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It’s hardly a secret formula. Good pitching + good defense goes a long way on the baseball diamond and great pitching + great defense tends to lead to big championships.

Florida’s Dane Dunning fired 5.0 no-hit innings in Sunday’s start against rival Miami (Photo Courtesy Florida).

Case in point – the top four teams in this week’s CB360 Top-50 Rankings. Vanderbilt, Virginia, TCU and Florida, have been stellar on the mound and in the field. Those four teams have combined to go 24-4 and have a total of 22 errors and 18 unearned runs.

The defending national champion Commodores have outscored opponents just 26-22 in their 4-2 start after a 6-0 series-clinching win over Indiana State Sunday, but stellar pitching and defense have (as always) made up for it. The Commodores have just six errors and four unearned runs allowed while also posting a 2.95 ERA.

Virginia (8-0), runner-up to Vandy in Omaha last year, has committed eight errors and allowed six unearned runs while turning in a stealth 1.12 ERA. Virginia has also essentially played a ninth game after Sunday’s 5-4 win over Marist in 18 program record-setting innings.

TCU (6-1), another 2014 CWS team, and Florida (6-1) have been stellar both in the field and on the mound so far. The Horned Frogs (1.45 ERA) have just four errors and four unearned runs charged through seven games. That includes a weekend series win at Arizona State. Florida (2.14 ERA) has just six errors and four unearned runs after taking two of three games against Miami this weekend.

At the other end of the spectrum in the early part of 2015 is Cal Poly. The Mustangs started the season at 28th in our preseason rankings after a 47-12 record and a Big West championship in 2014. They have limped out of the gates to a 1-7 start in 2015 though, and pitching and defense have been the main culprits.

After committing two errors and surrendering four unearned runs in Sunday’s 9-3 loss to Grand Canyon, Poly now has 17 errors and 18 unearned runs allowed in the first two weeks of the season. On top of that, the staff ERA, which finished at 3.05 last year, is currently a hefty 4.95.

Kyle Smith leads Cal Poly with 16 strikeouts in 9 1/3 IP (Photo courtesy Cal Poly).

Casey Bloomquist only went 4.0 innings in Poly’s season-opening 8-6 loss at Baylor. He surrendered five total runs on 81 pitches and four hits, but he walked four and yielded two unearned runs thanks to three errors in the field.

Slater Lee lasted just 2.0 innings in another 8-6 loss the next day. Two of the four runs reliever Kyle Smith allowed in his 3.1 innings were unearned. The Mustangs committed three more errors in that setback.

Justin Calomeni needed 63 pitches (just 58% for strikes) to get through 3.0 innings in a demoralizing 6-0 loss to the Bears in the series finale. He did go 6.0 innings against Grand Canyon on Sunday, but two errors led to four unearned runs in the 9-3 defeat.

Andrew Bernstein provided Cal Poly with its first quality start in a midweek win at Fresno State. Bernstein allowed just two hits in 5.1 shutout innings in the 7-6 victory. Two late errors paved the way for four unearned runs to score after the Mustangs led 7-0 going into the bottom of the 8th inning. Poly still out-hit the Bulldogs 16-8 and the pitching staff combined for 10 strikeouts and just three walks.

Bloomquist made it to 6.2 innings against Grand Canyon in his second start this past Friday, but he needed 110 pitches to get there. Three Mustang errors led to two unearned runs allowed by Bloomquist, who fanned nine batters, as well as another unearned run tagged to reliever Erich Uelman in the 10-4 loss.

UCSB pitcher Dillon Tate is yet to allow a run in 13 2/3 IP this season (Photo courtesy UCSB).

Two other teams whose fortunes correlate directly to defense through the first two weekends have been Indiana and Arizona State.

Indiana committed just two errors in its first two games of the season – a pair of wins at Stanford – before committing eight errors and allowing a total of four unearned runs in consecutive losses to Stanford, Presbyterian and Furman. The spiral was punctuated by five miscues and three unearned runs in Friday’s 5-2 loss to the Blue Hose.

Arizona State struggled holding onto the ball this weekend as well. The Sun Devils had a pair of errors that led to two unearned runs in Friday’s 3-0 loss to visiting TCU. To be fair, Preston Morrison (2-0) was so dominant the miscues were probably moot. Morrison needed just 88 pitches to fire a three-hit complete game.

ASU had three more errors, but just one unearned run allowed, the next day in a 7-6 win. Two errors in Sunday’s series finale gave the Horned Frogs their first two runs.

