Even though the U baseball team has faced two conference opponents, its series with San Diego State starting today will allow it to see how far the team has come, and how far it can go.
San Diego State has a record of 21-9, is ranked No. 38 in the nation and head coach Jim Deitz is adding more wins to move up the list in total all time wins, and he’s already seventh.
The Aztecs came into the season with a new assistant coach in future hall of fame big leaguer Tony Gwynn.
Even with Gwynn’s superior intellect in the art of hitting, the team is proving its winning ways derive from the superb pitching from the starting staff.
“They have the most depth and the best pitching staff in the conference,” U baseball coach Tim Esmay said.
The Aztecs have a team ERA of 3.71 and have two individual four-game winners.
Chris Dunwell, who has been named Mountain West Pitcher of the Week, has a record of 4-2 and an ERA of 3.33.
Dunwell started the season 0-2 and has not lost a game since. Rory Shortell is the other four-game winner for the Aztecs.
Shortell is 4-2 and has an ERA of 4.12. The biggest surprise this season for the Aztecs has been redshirt sophomore Rob Harrand.
Harrand pitched 6 innings and only allowed one run last weekend, upping his record to 3-0. Harrand’s ERA stands at 3.97.
However, it is not as if the Aztecs hitting has been complete garbage. Taber Lee has been playing very well, as he won the Mountain West Player of the Week award for his efforts against BYU.
In the series, Lee hit .667 with a pair of doubles and 4 runs scored. He also had an unbelievable on-base percentage of .706 in the series.
Utah is coming off a mid week series against Southern Colorado, but the games will not play much of a factor since not one of the starters for the Utes pitched in the series.
The key to defeating the Aztecs is piecing together an all-around effort. “We need to keep swinging the bat well, play strong defense and have strong pitching performances to challenge them,” Esmay said.
Jason Wylie is expected to start the first game, with Cheyenne Rushton and Mitch Maio pitching the weekend games.
Nate Weese will attempt to extend his hitting streak, which is currently at 22 games.
Adam Castleton and Donnie Saba have been playing very well, and players like Brett Baldwin are coming up and finding their stroke as well.
In the bullpen, Ryan Reisbeck has provided great relief and Clay Westmoreland showed a lot against Southern Colorado.
Doug Mackay and Sean Overholt played very well against Southern Colorado and could be called upon if the Utes’ starting pitching gets into trouble early.
The Utes will need to play their best baseball of the season if they want to overthrow the Aztecs.