Baseball Games of the Week (2/21 - 2/24)
#17 Cal State Fullerton at TCU (Fri., Sat. & Sun.)
These are two teams going in different directions after the first weekend of the year. CSUF is coming in 5-0 after defeating USC, Nebraska twice, Pepperdine and CSU-Bakersfield. J.D. Davis comes into the weekend after having a monster first week that saw him compile a .429 average, score six runs, hit two home runs and knock in 12 RBI. Chad Wallach isn't far behind with a .438 average, three doubles and eight RBI. Justin Garza is coming off of a start last week, where he went six innings, gave up two hits, no runs and struck out six.
TCU was swept by Ole Miss last week, only scoring four runs total in three games. The Horned Frogs struggled at the plate, knocking out just 18 hits in 93 at bats for a .194 average. Derek O'Dell, who has one hit in 10 at-bats, leads the team with three RBI. As poorly as the offense has hit, the pitching is only allowing a combined .202 average. Preston Morrison went seven innings in his start, giving up two runs, but striking out nine. Brandon Finnegan went six innings of one-run ball with four punch-outs.
Kent State at San Diego (Fri., Sat. (2) & Sun)
Both teams came into the season with high expectations, but struggled in their first series of the season. The teams are a combined 0-7 for the year. While Kent State’s offense hasn’t been too bad, from last week's stats, it looks as if it lacks power and timely hitting. Alex Miklos is second on the team with a .357 average, leads the team in home runs with the squad's lone one and is tied with T.J. Sutton for most RBI with four. The pitching hasn't been much better, as three of last week's pitchers gave up three, seven and seven runs, respectively. Taylor Williams had the best start of the four, giving up one earned run in seven innings, while striking out five.
San Diego is coming off of a sweep at the hands of cross-town rival San Diego State. The Aztecs outscored their opponents 17-6 in the three games. Logan Davis, who started all three games, leads the squad with a .857 average, as he collected six hits in seven at-bats and scored two of the teams' four runs. Michael Wagner had the best outing of the three starters. Wagner went six innings, giving up eight hits, three earned runs, struck out eight and walked none.
#15 Oregon State at San Diego State (Thur., Fri., Sat., & Sun.)
The Aztecs are coming off of a sweep of San Diego. The offense exploded for 17 runs, 16 of which were earned. And Tony Gwynn's squad did it without hitting any home runs. Three players have two doubles each, including Tim Zier, who also leads the squad with seven RBI. Michael Cederoth's start stood out, as he went five innings, scattered four hits, gave up one runs and struck out six.
Fifteenth-ranked Oregon State also comes into the series with an unblemished record (4-0). Despite playing talent that may be mediocre, the squad erupted for 33 runs, 32 of which were brought in by RBI. The Beavers spread out the hitting, as four of their everyday starters are hitting .313 or above, led by Jake Rodriguez's .462 average and a tied team-high six hits. He also leads the team with five RBI. Three other players have four RBI. Oregon State got stellar pitching from its rotation last week, led by Andrew Moore and Matt Boyd. Moore pitched five innings, giving up four hits, one earned run and struck out six. Boyd went seven strong innings, gave up two runs and struck out four.