UC Santa Barbara (6-1) committed just five errors and allowed a mere three unearned runs while getting off to a 6-0 start. The injury bug hit in Sunday’s series finale against Kentucky in a 12-7 Wildcat win (the only Kentucky victory in the series). Three Gaucho errors accounted for seven, yes – seven unearned runs in defeat.

UCSB, which sports a stellar 1.57 team ERA, will put its pitching, defense and strong start to the test with a midweek game at Pepperdine followed by a three-game home series vs. Oregon next weekend.

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A By The Numbers Look At The Latest Week’s Action

Randy Fontanez (USF photo)

1…Win this season and career shutouts by Fontanez after Friday’s gem.  The Preseason Big East Pitcher of the Year was 0-4 prior to his team’s conference-opener with losses to the likes of Florida and Ohio State and a no-decision in a loss to Oklahoma.

23…Consecutive wins by Arizona State to open the season-a record for the storied program.

2…Runs scored by ASU in the 8th inning to tie Cal in Sunday’s 3-2 win.  Drew Maggi’s two out RBI single in the 9th gave the Sun Devils their 23rd straight win.

13…Strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings by ASU starter Jake Borup in Sunday’s win.  He allowed just two hits, but  settled for a no-decision.

20…Consecutive wins by UCLA to open the season-the longest winning streak in Bruin’s history.

6…Wins with no losses by UCLA pitcher Gerrit Cole.  He became the nation’s first 6-game winner with Thursday’s 11-7 win over Cal Poly.  Cole walked a season-high seven batters with seven strikeouts in the outing, which UCLA led 11-0 after four innings.

10…Combined double plays turned in Pacific’s 3-2 win in 11 innings over San Jose State on Sunday.  Each team turned five double plays to tie a single-game  NCAA record set on April 4, 1989 by Georgetown and George Mason.

8…Runs given-up in 5 2/3 IP by Texas pitcher Taylor Jungmann in Friday’s 12-5 loss to Texas Tech.

9…Runs given-up by Jungmann (2-1) in his first 36 1/3 IP this season prior to suffering his first loss.

10…Runs scored in the bottom of the 8th inning by George Mason in Friday’s CAA opener vs. James Madison and send the game to extra innings with the score tied 12-12.

Noe Ramirez (CS Fullerton photo)

9…Runs scored in the 10th inning of that same game by James Madison, which won the game 21-16.

14…Strikeouts by Cal State Fullerton’s Noe Ramirez in Friday’s 3-0 win over Hawaii in his second complete game of the season.

0.40…ERA of Hawaii starter Josh Slats, who was Ramirez’s counterpart in that game-which lasted just 2:18.

18…Game home field winning streak that ended last Tuesday when Elon beat Clemson 15-10 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

4 of 5…Games Clemson lost last week after opening the season with a 17-2 record.  The Tigers also lost at home to Elon on Wednesday and then dropped 2 of 3 games at Virginia over the weekend.

5…Walks issued by Kansas State pitcher Evan Marshall in Friday’s 14-11 win over visiting Oklahoma State.

7…Runs scored in the 8th inning of that game to give the K-State its third straight win in a Big 12 opener.  (The Wildcats took two of three games in the series.)

2…Walks issued by Marshall (along with 22 strikeouts) in his first 33 2/3 IP this season.

15…Strikeouts in 6 IP by Oklahoma State’s Kevin Chambers, who allowed just one hit with one walk, in Tuesday’s 26-0 win over Alabama A& M.  It was the second game of a doubleheader in Stillwater, OK.

5…Strikeouts by Chambers’ teammate, Brian Denneny, who pitched the last three innings of that game.

13…Combined strikeouts by four OSU pitchers in a 6-5 loss to A&M in game one of that twin bill.

10…Home runs hit by ten different players in Tuesday’s 20-15 win by Morehead State over Indiana.  The teams combined for 35 runs on 43 hits.

8…Pitchers used by Webber International in Thursday’s 9-0 win over Ohio State.

617…Enrollment of Webber International-an NAIA school located in Babson Park, FL.

52,715…Enrollment of Ohio State-a Big Ten school located in Columbus, OH.

Chris Schaeffer (N.C. State photo)

1…Career hit by The Citadel’s Josh Pless.  The freshman’s single to left field gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 win over Appalachian State Saturday afternoon.  He was 0-4 prior to the at-bat.

