2023 Big West Baseball Schedule | Standings | Stats | Week 7 Notes (.pdf)
What 2 Watch 4
All 11 Big West baseball programs notably enter Friday coming off of wins, as the league went 9-0 in non-conference action on Monday and Tuesday while doubling up opponents on the scoreboard, 89-43. Only Hawai’i and UC Santa Barbara were idle, both having won on Sunday.
This week, second-place Cal State Fullerton welcomes fourth-place Hawai’i into Goodwin Field as victors of five and three straight, respectively. All three matchups are on ESPN+. The Rainbow Warriors came back to take last year’s set on O’ahu.
UC Irvine entertains a red-hot UC San Diego squad that makes the short trip north riding an 11-game win streak which has matched UC Santa Barbara’s for the longest in The Big West thus far this season. It is the second-best current stretch in all of Division I, behind only No. 21 Texas’ 15-gamer. The first-place Tritons, the only team still unbeaten in league play at 6-0, went 15-3 during their season-long 18-game home stand that just ended on Tuesday night. Having gone 1-3 in neutral-site contests during the season-opening MLB Desert Invitational in Phoenix, Ariz., UC San Diego awaits its first true road games of 2023 at Anteater Ballpark on ESPN+. UCI won last year’s series in La Jolla, 2-1.
Long Beach State, itself a winner of five in a row, takes on Cal Poly with both sides an even 3-3 in league activity. The first two meetings are in prime time at 6 p.m., and all three on ESPN+. The Mustangs came out on top of two of three games in San Luis Obispo a season ago, though the Saturday affair went the way of the Dirtbags in a romp, 28-2.
Elsewhere, UC Riverside is at CSUN, and UC Davis travels to CSU Bakersfield. In 2022, the Matadors swept in Riverside without allowing a single run, while the Roadrunners took their series in Davis, 2-1.
UC Santa Barbara is the odd team out this week, with the Gauchos heading to the Central Valley for three games at Fresno State that will have live video through the Mountain West Network.
Eight teams face non-conference tilts on Monday or Tuesday during a short week as the entire league will be off on Sunday, April 9, for the Easter holiday. UC Santa Barbara and CSUN first have Monday matinees versus Santa Clara and California Baptist, respectively. Long Beach State then has a marquee showdown with No. 12 UCLA on April 4 with first pitch at Blair Field slated for 6 p.m. UC San Diego hosts crosstown foe University of San Diego at the same time, also on ESPN+.
Check listings to see which upcoming games will air on ESPN+.
Last Week, Today
Week 2 of The Big West conference calendar featured a second straight sweep at home for unlikely early leader UC San Diego in just its third season as a member. Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State swept road sets at UC Davis and UC Riverside, respectively, with the Highlanders the last of the 11 teams to begin league activity.
Sunday rubber games went to UC Santa Barbara versus CSUN and Cal Poly against UC Irvine, both at home. Moving out of conference, Hawai’i allowed just three runs total in a three-game sweep of visiting Tulane from the American Athletic Conference.
UC San Diego trailed CSU Bakersfield 4-0 both Saturday and Sunday, only to total 14 unanswered runs to win those games 8-4 and 6-4 to finish off its sweep. The Triton bullpen allowed a solitary score over 16.2 innings (0.54 ERA) for the weekend set.
First-time Big West Pitcher of the Week Harry Gustin was the highlight among many mound stars for UH, as the sophomore southpaw took a no-hitter into the seventh and fanned a career-high eight in Friday’s opener with the Green Wave en route to a combined three-hitter, 3-1.
Kyle Ashworth batted .500 with four runs, one home run and six RBI to grab a first Big West Field Player of the Week distinction, with fellow sophomore Eddie Saldivar adding five runs, two blasts and seven RBI for the Dirtbags at UCR. Saldivar’s first-pitch, fifth-inning grand slam accounted for all of LBSU’s offense in Saturday’s 4-3 victory.
Cal Poly put together a five-run eighth on Sunday to rally past UC Irvine, 7-3, and earn the series win. Sophomore catcher Ryan Stafford’s first collegiate grand slam punctuated that big frame. Ryan Baum tossed 4.1 innings of near-perfect relief with just a walk to open the ninth.
Ace Tyler Stultz surrendered two in the first Friday at UC Davis before the Titans outscored the Aggies 21-5 from there to grab all three games. Stultz (3-1) went 8.0 frames with five punch-outs. Nate Nankil’s three-run blast in the seventh was the difference in Sunday’s 4-1 decision.
UCSB scored in each of the first five innings, including a six-run third, to down CSUN 14-5 in Sunday’s rubber contest. Jared Sundstrom hit a pair of two-run home runs. Zander Darby and Christian Kirtley added solo efforts. The Matadors had snapped the Gauchos’ 11-game win streak on Saturday, 7-4, through a four-run ninth-inning rally.
On Monday, UC Davis dispatched visiting LMU, 10-3, behind three RBI each from Mark Wolbert and Alex Gouveia, while UC Riverside got four in the fourth to take the opener of its four-game Crosstown Showdown with California Baptist on the road to break a seven-game slide, 8-2.
