By Marissa Scott (@marissascotttt ):
San Jose State baseball was swept in a three-game series against the University of Nevada at Reno over the weekend, here are three takeaways from the series.
1. Pitching needs work … and a lot of it
Spartan pitching has been the team’s’ kryptonite. In innings where they are needed to shut down the opposing offense, they crumble under pressure. In the series against Nevada, the pitchers gave up 35 runs off of 42 hits including four home runs. The team ERA is 7.37 and freshman closer Wesley Clawson has the lowest ERA of 4.32 on the team. Last season, the team finished with a 6.27 conference-play ERA. In the five conference game this season, the team has a 9.91 ERA and have given up 47 runs while only scoring 20. When the offense is down by a lot of runs, the moral to keep scoring is lost. Losing the starting pitching last season has really taken a toll on the team. The bullpen is forced to do more work because they lack starting pitchers who are able to have quality starts.
2. Brett is the real deal
Senior left-fielder Brett Bautista has killed it through his first 10 games in his senior year. He is batting .550 and has 22 hits in 40 at bats. He leads the team with a .775 slugging percentage. Though missing out during the first few games of the season, Bautista is still ahead of most hitters on the team. Over the three-game series against Nevada, the left fielder went 8-for-12 with five RBIs including his first and second home runs of the season. He has been a huge run contributor to the team as of late and continues to be a driving force against opposing pitching.
3. Conference struggles
The Spartans are struggling in conference play. Through five conference games against San Diego State and University of Nevada, SJSU has not won a single game. The Mountain West is a offense-heavy conference and since Spartan pitching lacks, they are having a tough time shutting down opponents. If the pitching doesn’t improve, the prediction of the team finishing last in the Mountain West will become a reality.