2008 Woodie Awards
UC Santa Cruz slugs 'Jacks
Rory Smith
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: Sports
Humboldt State's baseball team couldn't keep Santa Cruz's hitters at bay, and the Slugs won all three games last weekend at Arcata Ballpark. The 'Jacks hosted a doubleheader on Saturday and a third game Sunday afternoon against UC Santa Cruz.
Over the course of the weekend, the 'Jacks couldn't manage to put many runs on the board and were outscored 26-7. When you combine that with defensive and mental mistakes, it is hard to win. Senior shortstop David Breisacher blamed the losses on a combination of things. "We need to hit ball, make less errors and not give away free bases," he said.
Freshman pitcher Greg Manata started the game on Sunday and pitched the the first seven innings, earning the loss. He thought that he threw a few hanging pitches, but the Santa Cruz hitters took advantage of what they had and hit them pretty well.
If a pitcher doesn't keep his fastballs down and lets breaking balls hang in the zone, it makes hitting a lot easier for the other team.
In the second game of the double header, starting pitcher senior Andrew Smosna pitched a respectable first five innings, but gave up two home runs in the top of the sixth inning. The first one was a solo shot hit by Sam Stafford, and gave Santa Cruz the lead. The second was a three-run blast to dead center field, hit by Alex Elias, that solidified a 4-run rally in the inning. The Slugs would not trail for the rest of the weekend.
When senior head coach Peter Vinny Farrow was asked if he might have let Smosna pitch too long, he said, "I might have let him face one to many batters, but you got to give him credit, it isn't why we lost."
Farrow sees UC Santa Cruz as one of the better teams in the division and said, "We know what we have to face in the future, and we will be ready."
He was not impressed by the 'Jacks' idle bats and said it was all about hitting. "We need to hit better; we only scored seven runs this weekend," he said.
Throughout the weekend Humboldt had the beginnings of what looked like rallies, but the Slugs found ways to pitch them out. In the third, forth and fifth innings of Sunday's games, the 'Jacks got their lead runners on base but only managed to score two runs.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, junior Barry Lowry had a lead-off walk but the Slugs retired the next three 'Jacks batters one after the other, stranding Lowry on base.
When asked about the games next weekend, Manata said he would like to see more fans come out and support the team and promised a different outcome. "I'm looking forward to putting on a good show against Stanford next weekend," he said.
The 'Jacks host Stanford this weekend, with a doubleheader on Saturday and another game on Sunday. Games start at 12 p.m. both days and will be played at Arcata Ballpark.
Over the course of the weekend, the 'Jacks couldn't manage to put many runs on the board and were outscored 26-7. When you combine that with defensive and mental mistakes, it is hard to win. Senior shortstop David Breisacher blamed the losses on a combination of things. "We need to hit ball, make less errors and not give away free bases," he said.
Freshman pitcher Greg Manata started the game on Sunday and pitched the the first seven innings, earning the loss. He thought that he threw a few hanging pitches, but the Santa Cruz hitters took advantage of what they had and hit them pretty well.
If a pitcher doesn't keep his fastballs down and lets breaking balls hang in the zone, it makes hitting a lot easier for the other team.
In the second game of the double header, starting pitcher senior Andrew Smosna pitched a respectable first five innings, but gave up two home runs in the top of the sixth inning. The first one was a solo shot hit by Sam Stafford, and gave Santa Cruz the lead. The second was a three-run blast to dead center field, hit by Alex Elias, that solidified a 4-run rally in the inning. The Slugs would not trail for the rest of the weekend.
When senior head coach Peter Vinny Farrow was asked if he might have let Smosna pitch too long, he said, "I might have let him face one to many batters, but you got to give him credit, it isn't why we lost."
Farrow sees UC Santa Cruz as one of the better teams in the division and said, "We know what we have to face in the future, and we will be ready."
He was not impressed by the 'Jacks' idle bats and said it was all about hitting. "We need to hit better; we only scored seven runs this weekend," he said.
Throughout the weekend Humboldt had the beginnings of what looked like rallies, but the Slugs found ways to pitch them out. In the third, forth and fifth innings of Sunday's games, the 'Jacks got their lead runners on base but only managed to score two runs.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, junior Barry Lowry had a lead-off walk but the Slugs retired the next three 'Jacks batters one after the other, stranding Lowry on base.
When asked about the games next weekend, Manata said he would like to see more fans come out and support the team and promised a different outcome. "I'm looking forward to putting on a good show against Stanford next weekend," he said.
The 'Jacks host Stanford this weekend, with a doubleheader on Saturday and another game on Sunday. Games start at 12 p.m. both days and will be played at Arcata Ballpark.
Be the first to comment on this story