Even though the folks in the LBSU Sporting Head Shed would prefer events that involve selling tickets and/or picking the pockets of wealthy alums, most of the 49er faithful will be active this summer from their BARCO-loungers and keyboards enjoying the traditional offseason sport of second-guessing.
In second-guessing, the demands on the faithful are minimal. There is no certain game time; you can get busy at any hour. There are no limits on the number of players. In the case of those irascible web boards, contestants don’t have to give their real names. No stats are kept, so you never know how far out on a limb the second guesser has been, is now, or will be.
Best yet, anybody can play, alums (subway or actual) from the old times (there is even a poster who’s handle is Old Timer), ex-jocks, current jocks, ex-coaches, current coaches, ex-admins, current admins, and folks (aka Trolls) from other schools who just want to stir the pot. Titan Czar, who loved to call LB fans delusional, was actually banned. One insightful person was so famous under his original screen name he dumped it and now just uses “Formerly.”
Putting aside this weekend, where baseball plays at UC Irvine and track sends a delegation to the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds Thursday through Saturday in Eugene, Ore. the second guessing season is underway. In softball, there was no doubt that when the real diamond dust settled the national number one seed Arizona State would give themselves the trophy and move on (well, stay at home) for the Super Regionals.
The Beach, however, wanted to beat San Diego State, which they did on Friday 6-2, setting up a dance with the Devils which they lost 8-0. Now in the losers’ bracket, LBSU faced SDSU again and for a sport which is played with really close margins got a 4-3 lead into the seventh, but then young Erin Jones-Wesley couldn’t close the deal. The first out was a swinging K followed by a single, then a walk, then out number two on a pop up to Liz Javier. Two out, then trouble comes via an error in right field. Aztecs score and here the second guessing begins.
The eighth was quiet, but in the ninth two ground ball outs and a strike out meant nothing to the Niners. SDSU got it going in their half with an error at short but the lead runner was put out at second. It was now after 11:00pm and the Beach girls had been on or near the diamond since noon. Suddenly the desert breezes returned, and with former Olympic Home Run champion Stacey Nuveman sharing her long ball tricks, Hayley Miles, who homered in the first, came up and one big swing later sent all the black and gold fans into the night second guessing. Should LB have walked Miles and faced Justeen Maeva (who was the team leader in Home Runs), or take their medicine knowing that who ever got ASU would get crushed. Sunday’s final, 6-1 Sun Devils and a 24-1 run differential in the first round.
It was the 31st decision on the season for the freshmen EJW (23-8), who will return with her team virtually intact, needing only replacements at first and third. Third is the tough spot, because that hot corner belonged to senior Liz Javier who hit .500 (4-for-8) with 2 doubles and 2 RBI in her final three games as a 49er. So if you were to move hot hitting freshmen Sarah Carrasco and Hannah de Gaetano to those spots, oh well, I don’t want to run your summer fun, do your own second guessing.
BASEBALL DUST—The Dirtbags talented freshman Jeff Yamaguchi had five hits last week and drove in the winning run twice as the Dirtbags went 3-1, beating Pepperdine and taking a series win over Cal State Northridge, but senior Matt Hibbert scored both the tying run and the winning run on Senior Day against the Matadors, going 2-for-5. The team’s final goal is to finish at above .500 and they will take a 27-26 mark behind the Orange Curtain for a three game set Friday through Sunday against UC Irvine. The Anteaters will finish second in the Big West and join Fullerton as the only two conference teams in the postseason.
The series will draw a gaggle of MLB scouts looking at LB’s talented Andrew Gagnon and the ‘Eaters’ Matt Summers (1.9 ERA and 9-2). Gagnon is 4-9 and boasts a 2.80 ERA with 82 Ks in 93.1 innings and is holding opposing teams to a .216 batting average.
Southpaw Ryan Strufing is slated for the Saturday start and is 3-2 with a 4.74 ERA. Strufing has made 16 appearances and eight starts for LBSU and has 32 strikeouts in 49.1 innings. He has walked 25 and allowed 26 earned runs on the year. He will go up against Crosby Slaught, who improved to 7-1 on the year after pitching seven innings of two-run baseball to help UCI come away with its sixth consecutive series win. Slaught fanned six and faced three over the minimum, getting help from Ronnie Shaeffer who erased three base-runners. Slaught, who walked just one batter in the outing, lowered his ERA to 4.05 and has recorded 46 strikeouts in 60 innings.
Right-hander Shawn Stuart will close the series Sunday. Stuart is 3-4 with a 3.49 ERA. He has logged 67 innings in 12 starts and 17 appearances and struck out 63 and walked 28. Stuart has allowed 26 earned runs on 69 hits. And that will be that until Buck has his exit interviews and players begin to scatter to summer leagues (for those returning) and car lots, for those signing pro contacts or with generous grandparents. Second guessing encouraged.