By Kavin Mistry:
It’s not often you see a coach turn to his closer while searching for answers in the starting rotation.
However, the Spartans reached a breaking point.
Coming into the season it looked as though Josh Nashed, Matt Brown and Graham Gomez had solidified themselves in the SJSU weekend rotation.
But with each pitcher posting an ERA north of 4.90, head coach Jason Hawkins is turning to his younger arms.
Yesterday, closer Joseph Balfour took the ball and turned in a gem. He pitched four solid innings, allowing two hits, two walks and no runs.
Which now opens the question, where does the rotation go from here? Will Balfour now be the Spartans Sunday starter? Or will this outing force the veteran starters to step up?
All these questions will be answered this weekend when SJSU welcomes the top team in the conference, New Mexico to Municipal Stadium. The Spartans pitching staff was blasted last time they faced the Lobos, but it’s not often any pitcher finds success in Albuquerque.
Home sweet home
Safe to say the Spartans do not like playing away from Municipal Stadium. SJSU is 0-14 on the road this season and are coming off of back-to-back weekend sweeps at Hawaii and San Diego.
Each baseball season has a few statistics that go unexplained and this is certainly one of them.
No two road games have gone the same this season, there is no singular reason that explains the Spartans’ struggle on the road beyond the team’s’ inability to score runs and pitch with the same success they do at home.
(Photos by Kavin Mistry)