USC to face Fresno State on the road
It’s the first true road test of the season this weekend for USC baseball, as the team heads up the 99 Freeway to visit the Fresno State Bulldogs in a three-game set.
Run production · The Trojans have scored at least four runs in each of their last three games dating back to Feb. 23 against Cal State Northridge. — Joseph Chen | Daily Trojan
The Trojans (5-3) have already played three games away from Dedeaux Field, but those were quick trips to places like Fullerton and Northridge. As has been the case in recent years, USC will travel to one of the nation’s marquee programs for their first “roadie.” In 2011 it was to Rice and last year it was to North Carolina.
“It’s going to be a great atmosphere,” junior pitcher Bobby Wheatley said of Fresno’s Beiden Field. “We’re expecting a packed house and that’s exactly the kind of atmosphere you want to be playing in.”
Wheatley will take the ball for the Trojans on Friday night under the lights against the Bulldogs (1-6). Though their record is down, Fresno State is almost an identical team to the one that made a regional last year. The Bulldogs have seven returning starters among the nine regular batters, yet are hitting just .238 as a team with an on base percentage of .296.
The Bulldogs’ pitching staff is even more confounding. Last year’s ace, Tyler Linehan, is currently sitting at the far end of the bullpen with a 16.88 ERA in four appearances this year. Fresno State’s three weekend starters have a combined ERA of 2.45 over 36 2/3 innings. The problem has been their bullpen, which is responsible for 20 earned runs over just 15 1/3 innings. That’s an ERA of 11.74.
“They’ve been struggling, obviously,” USC head coach Dan Hubbs said. “But their M.O. is that they get rolling right as March kicks in. So we can’t take them lightly.”
That might sound like generic coach speak, but the Bulldogs are a combined 21-10 in March the last two years, compared to 6-11 over the last two Februarys.
“They may have a down record now,” Wheatley said. “But their record doesn’t indicate how good they’re going to be.”
Unlike the Bulldogs, the Trojans have benefited from fairly solid work from their bullpen. Sophomore pitcher Nigel Nootbaar has shut out all opponents in his four appearances this year, as has freshman Sean Adler, who has yet to allow a hit in his college career.
“With the guys we have in the bullpen, I didn’t think I’d get this much opportunity early in the year,” Adler said. “But [Hubbs] and I have been on the same page in that as long as I’m throwing strikes, and as long as I’m hitting my spots, he’s gonna keep me in there.”
Hubbs stressed the importance of keeping the ball down in the strike zone against Fresno State hitters.
“They have a park that the ball jumps out of,” Hubbs said. “[But] it does play truer at night. So, fortunately, we’re playing two night games. Then Sunday, [the lone day game of the series] the ball usually travels. So we’ve got to keep the ball low.”
Wheatley did just that last Friday against Cal State Northridge. In his six strong innings, he allowed just three fly balls to the outfield and one extra base hit. He’ll try to do the same tonight in Fresno. First pitch on Friday and Saturday is at 6:35 p.m., with a Sunday matinee at 1 p.m.