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Toreros Claim 3rd WCC Title In Four Years

USD is the 2nd team to earn an NCAA bid in 2010 (San Diego photo)

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The 17th-ranked University of San Diego baseball tam has officially clinched a share of the West Coast Conference Championship, and earned the WCC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Regionals.

The Toreros have a bye this weekend as the team prepares for final exams, but with a perfect 15-0 record in WCC games, combined with a pair of Portland losses (to San Francisco) this weekend, San Diego has clinched at least a share of the WCC crown, which will make three conference championships in the past four seasons for the Toreros. USD will win the title outright should Portland lose its final game of the weekend against San Francisco on Sunday, or if USD wins at least one of its final remaining six conference games.

The Toreros already own the tie-breaker with Portland after sweeping their three game series last weekend in the Rose City.  The WCC does not play a post season tournament, so the regular season champion earns the league’s automatic NCAA bid.

San Diego is the second team  to earn a 2010 NCAA Tournament bid.  Dartmouth earned the first berth last weekend by claiming the Ivy League Championship.

USD will return to action on Friday May 21st as they head to Malibu to take on the Waves of Pepperdine University in a 3 p.m. game.

(Courtesy San Diego Sports Information)

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Stephen Strasburg Strikes Out 17 In  A No-Hitter

Strasburg was 14-1 in 2009 (SDSU photo)

prepared for his junior season at San Diego State.

Strasburg became a consensus All-American in 2008 after finishing his sophomore campaign with a 10-3 record and 133 strikeouts in 97 1/3 innings pitched.  2009 was just a formality, and the path for Strasburg was simple: Mow down batters and clear a path to being the top pick in the June MLB draft.

That’s why Strasburg’s no-hitter vs. Air Force on May 8 was less a surprise and more a reaffirmation of just how good the fireballer is.  A record crowd of 3,337 packed Tony Gwynn Stadium to see the exclamation point on what turned out to be the last home appearance of Strasburg’s stellar three-year collegiate career.

The big man was on from the onset.  Strasburg struckout seven of the first nine Falcon batters he faced before walking Nathan Carter to open the fourth inning.  Strasburg then got Addison Gentry to fly out, followed by Carter being thrown out trying to steal by Aztec catcher Erik Castro, followed by another strikeout to end the inning.

The only other base runner of the night came when K.J. Randhawa walked to start the sixth inning.  SDSU was leading just 1-0 at the time.  The Air Force shortstop stole second base, but Strasburg struckout the next three batters to end any hopes of a Falcon rally.

The Aztecs scored two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, and added two more for insurance in the eighth, but one runs was all Strasburg would need.  He retired the last 12 batters he faced, putting the finishing touches on his masterpiece by striking out the side to end the game.

Strasburg’s line for the game :  9 IP – 0 Hits – 0 Runs – 2 BB – 17 K

The 17 strikeouts weren’t even a season-high, let alone a career-best mark.  Strasburg had struckout 18 San Diego Torrero batters in March earlier in the season, and his career best was a 23 K effort in a one-hit win over Utah in 2008.

Strasburg’s gem was the seventh no-hitter in SDSU history, but the first by an individual Aztec since 1986.  It was just the third individual no-hitter in Mountain West Conference baseball history.

Not surprisingly, each of the nine Air Force batters struckout at least one during Strasburg’s two hour and eight minute no-no.  Leadoff man Nathan Carter (one of the only two base runners that night), clean-up batter Ben Ausbun and Blair Roberts each fanned three times.

Strasburg’s record stood at 11-0 after the game.  He led the nation with his 1.24 ERA and 164 strikeouts. He was the eventual #1 pick in the June MLB draft after taking virtually every award possible.  Strasburg won both the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes award and was again a consensus All-American.

He was the spearhead of San Diego State’s first NCAA Regional berth since 1991, but his only loss of the season was a 5-1 setback to Virginia in the Aztec’s opener at the Irvine Regional.  With Virginia swinging early in its at-bats, Strasburg gave-up a season-high 8 hits.  He surrendered two runs and struckout 15 in seven innings.

Strasburg ended the season with a 13-1 record, and he topped the NCAA with a 1.32 ERA and 195 strikeouts.  He allowed zero earned runs in 50 of his last 52 innings pitched prior to the Virginia game, while striking out at least 10 batters in 13 of his final 15 college starts.

