Saint Mary's was down 4-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, staring at the possibility of a seven game losing streak and a 1-7 WCC record.  This is a team with talent but after showing signs of combining their considerable talent with the know-how of winning games, they had started to resemble a seriously underachieving team.  Well, momentum in baseball is a funny thing.  Some will say you are only as good as your next game's starting pitcher and I tend to agree, but some teams just need that moment when they fight back, say enough is enough, and TAKE a win, refuse to lose and get on a roll.

Was Friday's comeback win over Pepperdine that moment for Saint Mary's?  I don't know, but I would not be shocked if it is.  They have had good pitching for most of the year but two of their most important hitters and two of their most talented players, 3B Patrick Wisdom and OF Brenden Kalfus have scuffled for much of the year, especially Kalfus.  Well, on Friday he hit a HUGE 3-run homer in the eighth to put the Gaels up and after being down 4-0 going into the bottom of the 4th, Saint Mary's scored six unanswered runs to steal the victory. 

The Kalfus homer is a potentially HUGE moment for this team.  Both his season and the team's season quite possibly hung in the balance in the eighth inning when he came up with two runners on, trailing 4-3.  Another empty at-bat would have likely sealed another loss and piled on a very disappointing season for Kalfus.  However, he came through and just when it might have seemed darkest for him and his teammates, there is now light at the end of that tunnel.

Now the onus is on senior RHP Kyle Barraclough, who starts game three on Saturday.  Barraclough has had a good career at Saint Mary's but has not been very good yet this year.  He has walked too many hitters and generally speaking, just hasn't been good enough, despite a very nice 2.40 ERA.  I dare say he has been just good enough to lose and that is why he is 1-4 on the season.  How can he be 1-4 with a 2.40 ERA?  Well, 31 walks in 45 innings and allowing six unearned runs are clear indications that he hasn't made good enough pitches when he has really needed to.  If he can bounce back and help to lead the Gaels to a W on Saturday, you just might see a talented team go on a hot streak.  Stay tuned, things could get very interesting for the Gaels really soon.  They just need to catch a Wave on Saturday.

College teams started their weekend series' on Thursday this week, due to Easter Sunday.  Some clubs got off to great starts for the weekend (Cal, Cal Poly, Nevada, Stanford) but others continue to struggle (USF, St. Mary's)...

The good...

- Cal is at USC this weekend and looking to build off the big series win last weekend on the road at Texas.  Well, they got off to a great start with a come from behind 5-4 win, scoring two in the top of the ninth to steal a win from the Trojans.  Tony Renda hit a double to score the winning run.  Cal is now 2-5 in the Pac-12 and if they can somehow sweep this series, they would have to be considered a team to pay attention to.  Cal typically runs hot and cold and because they have talent, if they get to running hot, it can lead to an extended good streak.  Of note, LHP Michael Theofanopoulos got the start on the mound in game one agaisnt USC.  That spot had belonged to Justin Jones but he really struggled his last two times out.  Nice adjustment by the coaching staff.

- Stanford got a MUCH NEEDED win at Washington.  Why was the win so big?  Well, the Cardinal were swept last weekend at Arizona and they need to get a sweep of their own to make-up for those three losses.  Junior RHP Mark Appel went the distance for Stanford, throwing a four-hitter in the 5-2 win.  Stanford played error free baseball and the offense posted 12 hits.  They are now 3-4 in Pac-12 play. 

News and notes from the D1 action this past weekend... it was good for Cal and Nevada but basically bad or awful for all the other local clubs.

The weekend is here and most teams will have started their conference schedules after today.  One school that hasn't yet started it's conference schedule is UC Davis.  The Aggies, who have pitched well this year, are playing a series at Hawaii.  I was VERY skeptical about their chances to win at Hawaii.  The reason?  Well, USF barely scored at Hawaii and though I don't consider the Dons a juggernaut offense, I felt they were stronger than UC Davis with the bats.  I also feel that USF is a stronger pitching team than UC Davis.  So... what happens?  UC Davis goes over there and wins 5-3 in the first of a four game series.  Good for the Aggies!

Senior LHP Dayne Quist struck out nine in seven innings and continued his strong season.  I have not seen Quist in a few years and the former BAWS participant is exceeding my expectations.  He is putting up some OUTSTANDING numbers this season and maybe he should have been the preseason pitcher of the year candidate, not teammate Anthony Kupbens.  Quist now has 48 strikeouts in 45.1 innings, against ONLY six walks!!  His ERA is 1.99 and hitters are batting .158 against him!  Now, don't take that as a slap at Kupbens, because he is throwing the ball well, with a 2-2 record and 2.57 ERA, but he is not a strikeout guy, with only 16 in 35 innings pitched.  

Beyond all of that outstanding pitching at UC Davis, their offense is coming around.  Their freshman outfielder Kevin Barker is coming on, senior David Popkins is having a solid year and frankly, they have six regulars over .300 or very near .300 and now are getting big play from RS freshman Tino Lipson, who is hitting .429 and has moved into the starting line-up at 2nd base.  Don't sleep on the Aggies in the Big West!  They have good starting pitching and the offense is rounding into shape.

From the Cubs ESPN website... written by Bruce Levine

A few clubs, including the Braves, have watched Cubs CF Marlon Byrd all spring and approached the Cubs about a deal, according to league sources. The Cubs must decide if they are ready to start the major league clock for 23-year-old prospect Brett Jackson, who was the most impressive position player in Cubs camp this spring and has since been sent to minor league camp.

Sveum said last week Jackson was the best young player he had ever seen in a major league spring training. Three players on the current roster told ESPNChicago.com that Jackson is ready for the big leagues and is mature enough to handle himself on and off the field.

