CSU Stanislaus baseball had been stuck in a drought of their own; they had not won a conference series in three years. Fans are glad to see that drought has finally ended.
The Warriors have won not one, not two, but three straight conference series.
It all started two weeks ago when the Warriors won their first series of the season against San Francisco State. But, the Warriors followed that by sweeping the Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes on the road, then came home to defeat one of the top ranked conference teams, CSULA, by winning three of the four games.
The Warriors had not won three consecutive series since 2008 when the team went 37-23 and made appearances in both the CCAA tournament and the NCAA West Regional tournament.
The Warriors have now won 10 of their last 12 games in an effort to advance to the CCAA tournament. They have done so with impressive performances by starting pitchers, the bullpen and a hot offense.
Over the last three series, (which has included 12 games) the Warriors offense has combined for 85 total runs over 137 total hits, including 6 home runs. The offensive surge has been lead by James Heller (.417) after going 15-for-36 with 9 RBIs, 12 runs and 2 HRs in the last three series alone.
Heller was followed by Scott Stetson (.400) who went 20-f0r-50 with 8 RBIs and 12 runs scored, Marcus Mastrobuoni (.395) who went 15-for-38 with 8 RBIs, 10 runs scored and a home run, Michael Chavarria (.378) who went 17-for-45 with 9 RBIs and 10 runs scored and rounded out by Nick Molina (.372) who went 16-for-43 with 11 RBIs and 9 runs scored.
But, it hasn’t just been a solid offense for the Warriors.
Seven of 12 starting pitchers in the last three series have pitched seven total innings in each of their starts. This means that the Warriors are using less and less of their bullpen and giving their relievers a lot more rest. Starting pitcher Tyler Murphy pitched 19 total innings and earned all three wins in his three starts, including two complete seven-inning games.
On the other hand, when the Warriors use the bullpen, it has usually helped them.
In the last three series, the bullpen has pitched 25.8 innings and only allowed 11 total runs over 12 games. The closer, Aaron Godinez, has pitched 13.2 of those innings, closing seven total games, only giving up five hits and one earned run. Travis Johnston has been another solid reliever for the Warriors as he has pitched 6.2 innings, only allowing four hits and not giving up a single earned run over three games.
The bullpen has faced issues with retiring batters as they have allowed 21 total hits and 21 total walks in the last three series. However, they have also combined for 28 total strikeouts.
The Warriors are 12-15 in conference play after being 2-13 before the success of the last three series. The Warriors are riding the tail of Chico State in division standings, who they could pass for the eighth spot with a win on Tuesday’s rescheduled rained-out game.
The Warriors will have to face first place UC San Diego next weekend and follow that series by facing second place Cal Poly Pomona before the last series of the season against CSU East Bay.
The top four teams in the conference will advance to the double-elimination tournament and the Warriors will most likely have to go undefeated for the rest of the season in order to advance.
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Warrior baseball takes third straight series
By Patricia Garcia
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April 11, 2015
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