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Looking Ahead To Cal Poly

Cal Poly is Weathers' focus

By Bob Keisser
Staff writer

The Big West Conference title is important. Beating Fullerton is a blood ritual. Getting a bid to the NCAA tournament is essential, and getting to host a regional would be blissful.

But for this weekend at least, Dirtbags coach Mike Weathers is much less concerned about the big picture. After losing their first series in three months, dropping two of three games at UC Santa Barbara, he wants his team to refocus on the moment this weekend in the final home series of the season against Cal Poly.

The Dirtbag starting pitchers that had strangled opponents most of the season combined for just 13 1/3 innings while allowing all but two of the 18 runs the Gauchos scored in the series.

"I had someone in Santa Barbara ask me about our magic numbers (for titles and rewards) and I told him all I care about is taking care of (this) Friday," Weathers said this week. "Everything else is too far away to think about.

"We suffered a couple of big innings, made a lot of mistakes and left a lot of men on base. We hadn't lost a weekend in a long time. Now we have to come back from that."

As much as everyone has marveled at Long Beach State's pitching this season, Weathers always was mindful that the Dirtbags have lived dangerously all season, depending a bit too much on that pitching.

In the opener last weekend, Cesar Ramos had good stuff but threw too many pitches down the middle, leading to a six-run third inning. Saturday, Marco Estrada never found his command and his fastball was up. Sunday, Jared Hughes walked four and threw 89 pitches in his five innings of work.

Weathers says Friday's game will set up the weekend. It will be Ramos' first start after a bad outing since he was a freshman, and he'll be facing Poly ace Garrett Olson (10-3, 2.64). "This series will set up our final weekend, if there's going to be one," Weathers said.

The No. 12 Dirtbags (33-16, 11-4 in the Big West) trail No. 1 Fullerton (36-12, 13-2) by two games with six Big West games to play for both teams, with Poly (31-16, 9-3) a half-game behind with nine games left. The Titans do not play this weekend, so even with a sweep the Dirtbags will go to Fullerton next week at least two games down in the loss column.

On the plus side, the Dirtbags are hitting the ball as good as any time this season. They've averaged 6.3 runs a game in their last 15 (95 runs), on the heels of a 10-game stretch in which they scored just 29.

They went 7-3 during that 10-game dry spell, too, underscoring Weathers' contentions about dangerous habits.

DIRTBALLS: Sean Boatright, who can break the school record for consecutive hits with a hit in each game this weekend, now leads the team in RBI at 28 despite missing 10 games. ... Brandon Godfrey went 4 for12 and drove in three runs in his first series since serving a suspension. ... Poly lost two of three to Fullerton last weekend, but allowed the top-ranked Titans just 16 hits. Jimmy Shull (Warren High) pitched a complete-game in a 7-1 win in the second game. ... Rod Buska hosts the Mike Weathers Show live from Cirivello's tonight (6 p.m.) on KWRM (1370 AM) and Long Beach State's Internet site.