Other Top Moments Of 2009

12.  Ohio State’s Alex Wimmers No-hits Michigan

13.  Kansas Sweeps #1 Texas

14.  Bryce Brentz Has An April To Remember

15.  Clemson’s Kyle Parker Does Double Duty

16.  #1 Arkansas Beats #1 Arizona State

17.  Rhode Island Beats Miami And Oklahoma State

18.  Kansas State’s A.J. Morris beats Arizona State’s Mike Leake

19.  North Carolina’s Mike Fox Wins His 1,000th Game

20.  Illinois Shocks #1 LSU In Baton Rouge

21.  Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Longballs

22.  Freshman Levi Michael Starts In North Carolina’s Season Opener

23.  LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

24.  Oregon Brings Back Baseball

Moraga, CA – The Saint Mary’s College baseball team and head coach Jedd Soto have announced the schedule for the 2010 season. Highlighting the season are a total of nine games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year, three series against conference champions, one series against a 2009 College World Series participant, and a total of 33 games against teams who finished .500 or better.
“Without question, this will be the strongest schedule we have played since my arrival at Saint Mary’s College,” said

St. Mary's Head Coach Jedd Soto

Soto. “We will have an opportunity early to compete at a very high level during our preseason contests which should help us prepare for the West Coast Conference play.” “Playing this type of schedule against quality opponents will give a chance to earn a post season bid.”

Complete 2010 St.Mary’s Schedule (PDF)

Fans will get their first chance to see the 2010 club February 19 when the Gaels take on the defending Western Athletic Conference regular season champion San Jose State Spartans, who finished with 41 wins last season. Opening weekend will continue February 20 on the road at San Jose State, and will finish with the Gaels hosting the Spartans again at Louis Guisto Field on February 21.

After hosting the Nevada Wolfpack in a mid-week contest on February 23, the Gaels will be on the road for eight of the next game games. They will travel down south for a tournament hosted by Cal State Bakersfield, February 26-28. In the tournament, SMC will play CS Bakersfield, Bay Area competitor and Pac-10 member California, and Central Michigan of the Mid-American Conference.

From there, the Gaels return home for a mid-week contest March 2 against Sacramento State, and return the favor by traveling to Sacramento, CA the following day, and then will make the trip down to Irvine March 5-7 to take on the Anteaters of UC Irvine. UC Irvine won the Big West Conference last season with a record of 45-14, was ranked no. 1 nationally for a period of time, and hosted an NCAA Regional.

The Gaels hit the road again March 19-21 when they travel to New Orleans, LA, and take on Conference USA member Tulane. Following another mid-week road affair with the Hornets of Sacramento State on March 23, the Gaels return to the friendly confines of Louis Guisto Field March 26-28 for a series against UC Riverside, from the Big West Conference, which finished the 2009 season with a record of 33-20.

Another eight-game road-trip begins on March 30 when the Gaels travel to UC Davis for a midweek game against the Aggies. The Gaels then head to Hattiesburg, MS for an April 1-3 series against Southern Mississippi. The Conference USA runner-ups with a 40-26 record, the Golden Eagles were one of eight participants in last year’s College World Series and finished the season with a no. 8 ranking nationally.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Gaels from there when they return to California, as they travel to Palo Alto for a midweek contest against Stanford, perennial powers in the Pac-10, on April 7. The road trip concludes when the Gaels open West Coast Conference play at the Portland from April 9-11.

Following the series at Portland, the Gaels will be local for the next seven contests when they return home and continue WCC play April 16-18 against Bay Area rivals, the San Francisco Dons. After a mid-week game against Sacramento State, the fourth meeting of the season, SMC will hit the road for WCC play and take on Santa Clara, April 23-25.

Following an April 30-May 2 WCC road series at Loyola Marymount, the Gaels will return to “The Guisto” for its longest home stand of the year. They will host WCC power Pepperdine May 7-9, UC Davis in a midweek contest May 11, and defending WCC champions Gonzaga May 14-16. The Bulldogs finished last season with a record of 36-18 and a no. 22 national ranking.

The Gaels will be on the road the last two weekends of the season, traveling to the Seattle University May 21-23 for a four-game series. Seattle is beginning its first season of baseball since the 1980 season. WCC play concludes with a series against the Toreros of San Diego May 28-30.

“We have a balanced club this year,” said Soto. “We will return some key offensive players and have added some very talented freshman, who should make an immediate impact. We have an experienced starting rotation and a deep bullpen consisting of three closers who have combined for 18 saves over the past three seasons. Overall, we have a fairly young team that should be exciting to watch for the next few years.”

There will be no West Coast Conference tournament or playoff for the 2010 season. The regular season champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

(Release)