pitching with several of the hitters returning who were able to take advantage of the short dimensions at their home ballpark (330 to the lines, 360 to the alleys, 385 to CF) that helped them put up those strong numbers. Georgia Southern is 7-6 against teams that qualified for the regional field and had a 108 SOS according to Boyd’s World.

The Eagles did pad their stats with early series romps against Presbyterian and Coppin State but they also went 3-2 in non-conf games against Georgia Tech and East Carolina, including a 23-3 midweek bludgeoning of the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Southern doesn’t have quite the HR power that they had last season but they are a very consistent lineup with eight players hitting over .300 and five hitters with double digit HR’s. The Friday SP for the Eagles has been very good and the other two weekend SP’s have done enough to get games to a bullpen that has been solid. Georgia Southern is 33-1 when leading after 7 innings and 34-0 when leading after 8 innings.

Offense

Park Factor according to Boyd’s World – 116 (increases offense by 16%).
Batting Average – .324 (NCAA ranking - 36)
Runs Per Game – 9.6 (5)
Home Runs – 80 (31)
Stolen Bases – 50 (182)
Slugging Percentage – .507 (44)
Walks – 268 (23)
HBP’s – 105 (6)
Sac Bunts – 33 (99)

Batting Order

LF Roman Grimaldi (LH – .329 in 73 AB’s). OF reserves are Randy Williams (RH – .286 in 70 AB’s) and Jonathan King (RH – .246-1-18-3). King is tied for team lead with 34 BB’s in only 126 AB’s.
CF Ty Wright (RH – .331-11-58-15). Leads team in R’s and SB’s. 2nd on team in RBI’s. Very good BB/K ratio (29/26). Hit .398 with 17 HR and 52 RBI in 2008.
C Griffin Benedict (LH – .401-11-61-8). 2nd team all-conf. Leads team in RBI, OBP (.522) and HBP’s (23). Tied for team lead with 34 BB’s. Tied for 2nd in HR’s. 2nd on team in SLG (.627). Very good BB/K ratio (34/29).
RF Phillip Porter (RH – .368-11-50-11). 2nd on team in BA, OBP and SB’s. Tied for 2nd in HR’s. Leads team with 45 K’s.
DH Kyle Blackburn (LH – .314-11-26-0). Leads team in SLG (.744). 11 HR’s and 21 K’s in only 86 AB’s.
3B A.J. Wirnsberger (RH – .332-13-57-2). Leads team in HR’s. Had even better power #’s in 2008 with 21 HR and 74 RBI.
1B Eric Phillips (RH – .328-3-41-3). 2nd on team with 6 SAC bunts.
SS Brian Pierce (RH – .353-3-41-0). Returning starter is 3rd on team in BA.
2B Kevin Bowles (RH – .285-3-32-1). 2nd on team with 13 HBP’s and leads team with 8 SAC bunts.

Defense

Fielding .974 (15) – 55 errors. Good fielding team around the infield. Wright and Porter have good speed in the OF.
Double Plays – 60 (21)
Stolen Base Attempts – 40-62 against Benedict. Benedict has picked off three runners and the team has picked off 16 runners.
WP’s/PB’s Allowed – 52

Pitching

ERA – 4.95 (71)
BA – .290
HR – 57
H’s/9 IP – 10.18 (95)
BB’s/9 IP – 3.74 (112)
K’s/9 IP – 8.1 (37)

Starting Pitchers

Chris Mederos (RHP – 11-1, 3.66 ERA, 15 starts, 93 IP, 92 H, 29 BB, 112 K, .264 BA, 5 HR, 9 HBP, 5 WP). 1st team all-conf. Hard thrower is 5th in the country in wins and 12th in K’s. Allowed 3 R or less in each of his last four starts. 7-12 SB’s. Picked off four runners.

Jake Brown (LHP – 6-3, 4.54 ERA, 16 apps, 11 starts, 81 IP, 97 H, 22 BB, 58 K, .298 BA, 10 HR, 7 HBP, 3 WP). Allowed 4+ R in last three starts after allowing only 3 R total in two previous starts. Tied for team lead in HR allowed. 13-16 SB’s.

Matt Murray (RHP – 6-3, 4.76 ERA, 15 apps, 13 starts, 1 save, 74 IP, 81 H, 27 BB, 60 K, .287 BA, 8 HR, 8 HBP, 5 WP). Held Furman to 1 R on 3 H with 11 K in 7 IP in the conf tournament. 8-15 SB’s.