5…Runs scored by North Carolina State against Miami with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie the game at 6-6 & send it to extra innings.  The Wolfpack won 7-6 after a game-winning sac fly by Chris Schaeffer in the 11th inning.

4 1/3…Relief innings pitched in that game by freshman Felix Roque-a Miami native-to earn his first career win.

10…Consecutive hits by East Carolina in Sunday’s 20-1 win over North Carolina Central.

65-7…Combined score of the Pirates‘ three wins over the Eagles.

2 of 3…Games won by Memphis over Rice over the weekend to give the Tigers their first ever series win over the Owls.

11…Strikeouts in 7 IP by Louisville’s Thomas Royse (5-0, 1.42 ERA) in Friday’s Big East Conference opening 1-0 win over UConn.

4…RBIs by Cody Lassley on his game-ending grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Wichita State a

Cody Lassley

5-1 win over Bradley.

0…Runs allowed in his last 11 2/3 IP by TCU’s Paul Gerrish after 5 2/3 scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Texas State.

16-15…Air Force’s lead in Sunday’s game vs. TCU when play was halted in the 7th inning due to TCU’s travel plans.  The game will be resumed on May 15.  The two teams split the first two games of the Mountain West Conference Series.

7…Straight wins by Georgia Tech after Sunday’s 11-8 win in 10 innings over North Carolina.

5…Runs scored in the 9th inning by the Yellow Jackets to tie the game 8-8 and send it to extra innings.  The scoring was capped on a 2-run home run by Derek Dietrich, who had a career-high five hits in the game.

10…Years since Georgia Tech last swept a series from the Tar Heels, which were swept at home for the first time since 2003.

10…Strikeouts by GT pitcher Deck McGuire in 7 innings in Friday’s 2-1 series-opening win in Chapel Hill.

20-5…School record best start to a season by Western Kentucky after beating Louisiana-Monroe 10-8 on Sunday to cap a weekend sweep.

1…Win over a Division One team by Division II Lake Erie College after Sunday’s 19-4 win over Cleveland State.

11…Strikeouts by Charleston Southern’s Tyler Thornburg in 8 IP in a 1-0 win over VMI.

446…Wins at UC Santa Barbara by head coach Bob Brontsema after an 11-6 win over San Francisco.  The mark is a new school record.

Notes On Pac-10, Big West, WCC, WAC Teams & More…

Zack MacPhee

2…Zac(k/h)s batting over .400 for the Sun Devils.  Zack MacPhee (.484) leads ASU, while Zach Wilson is hitting .441 for a team that’s hitting at a .362 clip.

16…Wins by UCLA to open the season.  It’s the best start in program history.  The 16-game winning streak is also a program best.

125-82…Combined record of the 12 Division One teams the Bruins have played this season.  After a midweek game vs. UC Santa Barbara this week UCLA hosts a 3-game non-conference series with Cal Poly this weekend.

7…Bruin batters hitting .360 or better.  Tyler Rahmatulla (.431) leads the way.  Steve Rodriguez and Dean Espy are each batting .395.

2.13 & 2.97…UCLA and ASU’s respective team ERAs.  UCLA’s staff has recorded 193 strikeouts in 135.0 innings, while ASU’s has 187 Ks in 176.0 IP.

11…Straight wins by the Arizona Wildcats (16-4) after a weekend sweep of Sacramento State.

92…Of 196 runs (46 %) Arizona has scored this year that have scored in the first three innings of a game.

12…Wins by Pacific through the first five weeks of 2010 after taking 2 of 3 games from USC in Stockton, CA over the weekend.  The Tigers won a total of 21 games last year.

Marcus Pointer

9-0…Combined record of Pacific starting pitchers Marcus Pointer (5-0, 2.04 ERA) and David Rowse (4-0, 3.09 ERA).

3…Straight wins over Washington by Cal State Fullerton over the weekend to match a season-high win streak.  The Titans (10-9) are above .500 for the first time this season after opening 2010 ranked in the top 10 nationally.

12…Wins by Cal State Northridge (12-6) , which is already half of the team’s win total from a year ago.

.406…Team-leading batting average of fifth-year senior C.J. Belanger to pace a Matador squad that’s averaging 7.7 runs a game.

6…Straight wins by UC Irvine to improve to 13-6 after a weekend 3-game sweep of Gonzaga.  Like Fullerton, the Anteaters started sluggishly after being among the highly ranked teams in the preseason polls.

