The long and the short of college baseball will be on display in tonight’s Big West game between UC Santa Barbara and Hawaii at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium on the UCSB campus.
UCSB, which has earned success — and a reputation — with pitching, has smacked 26 home runs in building records of 16-6 overall and 5-1 in the Big West.
The Rainbow Warriors (8-14 and 2-4) counter with a small-ball offense that relies on reaching base by any means (34 hit by pitches in 22 games), unselfish at-bats (20 sacrifice bunts) and aggressive baserunning. Their 34 steals in 46 attempts this year matches their total thefts in 51 tries in 50 games last year.
“Pressure offense,” Gauchos coach Andrew Checketts said in describing the ’Bows. “A lot of aggressive baserunning and short game. It’s almost a throwback, Big West offense like the Long Beach State days, with a lot of short game, a lot of pressure. We’re going to have to be prepared to defend that.”
The Gauchos boosted their offense with the return of Donegal Fergus as hitting coach. The past two years, Fergus was the hitting coordinator for the Minnesota Twins’ minor league teams.
“We’re lucky to have Donegal,” Checketts said. “He’s done a good job with the guys.”
Right fielder Broc Mortensen leads the Gauchos with six home runs and 21 RBIs but is hitting .214 while striking out once every 4.2 at bats.
“The power’s there,” Checketts said of Mortensen. “He’s trying to be a more complete hitter. I know that hasn’t shown up in the average yet. His ability to hit for average, we think it’s in there. He’s off to a little bit of a slow start.”
The Gauchos, who average 6.3 runs per game, have taken a free-swinging approach. They have whiffed 8.5 times per game while drawing 4.6 walks per contest. They have 12 successful sacrifices.
“We don’t short game as much as Hawaii does in terms of bunting,” Checketts said. “We have it, but we don’t utilize it quite as much. We’re going to have to get outs when they give us outs (on bunts).”
The Gauchos also play powerball on the mound. They average 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings. Corey Lewis, a right-handed sophomore, averages 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings. He is 4-0 with a 1.34 ERA and 1.16 WHIP.
“Lewis has been good,” said Checketts, who doubles as the pitching coach. “He’s gone from being back in the rotation to a Friday starter. He’s done well in that role. He’s thrown a lot of different pitches. He hasn’t thrown as many strikes as he normally does, which is a little bit strange for him. I think he’s going to settle in. He’s been good and the bullpen has been solid. We’ve had a few blips here and there. But we’ve settled in with some roles for some of those guys. They’ve done a nice job with (Michael) Rice (3-0, 1.83 ERA) and (Ryan) Gallagher (2-0, 3.62 ERA) and (Ryan) Harvey (eight saves).”
Mike Gutierrez (3-1, 3.62 ERA) will start for the Gauchos on Saturday.
“We’ve got some good arms and some talented players,” Checketts said. “We’ve been hitting the ball over the fence and striking people out. We’re still a work in progress in putting it all together. So far, they’ve found ways to win games. We’re not super clean yet. We’re hoping that will come soon.”
The ’Bows will be without catcher DallasJ Duarte, who is suspended for tonight’s game after being ejected for questioning home plate umpire Jason Rogers’ calls last week. Duarte, who can bat in multiple spots in the lineup, is a trusted catcher because of his receiving (.981 fielding in six league games), throwing and zone framing. His plate discipline (a team-best strikeout every 7.5 at bats) and speed (5-for-6 on steals) are crucial to the ’Bows’ economical offense.
UH coach Rich Hill said Cade Halemanu will make his second consecutive Friday start, with Andy Archer set for Saturday. Hill said a preferred scenario would be for Halemanu to pitch deep into the game, then turn over a lead to Buddie Pindel. Hill said he would like to see the same stack scenario with Archer and Dalton Renne. Neither team has decided on starter for Sunday’s series finale.