Andy Moye (RHP – 5-1, 6.60 ERA, 16 apps, 13 starts, 61 IP, 73 H, 27 BB, 52 K, .307 BA, 10 HR, 7 HBP, 7 WP). Midweek SP.

Relief Pitchers

Closer – Kyle Kamppi (RHP – 3-2, 3.86 ERA, 30 apps, 8 saves, 37 IP, 44 H, 20 BB, 39 K, .291 BA, 4 HR, 2 HBP, 5 WP). Able to go several innings after being a part-time SP last season.

Dexter Bobo (LHP – 2-2, 6.62 ERA, 27 apps, 3 saves, 34 IP, 37 H, 18 BB, 32 K, .276 BA, 7 HR, 4 HBP, 3 WP).
Charles Matthews (RHP – 2-0, 3.93 ERA, 28 apps, 1 save, 34 IP, 35 H, 21 BB, 30 K, .280 BA, 2 HR, 10 HBP, 2 WP).
Collin Snow (RHP – 4-2, 3.64 ERA, 17 apps, 3 starts, 42 IP, 46 H, 17 BB, 33 K, .279 BA, 4 HR, 2 HBP, 5 WP).
Michael Hester (RHP – 3-0, 6.75 ERA, 14 apps, 2 starts, 23 IP, 26 H, 9 BB, 23 K, .289 BA, 2 HR, 3 HBP, 2 WP).

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#3 Seed – Gonzaga Bulldogs

Overall Record – 35-16
Conference Record – 14-7 (1st place)
How they qualified for a regional – Won the West Coast Conference championship series (Loyola Marymount 4-3, 14-3).
Last Regional Appearance – 1981
RPI/ISR – 43/20

Season Summary

Gonzaga came into this season with pretty high expectations after going 30-23 in 2008 and returning seven regular position players and most of their pitching staff. The Bulldogs have been a consistent team and have only had two weekends where they didn’t win their series/tournament. Gonzaga has only played nine games against teams that qualified for the regional field and went 5-4 in those games (including 1-1 against Utah) and has a 46 SOS according to Boyd’s World. The Bulldogs took control of the WCC race early with series wins against Pepperdine and San Diego and finished things off with back to back series wins against Loyola Marymount to end the season. Gonzaga doesn’t have a prolific offense but that hasn’t been necessary because their pitching staff has put up some of the best numbers in the country, including two strong SP’s who have combined to go 16-2.

Offense

Park Factor according to Boyd’s World – 99 (decreases offense by 1%).
Batting Average – .297 (159)
Runs Per Game – 6.8 (142)
Home Runs – 35 (214)
Stolen Bases – 40 (237)
Slugging Percentage – .429 (198)
Walks – 189 (190)
HBP’s – 94 (15)
Sac Bunts – 29 (147)

Batting Order

2B Evan Wells (LH – .313-0-24-12). Leads team with 55 R’s, 31 BB’s, .450 OBP, 12 SB’s and 6 SAC bunts. Very good BB/K ratio (30/25).
CF Drew Heid (LH – .350-2-37-9). Good speed. 2nd on team in BA. 5th in the country with eight 3B’s.
C Tyson Van Winkle (RH – .361-5-54-0). 1st team all-conf. Leads team in BA and SLG.
1B Ryan Wiegand (LH – .330-6-62-1). 1st team all-conf. Leads team in RBI. Good BB/K ratio (26/29). Had 3 HR and 8 RBI in the series clinching game against LMU last weekend.
DH Anthony Synegal (RH – .329-6-32-3). 1st team all-conf. Tied for 2nd in HR’s.
LF Mark Castellitto (RH – .273-8-39-3). Leads team in HR’s.
3B Jason Chatwood (RH – .238-4-23-5). Hit .316 and played SS last season before moving over to 3B this year.
RF Grant Kveder (RH – .217 in 92 AB’s) or Chris Sturdivant (RH – .333 in 45 AB’s). Kveder hit .322 as the starting catcher in 2008.
SS Ernesto Ortiz (LH – .300-0-19-7). Leads team with 60 K’s.