Alex Pracher

8-11…Gonzaga’s record-a year after winning 36 games and claiming the program’s first WCC championship.

3-0…Record of Stanford reliever Alex Pracher, who has made eight relief appearances this season.  Pracher (2.19 ERA) has two saves-to directly factor in half of the 10-4 Cardinal’s wins to date.

4…Combined runs given-up by Oregon State relievers Sam Gaviglio, Ryan Gorton, Kraig Sitton, and Kevin Rhoderick who are  a combined 2-1 with 4 saves in 19 total relief appearances for the 13-4 Beavers.  The quartet has pitched 24 1/3 innings with 28 strikeouts.

15…Wins by Oregon (15-6) to surpass last year’s win total of 14 in the first year of baseball in Eugene since 1981.  The Ducks have won 11 of their last 12 games after a 4-game weekend home sweep of Nevada.  They open Pac-10 play this weekend at Arizona.

2.49…The Oregon pitching staff’s ERA.  Tyler Anderson (4-1, 1.60 ERA, 36 K in 33 2/3 IP) has been the top starter, while Drew Gagnier (3 SV, 1.00 ERA) leads the bullpen.

0…Series wins to date this season by Cal Poly, which won 11 of its 14 series last year en route to the program’s first NCAA Regional appearance.

7…Runs scored in the 7th inning by Fresno State in Sunday’s 16-10 win over Loyola Marymount.  It was the lone win by the Bulldogs (10-10) in the 4-game series.

39…Errors committed by San Diego this season (.950 fld %), a preseason favorite to win the WCC.  The Toreros were able to take 2 of 3 home games from Rice over the weekend despite committing 7 errors in the series.  USD plays a 3-game series at Coastal Carolina this weekend.

Matt Hauser

0…Runs allowed in 3 1/3 total innings by San Diego reliever Matt Hauser, who earned both a win and a save in his two appearances vs. Rice.

27…Errors committed by San Diego State this season (.963 fld %).  The Aztecs (9-10) have still won three straight vs. Santa Clara heading into Tuesday’s series finale.

5…Starts made by SDSU’s Addison Reed (4-1, 2.70 ERA), who has made a smooth transition to becoming a starter after saving 20 games while making 25 relief appearances last year.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Second-year Head Coach Jason Gill has announced a 2010 Loyola Marymount University baseball schedule that features 16 games against 2009 NCAA Regional teams, including a home-and-home two-game series against 2009 College World Series qualifier Cal State Fullerton. In just his first season as a Division I Head Coach last year, Gill guided LMU to its first West Coast Conference Championship appearance since 2005.

LMU Head Coach Jason Gill

host the Anteaters on Saturday before returning to Irvine for Sunday’s finale. LMU’s current 56-game schedule will see 29 of the contests played within the walls of Page Stadium, and the other 27 on the road, including three games at the Metrodome from March 5 to 7 as part of the 2010 Dairy Queen Classic hosted by Minnesota.

Full 2010 Loyola Marymount Schedule

Playing in Southern California, a well-known hotbed for college baseball, LMU is consistently playing one of the toughest schedules in all of Division I baseball. Last season, the Lions finished the year 36th in terms of strength of schedule according to Boyd’s World (boydsworld.com).

After opening the season with the three games against UC Irvine, LMU will host Oregon, the program that Gill left as an assistant coach to take the reins at LMU prior to last year, on February 22. The Lions will then travel to USC for the first of two meetings between the two teams on February 23, capping a run of five games in five days to open the year.

With just two full days of rest following the string of games to start the season, LMU will host UC Riverside on Friday, February 28 to open a four-game series with the Highlanders, a series that will consist of home games on Friday and Sunday and a doubleheader at UCR on Saturday.

A midweek contest at home against UC Santa Barbara (March 2) will precede the 2010 Dairy Queen Classic, in which LMU will square-off against host Minnesota (March 5), Northwestern (March 6) and 2009 Regional qualifier Oklahoma State (March 7) in the Metrodome.

A three-game series against Cal State Northridge, consisting of back-to-back home games on March 12 and 13 and a road game on the 14th, will flow into a Tuesday matchup with another Big West Conference opponent, Long Beach State on Tuesday, March 16.

