It's game day again, and the Dawgs are in San Luis Obispo, CA this weekend for a three game series with the Cal Poly Mustangs. Cal Poly started out hot, posting a 7-1 clip and earning a spot in a few of the polls. At that point in time this looked like a trap series to me; a ranked opponent we matched up very well against. I still think this a winnable series that will greatly help our postseason aspirations. The Mustangs going 2-3 over their last five games dampens things a bit, but Cal Poly is still a quality opponent, and one not to be underestimated. The goal is to play .500 ball over the next six games, and taking two this weekend will be a challenge. I hope the Dawgs have spurs on their boots and some rope tonight; there is work to be done on the road to Omaha.
Friday, March 9: 6:00 PM - Starter RHP Aaron West
Saturday, March 10: 6:00 PM - RHP George Asmus
Sunday, March 11: 1:00 PM - RHP Austin Voth
Team comparison and links after the jump...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pitching |
|
|
3.78 |
ERA |
3.32 |
|
.232 |
BAA |
.251 |
|
83 |
Hits |
108 |
|
47 |
Runs |
53 |
|
42 |
Earned Runs |
42 |
|
43 |
Walks |
38 |
|
79 |
Strikeouts |
87 |
|
|
Offense |
|
|
.302 |
AVG |
.289 |
|
.402 |
OB% |
.375 |
|
.439 |
SLG% |
.403 |
|
79 |
Runs |
91 |
|
114, 22, 3, 8 |
H, 2B, 3B, HR |
131, 28, 3, 6 |
|
68 |
RBI |
80 |
|
47 |
Walks |
55 |
|
74 |
Strikeouts |
82 |
|
8 |
Steals |
13 |
|
|
Defense |
|
|
.986 |
Fielding % |
.972 |
|
6 |
Errors |
13 |
|
(UW stats; NCAA = 3) 4 |
Double Plays |
7 |
The Dawgs are on a six game winning streak themselves, and the schedule is only going to get tougher as the season progresses. Our main advantage in this series is the bullpen; Cal Poly lost all 4 games in the final 3 innings, and have been outscored in the 8th & 9th this year. If you want to win games, you have to get a closer. We have one, they don't.
Flashing gold most important key stat of the series: If the Mustangs don't score 6 runs, they don't win. That points to bad pitching, as well as bad defense (13 errors is not good). Cal Poly starts fast and hope they scored enough runs to survive the bullpen rounds. If the Dawgs keep playing the way they have, and the Mustangs like they have, we should win 2 this weekend, with the good possibility of a sweep. Everything hinges on the pitching this time around.
Go Dawgs!