Omar Gastellum (46) and Hunter Dorraugh (Photo by Kavin Mistry)
By Matt Weiner (@MattWeiner20) – BSB Beat Reporter
The Spartans were able to right the ship from their six-win season last year, but the sailing isn’t done just yet. This Thursday at 1 p.m. they look to take down the Nevada Wolf Pack in game one of the Mountain West tournament.
Acknowledging History
Before breaking down the matchups that lie ahead, it’s important to note the strides that have been made from last season to this one.
In program history, the Spartans have never had a win total jump up 22 games from one year to the next after being expected to finish dead last in the preseason coaches poll.
2022 was expected to mirror or at least echo previous seasons in which the Spartans were the doormat of the Mountain West. Since 2014, the squad has only finished amongst the top four in the conference once.
Romantics of baseball would point to a phenomena like this and label it an unprecedented display of magic and wonderment.
However, there is still meat left on the bone and it starts with the team that was picked in the preseason coaches poll to finish first.
Wolf Pack Deep Dive
The Wolf Pack enter the postseason going 28-24 overall and 16-11 in conference play. Following suit of the rest of the Mountain West, they rely heavily on offensive fireworks to make up for a pitching staff that has a collective ERA of 6.60 while allowing opponents to hit .298.
The offensive onslaught starts with infielder Joshua Zamora who’s currently leading the team in batting average (.357), slugging percentage (.652), home runs (14), and OPS (1.117).
Zamora is a key reason the Wolf Pack average 8.4 runs per game, but he’s not the only reason.
The lineup includes six other sluggers who are sitting with a batting average above .300 in the form of Landon Wallace (.329), Ryan Jackson (.329), Patrick Caulfied (.323), Anthony Flores (.319), Dario Gomez (.310) and Jacob Stinson (.302).
It’s like walking into a minefield anytime an opposing staff has to face this lineup. Having seven of nine players hitting above .300 in a single lineup feels like something one would see in a video game on easy mode and not real life.
In the first matchup between the Spartans and Wolf Pack, the presence of Nevada’s offense was felt early and often.
The Wolf Pack clinched a clean sweep and outscored the Spartans 46-25; 12-7 in game one, 19-8 in game two and 15-10 in game three.
The slaughtering was mainly a byproduct of the long ball.
Nevada totaled six home runs in the series, two of which came from Zamora in game three.
The next time the two teams met was a very different story, with the Spartans taking two of three at home; winning game one 6-5 in nail-biting fashion, dropping game two 14-3 in disappointing manner, but bouncing back with a 9-2 win the following day.
Sunday’s victory was a mirage of excellence.
It started with Aaron Eden’s laid back demeanor and comfort to live in the zone and pitch to contact. He went five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) while walking one and striking out one.
Darren Jansen came in for Eden in the sixth and began launching one molotov cocktail after another, eventually ending with four shutout innings and six strikeouts.
The 9-2 win showed the Spartans what they were capable of and a distinct piece of evidence that pointed to what the future may hold for both teams if they were to face off in the postseason.
Spartan’s Road to Victory
Punching a ticket to San Diego is a symbol of pride and the Spartans are more than gracious to be in this position, but it’s not the finish line. In some aspects, this is the beginning of a new season.
“In the playoffs everybody is 0-0 again,” said Spartan third baseman Dalton Bowling. “You just get that opportunity to show yourself what you’re really about … I mean we all know what everybody did. UNLV won the regular season, but like I said it doesn’t really mean anything anymore, anything can happen.”
Unpredictability is the glue that holds the postseason together, whether it’s the Mountain West Conference Tournament or the NBA Playoffs. Not knowing has a wonderfully tantalizing effect on those who choose to participate or tune in.
Bowling framing it as a new season is an interesting perspective, but it doesn’t mean good or bad habits from the regular season won’t carry over.
At its peak, SJSU epitomizes the notion of passing the torch from one player to another, whether it’s in the batter’s box or on the bump.
Similar to Nevada, the Spartans have a cache of weapons on offense and a pitching staff that aims to keep offensive outbursts to a minimum.
Leading the way offensively is outfielder and lead off hitter Robert Hamchuk and infielders Charles McAdoo, Hunter Dorraugh and Dalton Bowling.