Defense

Fielding .970 (49) – 57 errors. Beltran has decent range but has committed 18 errors. Chatwood has committed 9 errors after committing 29 errors last season at SS. Wells has committed only 6 errors. Heid has very good range in CF.
Double Plays – 45 (143)
Stolen Base Attempts – 36-56 against Van Winkle.
WP’s/PB’s Allowed – 38

Pitching

ERA – 4.21 (20)
BA – .276
HR – 41
H’s/9 IP – 9.69 (62)
BB’s/9 IP – 3.36 (54)
K’s/9 IP – 7.8 (54)

Starting Pitchers

Matt Fields (RHP – 8-1, 2.86 ERA, 13 starts, 2 CG, 88 IP, 89 H, 28 BB, 73 K, .264 BA, 3 HR, 5 HBP, 4 WP). WCC Pitcher of the Year. Ground ball pitcher with good stuff and good control. Beat LMU 4-3 in each of his last two starts. 2008 – 8-3, 4.92 ERA, 12 GS, 79 IP.

Steven Ames (RHP – 8-1, 3.51 ERA, 13 starts, 3 CG, 90 IP, 95 H, 17 BB, 66 K, .273 BA, 6 HR, 6 HBP, 6 WP). Outstanding control but has been hit a little harder than Fields because he stuff isn’t quite as good and he is around the plate more.

A.J. Proszek (RHP – 2-1, 3.09 ERA, 12 apps, 4 starts, 3 saves, 47 IP, 49 H, 13 BB, 24 K, .278 BA, 1 HR, 6 HBP, 2 WP). Moved into the rotation the last month of the season and went 7 IP in each of his last two starts. 2008 – 3-4, 4.92 ERA, 10 starts, 60 IP.

Ryan Carpenter (LHP – 6-3, 4.82 ERA, 14 apps, 11 starts, 62 IP, 65 H, 27 BB, 62 K, .278 BA, 5 HR, 2 HBP, 4 WP).

Relief Pitchers

Closer – Cody Martin (RHP – 5-4, 3.31 ERA, 21 apps, 4 starts, 6 saves, 54 IP, 47 H, 30 BB, 60 K, .233 BA, 9 HR, 2 HBP, 5 WP). Hard thrower but wild and prone to giving up HR’s. 2008 – 4-1, 2.80 ERA, 9 saves.

Reedy Berg (LHP – 3-4, 5.75 ERA, 16 apps, 4 starts, 41 IP, 45 H, 11 BB, 43 K, .281 BA, 8 HR, 4 HBP, 3 WP).
Tyler Olson (LHP – 1-1, 5.09 ERA, 11 apps, 18 IP, 20 H, 8 BB, 19 K, .290 BA, 2 HR, 2 HBP, 0 WP).
Jacob Hiatt (RHP – 1-1, 4.91 ERA, 12 apps, 1 save, 15 IP, 18 H, 10 BB, 17 K, .286 BA, 3 HR, 1 HBP, 1 WP).
Andy Hunter (RHP – 1-0, 4.82 ERA, 11 apps, 19 IP, 20 H, 6 BB, 20 K, .270 BA, 1 HR, 6 HBP, 2 WP).

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#4 Seed – Utah Utes

Overall Record – 26-29
Conference Record – 8-16 (6th place)
How they qualified for a regional – Won the Mountain West Conference Tournament (BYU 2-1, TCU 9-7, San Diego State 8-9, San Diego State 4-1, TCU 6-4, San Diego State 9-3)
Last Regional Appearance – 1960
RPI/ISR – 91/78

Season Summary

Utah won only two of thirteen weekend series (against Cal State Bakersfield and Air Force) but were only swept twice. Despite that poor series record, Utah has a 30 SOS according to Boyd’s World and is 12-13 against teams that made the regional field including wins against fellow Fullerton regional member Gonzaga (1) as well as TCU (4), San Diego State (3), UC Irvine (1), Texas A&M (1), Washington State (1) and Sam Houston State (1). Utah was the longshot in the MWC Tournament before getting on a hot streak and pulling off several upsets on their way to the tournament championship. The Utes have a solid offense but they don’t have gaudy numbers like you would expect for a MWC team that plays most of their game at high altitude. After their #1 starter Utah has struggled with getting consistent outings from the rest of their pitching staff but they did pitch very well in the conference tournament except for an 8th inning meltdown in their loss to San Diego State.