“He did not go out one night in spring training, that’s how focused he was,” Byrd said.

Rain is here and maybe it will never go away and I am sure that is how the Cal Bears feel right about now as the rain is steadily coming down on their season.  After a fast start, Pac-12 play has brought about some tough times for the Bears.

- Cal (1-2 at ASU, 13-9 season, 1-5 Pac-12) - They have played two of the Pac-12 heavyweights (though ASU is only 3-3 in Pac-12 play) and are 1-5.  In the game Cal won at ASU (game two, 3-2), they tallied only three hits but a superb pitching effort from senior RHP Matt Flemer made those hits and runs hold up.  They have been outscored 42-18 in their six Pac-12 games.  Ugh.  The overall offensive numbers look good for Cal but they are scoring three runs a game in Pac-12 play and giving up seven a game.  Another issue starting to rear it's ugle head is 42 team errors in 22 games.  Too many because this team does not have a pitching staff that is capable of consistently missing bats.

- Cal Poly (3-1 vs San Diego State, 16-8 season) - The Mustangs dropped the first game to SDSU 10-4 but roared back to win the final three games, 6-5, 7-4, and 7-0.  What those scores tell me is that the coaching staff did an outstanding job of figuring out the SDSU hitters.  The gave up fewer runs each game so not only did they learn as the series went on, their pitchers also did a great job of executing their pitches.  The Mustangs basically scored the same in each game so their hitters were consistent and their pitching got better with each game.  They start Big West play next weekend with Long Beach State coming to town and are in good position to make a run at the Big West title with this team.  They get their first six conference games at home and those are against two of the better teams in the conference (LBSU and UC Irvine).  The conference schedule is favorable for Cal Poly, with toughest road series being at Cal State Fullerton.

A QUICK spin around the area and the weekend's action...

- Cal (0-3 vs Oregon State, 11-7 season, 0-3 Pac-12) - What to say about getting swept at home?  Yes, Oregon State is good, have been for some time.  They were ranked 19th nationally, but Cal was ranked 18th nationally and was at home.  Former Jesuit HS RHP Dan Child shut down Cal in game two and kudos to Oregon State for his development.  Child was little more than a big, strong, power armed kid in high school who had stuff but was very raw, but he sure had come a long way!  Oregon State is either a lot better than Cal or they do a much better job of game-planning for their conference opponents.  Either way, starting 0-3 at home against a team they hoped to compete with in the conference is not a good thing. 

It is a wet weekend all around Northern California and teams that didn't travel are struggling to get their games in.  Here is what has been happening so far...

- USF traveled to Hawaii for a four game series and are 1-1 so far, after star junior RHP Kyle Zimmer struck out 11 in a 3-0 shutout on Friday night.  The Dons have gotten 16 innings and 22 strikeouts from their two starters so far in this series (Alex Balog, 7 IP, 1 ER, 11 K on Thursday).  RHP Abe Bobb (3-1, 3.00 ERA) will take the hill for the Dons on Saturday.

On Thursday night in Honolulu, USF dropped a close 2-1 game to Hawaii.  The Dons fell back to .500 with the loss and their offensive struggles again did them in.  On the bright side, the defense has played well of late and the pitching staff continues to give USF a chance to win.  On Thursday night soph RHP Alex Balog did his part.  The Archbishop Mitty grad began the game with six no-hit innings.  He gave up a hit in the 7th, which was followed by an error and two more hits, resulting in the two runs that proved too much for USF to overcome.  Balog struck out 11 and walked only two.

I have written about and mentioned some players who were on my Braves scout teams during my time as a scout and Balog was on my 2009 scout team, along with some higher profile players like SS/P James Roberts (now at USC), RHP Eric Jaffe (UCLA) and OF Joc Pederson (signed with Dodgers in 2010 draft).  Balog is a tall, strong pitcher and as a former water polo player (read that as a strong shoulder) I had a pretty favorable projection on him as a pitching prospect (projected his fastball to reach the 90-92 mph range in my reports on him). 

Well, fast forward to the 2012 season and Balog's numbers are sparkling: 21.2 IP, 15 H, 4 ER, 7 BB, 22 K (9.14 K/G), 1.66 ERA.  Seems that my projection on him was a little light... Last night he was up to 96 mph (according to a scout) and settled into the 92-93 mph range.  Better yet, his fastball has sink and he has learned to use his height to create leverage and downhill angle.  You can read that as he is not giving up extra base hits.  He features two types of breaking balls as well, one of them a hard slider.

One thing I feel sure about is that if a pitcher with talent, tools, aptitude, work ethic, and some physical projectability ends up at USF with pitching coach Greg Moore, he is going to maximize what he can do at the college level and beyond in many cases.  Not only do pitchers develop their physical talent at USF, but because the USF coaching staff is exceptional at teaching the whole game, their pitchers also know HOW to pitch and understand how their execution of pitches fits in the entire game plan.

Kyle Zimmer will take the hill for USF tonight.

I have not seen Bryson Brigman play much, but did come across him last June in Arizona (I think it was at the USA 16U tourney) and I was impressed.  It was hard not to be when he drilled a home run and remember, this was after his freshman year in high school.  Here is the link from MaxPreps.com, where Brigman checks in at #2 overall, behind Drew Ward, an infielder from Oklahoma.  I saw Ward at the Area Code Games and yes, he is VERY impressive.  I also saw him in the USA tourney I coached in last September and engaged him a bit while he was playing 1st base and I was coaching 1st base.  Real nice young man, seemingly quite humble, with a gracious attitude but an unmistakable quite confidence about himself.

Jacob Gatewood of Redwood HS (Visalia) is at #40.  I've not seen Gatewood but a source of mine in the Central Valley has mentioned him to me as one of the best players down there.