Tuesday was another great day for The Big West, as it went 7-0 with wins over Pac-12 contenders USC and nationally-ranked UCLA and two walk-offs, and outscored the opposition by the margin of 71-38. CSU Bakersfield rolled past Pepperdine at home, 19-11, producing season highs of 19 runs on 19 hits with a nine-run sixth to overturn an 11-8 deficit, tallying the final 11 scores.
Seven arms combined on a one-hitter and Doyle Kane provided a two-run single in the fifth to give UC San Diego a 2-1 triumph in the first of four games of its second-ever Trolley Series with San Diego State.
Coming off its season-long 14-game home stand, Cal Poly registered its first win away from home for 2023 as the Mustangs struck for six in the first, including a three-run blast by freshman Evan Cloyd, and raced past Fresno State, 15-5. Junior first baseman Joe Yorke went 4-for-6 with three runs, two doubles, two home runs and a career-high six RBI.
Jonathon Long sent the third pitch of the home ninth over the wall in left field for a walk-off home run as Long Beach State edged California Baptist at Blair Field, 3-2. UC Irvine likewise walked off USC, 5-4, as Jacob Stinson’s first-pitch single to right in the bottom of the 10th got away from the Trojan rightfielder, allowing Abraham Garcia-Pacheco to come all the way around from first following a one-out hit-by-pitch.
In more home action, Cal State Fullerton routed the 12th-ranked Bruins, 15-5, putting up crooked numbers in the first, third and fourth for a 13-3 bulge. Caden Connor was 4-for-6 with a run, double and three RBI. CSUN outlasted USD, 12-10, taking an 11-4 lead and hanging on late.
Poll Chatter
UC Santa Barbara moved up one more spot this Monday to a season-best No. 9 in Collegiate Baseball’s top 30. Though UC Irvine dropped out from No. 30 following a series loss at Cal Poly, former perennial Division II power UC San Diego made its debut in the publication’s Division I listing, at No. 28, as The Big West leader (6-0) and winner of 11 in a row. The Tritons are in just their third Division I campaign.
The Gauchos advanced for a third week running within the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) top 30, from No. 23 to No. 20. UC San Diego is now receiving votes outside of that poll. UCSB remained in Baseball America’s top 25 at No. 23, and made its 2023 debut in USA Today’s top 25 this Monday, at No. 24. The Tritons are getting votes outside of the latter.
Surveying Some Stats
UC Santa Barbara is still fifth in the country with a team ERA of 2.88, while also seventh in WHIP (1.15), eighth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.32), 10th in hits allowed per nine innings (7.06), 13th in win-loss percentage (.810), and 16th in walks allowed per nine innings (3.27). UC San Diego tops the league with its .308 batting average and 174 runs scored, while the Gauchos are first again with 31 home runs. UC Davis is currently the top fielding team at a .978 clip. Cal State Fullerton’s Carter White leads The Big West and is 30th nationally with a .424 batting average. Alex Giroux of Hawai’i paces the league and is third in the country with a 0.81 ERA. LBSU newcomer Nico Zeglin is 16th with 48 strikeouts. Alex Gouveia of UC Davis is the nation’s toughest to strike out (40.5), with White ninth (19.7).
The Big West in the WBC
According to NCAA.com, there were no fewer than 12 former players from the 11 current Big West programs who participated in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, which ran from March 7-21. Long Beach State led with its quartet of Jarren Duran (Mexico), L.J. Jones (Panama), Jeff McNeil (Team USA) and Vance Worley (Great Britain). McNeil drew two late leadoff walks as Team USA ultimately was edged 3-2 by Team Japan in the championship game in Miami, Fla., on March 21.
CSUN had a pair of alums playing for Team Canada in Denzel Clarke and Damiano Palmegiani. UC Davis also had two representatives with Joe Biagini (Italy) and Ty Kelly (Israel). Former Cal Poly pitcher Joey Wagman was on Team Israel, Andre Pallante of UC Irvine threw for Team Italy, and Cade Smith of Hawai’i was with Team Canada. UC San Diego alum Shlomo Lipetz was back again with Team Israel.
Pac-12 Road Sweeps
In back-to-back weeks, UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 24-25) and UC Irvine (March 3-5) produced impressive three-game road sweeps of traditional Pac-12 powerhouses in then-25th-ranked Oregon and Arizona State, respectively. The Gauchos outscored the Ducks, 20-3, while the Anteaters held a decisive run advantage of 33-17 over the Sun Devils. The ‘Eaters are 6-0 (USC twice, Washington State) against the Pac-12.
‘Eater Frosh Martinez Honored by D1Baseball
Anthony Martinez, the left-handed true freshman first baseman for UC Irvine, on March 6 became the first Big West ballplayer to earn a national weekly award for 2023. D1Baseball named the native of Fairfield (De La Salle HS) it’s National Player of the Week after Martinez hit .556 (10-for-18) and slugged 1.278 during a 5-0 week for UCI, providing 10 runs, four doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI, seven walks, three hit-by-pitches, and just one strikeout. Martinez had a string of four games with a long ball snapped on March 4.
