Yes, it's April Fools Day.
No, this is not an April Fools joke.
We just couldn't get it done. Couldn't get it done on defense, couldn't make up for it on offense. Three days in a row.
The Beavers lost 17-14 to Arizona today, and trailed by a greater margin than that most of the game. The Beavers pulled closer on a ninth inning rally that fell short when Drew George struck out to end the game with the bases loaded.
It's that kind of thing that hurt the Beavers this weekend. Drew had a bunt in Game 1 that he popped up that, had he laid it down, put runners on second with one or two outs-- that could have been the deciding factor in that game.
Overall, I think the glaring problem this weekend was pitching. I don't know if it was something in the air down in the desert or what, but our pitching staff was not where it normally is. Our starting pitchers gave up 16 runs on 19 hits in 11 2/3 innings combined. They walked 7, struck out 6, and hit 5. Joe Patterson hit the same batter, Bill Rhinehart, three times in four innings.
Our bullpen wasn't that much better, so the whole pitching staff is to blame. Add all the stats together, and the Beavers gave up 30 runs on 35 hits, walked 14, struck out 16, and hit 10. Never have I seen a game, or three consecutively games, have that many hit batters. We hit six batters in Game 3 alone.
We're 0-3 in Pac-10 now, and last year's squad finished 17-7 in conference. It's definitely doable.
The Beavers are going to fall a long ways from that #2 National Ranking they've worked so hard for these last two months. My guess is the Beavers will land somewhere around #15, but it really doesn't matter. What matters is that we play our brand of baseball, and get back on the right track.
The USC Trojans are in town this week. The Beavers will finally get to sleep in their own beds for the first time in two weeks, and hopefully that helps them get their mojo back.
We'll take a look at USC's team and what they've done so far this year here in the next day or two.
Game 1 of the series is scheduled for Thursday with a 5:00 p.m. first pitch. The weatherman is calling for rain, but we'll see what happens. We've got a turf infield now, anyways.
Go Beavers!
--JB--