The Mustang baseball team’s worst enemy this season has been themselves.
Injuries and harsh conference competition were a key factor in dropping two of three games to Long Beach State last weekend. But rather than worry about things such as RPI and postseasons berths, the Mustangs have found at least one thing they can focus on to get back on track:
Their swagger.
“I don’t even know what RPI is; I don’t think half the team knows what RPI is,” infielder J.J. Thompson said. “If we’ve boosted it then that’s good. Our swag has contributed to that.”
Their “swag,” as Thompson described it, is an extreme amount of confidence the team has despite injuries and is a direct result of a team that won seven games in a row. Yet, with the team in a mini-slump coming off this weekend, they are quick to remember how fickle the game of baseball can be.
“You’re going to go on your hot streaks, and you’re going to go on your cold streaks and you can’t let yourself go down in the dumps just because of one game or one at-bat,” sophomore right fielder Mitch Haniger said. “You gotta be able to go out there again, again and again.”
It’s been a tale of ups and downs for the Mustangs. The team defeated Fresno State twice and beat conference-leading Cal State Fullerton two out of three games, which moved them into a tie for first in the Big West.
But injuries to starters like Mike Miller, Bobby Crocker, Denver Chavez and closer Jeff Johnson, have left the team in third place, two conference wins behind the — before defeating St. Mary’s 5-4 Tuesday — and put a significant damper on the Mustangs’ chances of competing in the postseason.
Even Haniger, the team leader in games started has nagging back pain stemming from last season.
“If someone only has 90 percent because of their injury, everyone knows they are going to give 100 percent of that,” Haniger said. “And if that 90 percent isn’t good enough and someone is healthy on the bench, we have enough confidence to go to another person and get the job done.”
The team said it is tired of the Titans conference dominance and feel confident it could be the squad to unseat them.
“When the pitching staff goes up there and puts a zero on the scoreboard right away, it motivates us to help them out, battle at the plate and put runs on the board,” Chavez said. “Since it’s a do or die situation right now, the hitters take personal responsibility to put runs across for the pitching staff.”
That pitching staff, head coach Larry Lee said, is the backbone of this Mustang team.
“Momentum is only as good as your starting pitching,” Lee said after taking two games from Fullerton.
Mason Radeke, who pitches the first game of each weekend series, has won his last five starts, all in conference play, on his way to a 7-1 record with a 2.19 ERA.
Chavez, who played high school ball with Radeke in Santa Barbara, has watched the Mustang ace through the years and is impressed with his dominance at every level of competition.
“I think the biggest thing is that (Radeke) has learned to battle out of pressure situations,” Chavez said. “(At Cal Poly) he handles (pressure) really well. A number of times he gets in a hole and is able to battle out.”
Starting pitcher Steven Fischback, who did not factor in the decision on Saturday against Long Beach, is 4-2 with a 3.67 ERA.
Chavez said because the Mustangs do not get the respect that teams such as Cal State Fullerton or UC Irvine receive, the team will have to finish strong in order to garner an at-large bid to an NCAA regional.
Sixty-four teams make the regional round and are split into 16, four-team regions with the winner of the round-robin style bracket advancing to a “Super Regional.” The Mustangs were eliminated in the regional round in 2009, their first ever appearance in the Division I tournament.
“There’s nothing more we want than to go to regional and win regionals, then go to Super Regional,” Thompson said, who was on the 2009 team. “Going to regional is not our main thought, it’s going there, winning it and going to the next level. Our drive is there.”
As of May 4, the Mustangs had an RPI of 82, according to boydsworld.com and would, most likely, need to move up in order to earn a bid, but the team leaves coach Lee to worry about that.
The team will look to pick up its “swag” this weekend when it hits the road to face the UC Irvine, which holds the second spot in the Big West. Two wins would put the Mustangs in a tie with the Anteaters. After that, only six conference games remain on the schedule, three at home against UC Davis on May 13 to 15.