Hamchuk’s .380 batting average leads the team and is good for sixth in the Mountain West. He’s quietly been one of the, if not the best, table setters in the league, possessing a penchant for deep drives and gritty plate discipline.
Charles McAdoo has been the de facto star of the Spartans in 2022, setting an SJSU record for most games reaching base consecutively (43) and ending his season as the Mountain West player of the week after this ridiculous display of offensive:
Hunter Dorraugh, a first year transfer from Sacramento State, has been a menace at the dish, honessing power that helped him knock a team-leading and SJSU single season record tying 15 balls out of the park, which tied for second best in the conference.
After tying the SJSU single season record on May 1, Dorraugh wasn’t able to club one out in the last 11 games of the season, but he’s an omnipresent threat anytime he digs into the box.
Although not parking any balls, he was still a productive portion of the order, getting a hit in seven of the last 11 games and ending the season with a .605 slugging percentage and a 1.020 OPS.
Dalton Bowling has gone on to be one of the team’s leading contributors on offense posting a slashline of .312/.395/.944. He’s been featured as a proverbial bridge, aiding a seamless transition from the top to the bottom of the order.
In the final series against Sacramento State, he posted one of his best games of 2022, going 4-4 with two home runs and providing a never-ending amount of nails in the coffin for the Hornets.
Similar to Mel Bernstein and Frank Lopez from “Scarface”, the Spartans pitching staff is a dog that can have its day.
Throughout the season, the majority of losses can be traced back to the pitching staff getting pulverized, as the team ERA of 7.05 was second worst in the conference.
In 16 of the team’s 27 losses, pitchers allowed 10 runs or more, rendering the offense as a rock in a hard place, unable to spark any heroics. This was illustrated in living color during the sweeps to Nevada and UNLV.
There are also times where the staff, most often seen from Jonathan Clark, can snatch a lineup’s lunch money and deliver an atomic wedgie.
Amongst those on the team with at least five or more starts, Clark is first in ERA (5.63), WHIP (1.49) and opponent batting average (.261).
As of Tuesday May 23, head coach Brad Sanfilippo has him pegged to start game one of the tournament.
“We’ll throw our guy,” said Sanfilippo referring to Clark.
Following Clark, the starting staff does drop off as the other three most commonly used starters in Aaron Eden, Micky Thompson and Ethan Ross have a combined ERA of (8.06) and WHIP of (2.04).
However, all three have had at least one appearance this year where they went at least five innings while allowing one earned run or less.
When it comes to the horses in the pen, the Spartans have shown times where they can hog tie any offense down.
First-year transfer Brady Hill has become the team’s closer, clocking in a Mountain West leading 10 saves.
His role is specific: knock the eight ball in when the time comes.
“I want to have the opportunity to come into a championship game, up one and get three outs,” said Hill. “I think about that a lot, it’s exciting.”
That final moment is something he’s quite literally dreamt about.
“We’ve all had dreams like that where you wake up and you’re like ‘I can do this,’” said Hill.
Punching in the final three outs of a game is specific to Hill, yet many other Spartans have that same ball of excitement existing inside of them heading into Thursday afternoon.
Jackson Forbes, a speed-riddled second baseman, can relate to Hill when it comes to being used for a specific reason off the bench.
Used in more than half of the Spartans’ games this year, Forbes has been useful as a second stringer, totaling an OBP of .392, while swiping the third most bags on the team with four.
Forbes doesn’t know when he will be used, yet he’s aware that he might only get one opportunity.
“When it’s that one situation the nerves come,” said Forbes. “You have to learn to control it and understand how you’re feeling through it and then execute it.”
The mindset that Forbes is walking around with is crucial when it comes to success in the postseason. He must be as formless as water because situations will arise that can set a game plan on fire and force Sanfilippo and his staff to adjust on command.
Since Opening Day on February 18, the Spartans have made heads turn and shown that preconceived notions are merely just a guess that can be proven wrong.
San Diego has potential to make the preseason coaches poll become more of a badge of honor than it already is.
“It’s not really about Nevada,” said Sanfilippo. “We were picked to finish last and it was a point that we made over-and-over again not only at the beginning of the year, but throughout the year. Obviously a lot of people didn’t think a whole lot about us. It’s a continual theme of trying to prove yourself.”