The next few weekends will be very telling for the Dirtbags, who will host three nationally ranked teams in Big West Conference play.
First up is a series against the No. 21 UC Santa Barbara, a team that started the season unranked and has ridden senior Joey Epperson into the top 25. Epperson, who sees time at third, first and outfield, leads the nation with a .441 batting average.
The following weekend, the Dirtbags take on No. 4 Cal Poly. The Mustangs boast a record of 31-5 this season and have been one of the most consistent teams in the nation. Pitchers Casey Bloomquist and Matt Imhof are a combined 15-2 with ERAs of 1.58 and 2.07, respectively.
The rugged stretch of weekend games ends against rival No. 23 Cal State Fullerton, who already took two of three from the Dirtbags earlier in the season. The Dirtbags have not won a series against the Titans since 2008. To end the streak, they will have to beat a healthier Titan rotation than they did a few weeks ago, as sophomore Justin Garza has been working his way back into the CSUF rotation.
Blair Field is no stranger to ranked teams this season. The Dirtbags have already played host to Vanderbilt, UCLA, Arizona State and Indiana, who were ranked eighth, 17th, 18th and 28th. respectively, when they took the field at Blair.
“That’s the goal when you schedule quality opponents,” head coach Troy Buckley said. “That is a barometer and a measuring stick without the ability to lose confidence. I don’t think we’ve played a game where we’ve been completely overmatched or blown out.”
The Dirtbags have had an up-and-down season, thanks in part to the injury bug. Injuries to Ryan Strufing and Nick Sabo have opened the door for other pitchers to step up. Most recently it has been Josh Frye, who has thrown 14 innings of shutout ball on the last two Saturdays.
“Guys have to come in and step up when you don’t anticipate things happening,” Buckley said. “[Frye] has been throwing the ball pretty good the last three weekends. You want that to continue and build that staple, where you know what you’re getting. We’re shooting for a little more consistency.”
One area where Buckley doesn’t have to worry about consistency is on the defensive side. The Dirtbags have a .980 fielding percentage, which is top in the Big West and eighth in the nation.
“Our defense has been one of, if not the biggest consistent entities of our team that we can count on,” Buckley said. “Sometimes we pitch and they keep us in the game, but then we don’t score runs. Or we score runs, but we’re not pitching.”
Of the 22 games remaining on the Dirtbags schedule, 15 of them will be played at Blair Field.
“The one thing that’s kind of in our favor is that we’re home” Buckley said. “It’s gonna be good”.