Things really start to pick up on March 19 as the Lions travel to Fresno State for a four-game series against the Bulldogs (March 19-21), kicking-off a portion of the schedule that will pit the Lions against 2009 NCAA qualifiers in six of its next 11 games. Although the competition will be tough, LMU will be at home for seven of those 11 games, hosting Cal State Fullerton (March 23), a four-game series against Albany NY (March 26-28), and single games against USC (March 30) and 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Cal Poly (March 31).

A Tuesday game at UC Santa Barbara on April 6 will be the last game before WCC play begins on April 9 at San Diego. The conference schedule will consist of 21 games, 12 of which will be played at Page Stadium. LMU will host San Francisco (April 23-25), Saint Mary’s (April 30-May 2), Pepperdine (May 14-16), and Santa Clara (May 28-30) to close the regular season. The Lions will travel to San Diego (April 9-11), Portland (April 16-18) and 2009 WCC Champion Gonzaga (May 21-23).

The Lions will host two seven-game homestands this year. The first runs from March 23 to March 31, while the second runs from April 30 to May 16. Moreover, LMU will host 11 of its 12 games from April 20 to May 16, with the only road contest coming at Cal State Bakersfield on April 27.

Between conference games, the Lions will continue to boast a non-conference schedule packed with some of the best teams on the west coast, if not in the all of Division I baseball. The second half of the non-conference schedule will feature games against Long Beach State (April 13), two more against Cal Poly (May 11 at home and May 25 on the road), and the final game against Cal State Fullerton (May 18). LMU will also play a home-and-home against Cal State Bakersfield, with the home game coming on April 20.

Opening Day Scheduled for February 19th Against Bethune-Cookman

Full 2010 Northridge Schedule (PDF)
Friday, February 19th is when the first game of the 2010 season will take place for the Matadors as they travel to Compton, Calif. to face Bethune-Cookman in the inaugural game of the MLB Urban Invitational. CSUN will return to the MLB Urban Youth Academy the very next day to face Southern before completing tournament play at UCLA in a Sunday afternoon match-up against the Bruins.

For the second straight season Northridge has a schedule laden with games at Matador Field; 30 of the 56 regular season games will take place on CSUN’s diamond beginning with their home opener against Pepperdine on February 26th.

CSUN will compete in a total of 56 games throughout the season – 25 against Big West opponents, nine games against teams from the West Coast Conference, four games against Big East competition, and three games against opposition from the Mountain West Conference.

Northridge will also compete in their first exhibition game since 2007 when Waseda University (Tokyo, Japan) visits the campus on March 1st as part of their West Coast tour.

The Matadors will face five teams for the first time in the program’s history – Bethune-Cookman, Southern, Connecticut, East Carolina, and Seattle University – and play in only four games outside California as the team is scheduled to travel to Seattle for a four-game series from March 19-21 and Las Vegas for one game against the UNLV Rebels on May 18th.

CSUN will then travel to San Diego to face the Toreros (Feb. 23) before alternating home games with Pepperdine in a three-game series (Feb. 26-28) beginning in Northridge.

After their exhibition game against Waseda University, CSUN will host a four-game series against Connecticut (Mar. 5-8) and battle East Carolina (Mar. 10) for one game before facing Loyola Marymount (Mar. 12-14) and UNLV (Mar. 16).

Northridge will then hit the road and travel north to compete against Seattle University in a four-game series (Mar. 19-21) that includes a doubleheader that Saturday.

The Matadors will then return home to open a season-long, seven-game home stand beginning with a series against Sacramento State (Mar. 26-29), a team CSUN has not faced since 2002, and ending with three games against UC Irvine (Apr. 1-3) that take place during the inaugural weekend of Big West Conference action.

Five non-conference games against Pepperdine (Apr. 6), Cal State Bakersfield (Apr. 10-13), and San Diego State (Apr. 13) will fill CSUN’s bye week until they return to Big West competition against the visiting Cal Poly Mustangs (Apr. 16-18).

After their series against Cal Poly, CSUN will enter a portion of their schedule that includes ten of thirteen games on the road beginning with a three-game series at Pacific (Apr. 23-25).

A short home stand against UC Davis (Apr. 30-May 2) will bring the Matadors back to Northridge before hitting the road once again for games at UC Santa Barbara (May 7-9), UC Riverside (May 14-16), and UNLV (May 18).

Games against Long Beach State (May 21-23), San Diego (May 24), and a non-conference match-up against UC Riverside (May 25) will comprise the Matadors’ final home stand before CSUN travels to Cal State Fullerton (May 28-30) for their final Big West series of the season against the Titans.

(Press Release)