Top Big West Tilt Set for ESPNU
On Feb. 14, The Big West announced one baseball telecast on ESPNU this spring which features two of the top three teams in the preseason coaches’ poll. Defending conference champion and preseason favorite UC Santa Barbara will play at Long Beach State in primetime at 7:30 p.m. PT in the middle game of the series on Saturday, May 13, at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field. The Gauchos represented The Big West in the 2022 NCAA postseason, with the Beach picked for a third-place finish in 2023. One of America’s premier amateur baseball facilities, Blair Field welcomed the addition this offseason of the new Bryson Financial Video Board, a state-of-the-art video display nearly 26.5 feet high and 50 feet wide in right center. Games aired on ESPN networks are available on the ESPN App, accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices to fans who receive their video subscription through an authenticated provider.
UC Irvine’s Kendle on Golden Spikes List
USA Baseball on Feb. 10 announced its 55-player preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list, beginning the process of identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country for the 2023 season. UC Irvine’s Caden Kendle represents The Big West on the list. The true junior outfielder out of Huntington Beach (Marina High School) was a first-team All-Big West selection a year ago and is a 2023 preseason All-Big West honoree.
Coaches’ Corner
CSUN features the lone first-year skipper in the conference in Eddie Cornejo, who has taken over for the retired long-time college baseball leader, Dave Serrano. The Matadors’ 20-5 home romp over visiting Stony Brook on Opening Day on Feb. 17 gave Cornejo a first win as a college head coach. On Feb. 13, UC Santa Barbara announced a contract extension that will keep Andrew Checketts, The Big West Coach of the Year for a second time in 2022, with the Gauchos through 2029. Larry Lee, the league’s longest-tenured head coach in a 21st season at Cal Poly (621 career wins), was selected by USA Baseball in January to manage the 2023 Collegiate National Team this summer. Second-year Hawai’i head coach Rich Hill has the most wins overall of any of the 11 current Big West managers, now at 1,119 across a 35-plus-season career.
2022 Season Rewind - Gauchos Go the Distance
UC Santa Barbara went 44-14 overall and a dominant 27-3 in The Big West a season ago to cruise to its second conference title in three years by a full five games over runner-up Cal Poly. It was UCSB’s fourth league crown in all. Not only did the Gauchos take all 10 league sets with seven sweeps, they didn’t drop a single non-conference series of more than two games. UCSB went 1-2 at the NCAA Stanford Regional with a 9-4 victory over Binghamton in between defeats to Texas State and the host Cardinal. Andrew Checketts was voted by peers as The Big West Coach of the Year for a second time. Cal Poly’s duo of shortstop Brooks Lee and right-handed ace Drew Thorpe were unanimous choices for Big West Field Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, with both then becoming day-one MLB draft choices who signed pro contracts.
Brooks Nearing the Bigs
Cal Poly has the tall task this season of replacing its all-everything shortstop, Brooks Lee, the two-time Big West Field Player of the Year, 2021 and 2022 consensus All-American, and the No. 8 overall selection of the 2022 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Lee was already invited to big-league Spring Training with the Minnesota Twins this season. The 22-year-old is the top prospect in the Twins organization, and No. 31 in all of MLB.
Three Big West Arms on Stopper List
Matt Ager and Carter Benbrook of UC Santa Barbara were joined by UC Irvine veteran Jacob King among 81 bullpen standouts named on Feb. 16 to the 2023 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List. The award is given annually to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball. Ager is a true sophomore right-hander who actually drew a first collegiate start in the Gauchos’ second game on Feb. 18. Fourth-year junior southpaw Benbrook starred out of the pen in 2021 before missing all of 2022 campaign due to injury. This marks a second straight preseason watch list selection for King, a fourth-year junior righty.
A Glance at Preseason Awards
Taking a look around at some of the very many preseason honors doled out by various college baseball media outlets, UC Santa Barbara starting pitchers Ryan Gallagher and Mike Gutierrez were deemed second-team preseason All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball. Redshirt junior southpaw teammate Carter Benbrook, who had a stellar 2021 out of the bullpen and garnered preseason All-America recognition prior to 2022, only to miss the entire campaign due to injury, was named to the NCBWA Preseason All-America Third Team.
In its preview coverage of The Big West, D1Baseball has Long Beach State corner infielder Jonathon Long as its preseason Player of the Year, and teammate Joey Walls Jr., a transfer from UNLV, as Newcomer of the Year. The top national publication also has Gutierrez as its Pitcher of the Year and Gaucho right-hander Tyler Bremner, a San Diego product, as the Freshman of the Year. Long is also Perfect Game USA’s preseason Player of the Year for The Big West. UC Irvine outfielder Caden Kendle is on the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award watch list.
Returning Stars
Three of the five student-athletes who earned The Big West’s major awards in 2022 are back. The trio consists of Freshman Pitcher of the Year Ryan Gallagher of UC Santa Barbara, Freshman Field Player of the Year Mark Wolbert of UC Davis, and Defensive Player of the Year Connor Burns of Long Beach State. Twenty of the 37 first- and second-team All-Big West picks remain on the diamond around the league.
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