By Marissa Scott — Managing Editor
Coming off of a successful 2018 season, the San Jose State baseball team heads into this campaign with high hopes and expectations.
After a last-place Mountain West prediction in 2018, the team overcame the odds and finished in third after Nevada and San Diego State, respectively.
With a 16-14 record in the MW, the Spartans had their most conference wins since 2008. They got off to a slow start in the beginning of the conference schedule, but went on a 13-6 run to send themselves to the Mountain West Conference Championship.
In 2018, the Spartans boasted a lineup made up mostly of upperclassmen, which proved successful for the team. Five of the eight everyday starters were seniors and the group routed 177 of the 278 runs batted in during the season.
Senior shortstop Aaron Pleschner, juniors catcher Johnny Mendoza and center fielder Kellen Strahm made big contributions to the Spartans success and will guide the team to victories this season.
Although most of their starting lineup walked across the stage, the Spartans are certain that their new incoming group of freshmen and junior transfers will get the job done and continue on the success trail the 2018 team left.
“I think the lineup is going to surprise people,” junior transfer Blake Berry said. “We’re mostly known for pitching and defense, but I think our offense is going to be solid this year as well.”
The utility player transferred an over-.300 batting average to SJSU from Santa Rosa Junior College.
Along with Berry, another transfer standout is junior infielder Troy Viola. The Glendale CC transfer batted .306 with nine home runs and 38 RBIs in his final season with the Gauchos.
The home run power is something the Spartans were missing last season. The team finished with 17 home runs, 13 of which came off the seniors, so replacing the power hitting is important to help boost the offense.
Although the offense is not set in stone, the pitching staff has caused buzz around the MW baseball community.
The Spartan pitching staff solidified itself at the end of last season.
Senior left-hander Andrew Mitchel commanded the mound in his 13 starts and boasted a 3.72 ERA with 101 strikeouts. The Mountain West Co-Pitcher of the Year was the first player to hit 100 punchouts in 14 years and led the conference with 10.45 strikeouts per nine innings.
Near the end of last season, senior right-handers Fineas Del Bonta Smith and Tevin Cadola saw success on the mound that will transfer over into possible starters for this season.
Along with Mitchel, the rest of the experienced pitching staff showed off its capabilities late into last season and will help carry the team to more wins throughout the 2019 season.
“It’s rare to have such a mature pitching staff and we got one,” Berry said. “They’re going to be huge for us this year and I think everybody is expecting a lot of them, including themselves.”
After former head coach Jason Hawkins resigned right before the start of the 2018 season due to an NCAA investigation, not many people believed the team would be able to get themselves together and perform well — but the team proved opposite.
Sanfilippo stepped up and took the interim head coaching position and his team trusted him to lead them to a victorious season. Since the second-year coach was able to recruit his own class prior to this season, the team has time to settle in and play the best it can.
After last year, the offense has a hole with the loss of players like Shane Timmons, David Campbell and Brett Bautista, all of which batted over .330 and knocked in over 120 runs.
Sanfilippo is looking for his recruits to step up and take the place of the power hitters who knocked out the No. 1 seed in the MW Championship Tournament.
Although the Spartans will strive for a top-three finish in the conference, because of a probation placed on them before the season, the team will not be eligible for playoffs. The investigation into the previous head coach has hindered its chances of a second appearance in the tournament.
With yet another predicted last-place finish in the Mountain West, the SJSU baseball team starts its season hoping for yet another upset in the conference.
“As a whole we’ve been working hard every day since the beginning of fall,” Berry said. “Honestly we’re all ready to just get after it and play some solid baseball.”
Follow Marissa on Twitter @marissascotttt
