USU’s baseball post-season fate to be decided against Weber State
The stage is set. The teams are ready. And perhaps most important of all, a trip to Florida at the end of May is at stake.
That’s the scenario for the coming weekend’s matchup between the baseball clubs of Utah State and Weber State.
The Aggies and Wildcats have identical records, as both are 16-9 overall and 9-0 in Western Mountain Conference play.
Both together at the top of the conference going into the season’s final weekend of competition, setting sky-high stakes.
If USU does not take at least two of the three games played at Ogden’s Lindquist Field, it will not qualify for the National Club Baseball Association World Series, held May 21 through 26 at Bradenton, Fla.
“We’ll face some better pitching,” said USU Head Coach Ernie Rivers. “Weber’s probably got the best pitching in the conference, and we’ve got the best hitting in the conference, so it’ll be an interesting matchup.
“If we can get to their pitchers early and get to their bullpen, then we have a shot at taking two out of three. If anybody thinks we’re going to sweep them, they’re crazy,” he said.
The Wildcats’ pitching certainly is a force. WSU starter Tim Zack was named NCBA Pitcher of the Week with 16 strikeouts in six innings against Boise State.
He leads the NCBA in strikeouts (59), innings pitched (44) and is tied for the lead in wins (5).
Anything less than the post-season, the Aggies know, won’t be enough. This is especially true considering the stellar start they have had in WMC play.
On April 12 and 13, they took all four games from the visiting Eastern Washington Eagles, a team USU expected more from because of the Eagles’ 8-0 start to the seaso, and a 12-7 mark coming into their visit to Providence.
That weekend the Aggies’ sluggers were consistently connecting with the ball. First baseman Mark Larsen received his second NCBA Player of the Week honor for an 11-for-11, 12 RBI, three home run performance against the Eagles.
This isn’t to mention that outfielder Justin Johnson and third baseman Chris Gorrell also collected three-home-runs during that weekend.
It was the same story the weekend before that, as USU traveled to the University of Idaho and took all three games, putting up 21 runs in one game alone.
Conference play opened the weekend of March 28 and 29 for USU, where it hosted three home games to league cellar dweller Boise State University.
The Aggies won all three, 10-running the Broncos in two of the contests. That was also the weekend Larsen had six home runs and 14 RBIs, earning him his first NCBA Player of the Week award.
USU’s pitching has been consistent but has been masked due to the offensive numbers being thrown up on the scoreboard.
After his team’s wins over EWU, Rivers said the pitching of USU in the final two games between the teams was the games’ X-factor, but was “just a little bit better” than that of the Eagles.
Pitching, Rivers said, is an area the Aggies will have little room to err against the Wildcats. The Aggies had this past weekend off, and should be healthy.
“This is the best team I’ve played on for a long time,” said USU left fielder Jared Shepherd, whose 41 hits, 33 stolen bases and 39 runs lead the NCBA.
“I think we’ve got a good chance to go to Nationals if we just keep it up,” he said. “We’ve got a pretty good win streak going right now. That’s what we set our goals for. We’re not out here just to win games, we’re out here to go to Nationals.”
Larsen, whose 15 home runs and 54 RBIs lead the NCBA, seconded that statement, adding that Weber State’s dominance in conference the past few years provides for some much-needed extra motivation.
“We’re really looking forward to [this weekend],” he said. “They’ve been on top of the conference the last couple years, and we really want to go after them.”
-samhis@cc.usu.edu