Offense

Park Factor according to Boyd’s World – 110 (increases offense by 10%).
Batting Average – .301 (142)
Runs Per Game – 6.9 (137)
Home Runs – 54 (109)
Stolen Bases – 55 (159)
Slugging Percentage – .454 (143)
Walks – 210 (134)
HBP’s – 46 (206)
Sac Bunts – 52 (20)

Batting Order

2B Corey Shimada (LH – .335-6-36-16). 2nd team all-conf. Leads team with 58 R’s and 42 BB’s. Hit .329 and stole 21 bases in 2008.
LF Tyler Yagi (RH – .323-0-30-1). Second on team with 8 SAC bunts.
3B Nick Kuroczko (LH – .351-5-37-4). Leads team in BA and OBP. Second on team in SLG and walks (39).
C/DH C.J. Cron (RH – .341-9-51-1). MWC FR of the YR. Leads team in HR and RBI.
DH/C Devin Walker (RH – .327-8-35-0). Leads team in SLG. Tied for 2nd in HR’s.
1B Austin Jones (RH – .280-8-46-3). Second on team in RBI’s and tied for 2nd in HR’s. 2nd on team with 41 K’s.
RF Rick Cornu (RH – .274-8-29-8). Tied for 2nd in HR’s.
CF Cooper Blanc (RH – .222-6-23-9). Hit .345 and stole 14 bases in 2008.
SS Michael Beltran (RH – .300-0-19-7). Leads team with 11 SAC bunts and 53 K’s. Hit .372 in 2008.

Defense

Fielding .966 (95) – 74 errors. Beltran has good range but has committed 17 errors. Kuroczko has committed 12 errors. Shimada has committed only 6 errors.
Double Plays – 49 (89)
Stolen Base Attempts – 41-53 against two main catchers. Cron 23-29. Walker 18-24. Cron has picked off five runners and Utah has picked off 21 runners.
WP’s/PB’s Allowed – 53

Pitching

ERA – 5.76 (142)
BA – .306
HR – 44
H’s/9 IP – 11.16 (178)
BB’s/9 IP – 3.48 (70)
K’s/9 IP – 7.2 (98)

Starting Pitchers

Jodan Whatcott (RHP – 5-2, 3.59 ERA, 16 apps, 14 starts, 1 save, 85 IP, 76 H, 43 BB, 61 K, .247 BA, 2 HR, 13 HBP, 6 WP). 2nd team all-conf. Easily the best and most consistent SP. Has wins against UC Irvine and Texas A&M. Won two games in MWC Tournament (BYU, San Diego State) and save another game (TCU). Picked off 7 runners. 4-10 SB’s.

Brian Budrow (RHP – 5-5, 5.32 ERA, 15 apps, 14 starts, 1 save, 93 IP, 112 H, 29 BB, 74 K, .296 BA, 5 HR, 9 HBP, 12 WP). Friday SP (Whatcott started during the season on Sundays). Won his start against TCU in the MWC tournament and saved a game against San Diego State. Was more effective in 2008 (6-5, 3.49 ERA, 13 starts, 80 IP).

Andrew Wilding (RHP – 2-5, 6.05 ERA, 13 apps, 13 starts, 74 IP, 96 H, 13 BB, 44 K, .319 BA, 9 HR, 8 HBP, 3 WP). Held San Diego State to 2 R on 6 H in 7 1/3 IP in his start in the MWC Tournament.

Bryn Card (LHP – 5-2, 5.67 ERA, 16 apps, 11 starts, 60 IP, 73 H, 23 BB, 48 K, .304 BA, 9 HR, 4 HBP, 1 WP). Held TCU to 3 R on 7 H in 5 2/3 IP in his start in the MWC Tournament.

Relief Pitchers

Closer – Greg Krause (RHP – 1-4, 5.09 ERA, 29 apps, 4 saves, 41 IP, 52 H, 15 BB, 45 K, .301 BA, 6 HR, 7 HBP, 3 WP). Had two saves in MWC Tournament and allowed 1 R (0 ER) in 5 2/3 IP in three appearances.

Stephen Streich (LHP – 2-3, 6.03 ERA, 25 apps, 2 saves, 34 IP, 48 H, 18 BB, 27 K, .338 BA, 4 HR, 3 HBP, 3 WP).
Tyler Andersen (LHP – 1-1, 7.71 ERA, 19 apps, 23 IP, 37 H, 5 BB, 19 K, .356 BA, 0 HR, 3 HBP, 0 WP).
Robert Chimpky (RHP – 2-2, 8.62 ERA, 23 apps, 3 saves, 24 IP, 35 H, 14 BB, 27 K, .347 BA, 5 HR, 5 HBP, 3 WP).
Bennett Askew (RHP – 1-4, 9.13 ERA, 17 apps, 24 IP, 32 H, 9 BB, 25 K, .327 BA, 3 HR, 4 HBP, 1 WP).
Joe Pond (RHP – 1-1, 8.61 ERA, 15 apps, 2 starts, 23 IP, 36 H, 17 BB, 20 K, .364 BA, 1 HR, 2 HBP, 4 WP).