Starting Wednesday, May 14 baseball players will write a daily blog, reporting from the NCAA Baseball West Regional in Chico, CA. Check in everyday to get a behind the scenes view of postseason play.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Chris Hom - 
Friday night's game was a tough loss for us. It was the second time that Chico State had gotten the best of us and it was a game that we felt slipped out of our hands. For today we we're hoping to make a few adjustments and play better baseball. We knew it would be a long road for us starting with a game against Nabraska-Kearney at 3 pm.
My day began by getting up and going to breakfast with my roommate Buck Wright. After breakfast we went over to Chris Franco's room and tried to break him out of the slump that he has been in. Chris had not gotten a hit in the playoffs so Buck Wright, Tony Bonelli, and I went in to Franco's room and woke him up by playing him feel good music and trying to give him confidence for today's games. Buck jumped on his bed and played music from his Ipod. Franco complained about being woken up and threw pillows at us trying to get us to leave. When we finally got him up we had a few cups of coffee and listened to music for about an hour before we had to get ready for the game. Because of our efforts Chris Franco was able to get his first hits in the playoffs and helped us wint the first game today.
For our game against Nebraska-Kearney, the plan was to jump on them early. This was in part to put pressure on the other team, but mostly to give support to our pitching staff. If we were going to make any kind of run at going to the World Series we would have to conserve as much pitching as possible. The offense did a great job of giving pitcher Matt Rossman plenty of support. By throwing a complete game Matt did exactly what we needed him to do, he left us with a bunch of fresh pitchers in order to make a run at the championship.
Going into the night game, a rematch against Chico State, there was a feeling among the team that today was our day. We were not going to let Chico beat us again and we came out of the gates playing like a team on a mission. Pitcher Trevor Decker was throwing great. He told me after he came out of the game that his goal was to make up for letting the team down last year in the regional's. In last years regional Trevor gave up four runs in our lost to Sonoma State and he committed to not letting it happen again. He threw a great game, but unfortunately the ball did not bounce in our favor and we once again fell to Chico in the playoffs.
It is a weird feeling having the season come to an end. We worked so hard this year and I personally feel as though our team came up short of where we could have gone. We had a lot of success, but there is still a bitter feeling left with our entire team. The fact that my baseball career may be over has not sunk in yet and I am not sure when it actually will. I had a lot of fun with this team and have made some great friends. The way our team fought until the very end tells a lot about the guys we have on the team and the character of the 2008 Tritons.
Chris Hom is senior catcher from Benicia, CA and a graduate of De La Salle HS. He is a Communications major at Roosevelt College.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Nick Burke - 
I have to say that losing is not easy or fun. It was an epic showdown vs. one of our biggest conference rivals, Chico State, and the game sadly can be summed up in one inning. Their big sixth inning dominated the game and none of us seemed to have an answer as far as responding until it was too late.
In a game where a ball controls the outcome of the game, it did not bounce our way
tonight. It would not be fair to say any specific play determined the outcome because 27 outs is 27 outs and as a whole we did not take advantage of opportunities in pivotal parts in the game.
Defense and pitching win championships and as a whole we did not handle either of them well enough to come out with a win. Defensively, we had way too many errors. Looking at the scoreboard, I think half of their runs were unearned and to win a baseball game you cannot give away any free runs. Our pitching, for the most part, I thought did a decent job against a good hitting Chico State team. Its easy to blame pitching with the final score but bottom line is that our defense did not do its job in backing up our pitchers. We had 13 hits nad scored seven runs. In most games, that should be good enough to win.
Pre-game preparation woudl be one thing to look into but I know for a fact that everybody was ready to play. Everybody has different rituals and routines and nobody seemed to lose focus on what they had to do in order to get ready for this big game. The dugout and
environment was very upbeat through the start of the day until after the big inning. After that things seemed to come apart.
When your fighting for the chance to make it to the College World Series nothing can change mentally during a game, but it did. Everyone started to press or got caught up with the scoreboard. The last couple of innings seemed to take forever because the environment felt like, "OK, what's going to happen now," instead of "OK, we just got a man on base so lets roll with it" or "OK, We just got a huge out, lets roll with that."
I thought all the decisions from the coaching staff were on point. We had our No. 2 starter, Guido Knudson in there and stuck with him until it was time to pull him. As a position player, I felt our starter did a very good job of controlling all aspects of the Chico State
offense. Our pre-game talk with the coaches was very informative as always with we had the extra confidence booster of being in a big game.
After games, Coach O'Brien always does a very good job of analyzing the game just played as well as addressing what needs to happen in the future. Most people think that coaches just look at a bad game and point out all the mistakes but I think Coach O'Brien does a fantastic job of relating the game to life. Baseball is a game of failure and acknowledging failure in terms of everyday life makes it easier to cope with and easier to bounce back and keep fighting. Bottom line, we are still in a position to make it to the College World Series and I think I speak for our entire team in sayig I am excited to get back on the diamond tomorrow to see what we can do.
Nick Burke is junior outfielder from Carlsbad, CA and a graduate of La Costa Canyon HS. He is a Communications major at Warren College.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Guido Knudson - 
The game against Western Oregon today was a reflection of our strengths as a team. We got an extremely strong outing from Kirby St. John who was aggressive throughout the game. James Ferguson really sparked us as a team with a ball that he crushed over the left center wall. After going down 3-2 in the seventh inning, we stuck together as a team and it was clear that we were confident that this game was ours to win. Garrett Imeson clutched up and hit a three-run bomb out to left field on an 0-2 pitch. The emotion as that ball hit the top of the fence and bounced over was unforgettable. Pure jubilation off the bench with guys bumping chests and getting in each other's face was a tell of the pure intensity we brought to the field today. The key players today: James Ferguson for being a spark to our offense and getting us some serious momentum, Kirby St. John for a quality start once again, Garret Imeson for one of the most clutch at-bats of the season, Tim Shibuya for his usual dominance on the mound and picking up the win, and Keith Noe for shutting the door on a good Western Oregon team.
Knowing I was not going to start until tomorrow, I simply kept to the routine I've followed throughout the season. Got in a little light catch and kept the legs strong with a few sprints. Other than that, it was pure investment on the game as a bench guy. I take pride in staying dialed into the game at all times. I am a very vocal guy from the bench and I do my best to get the guys going all the time. We keep it relaxed with some jokes and games between innings, but when it comes down to the game we are all focused and
ready to go.
My routine is pretty simple the night before a game I'm going to pitch. I eat a good hearty dinner of carbs and protein. Then I usually play some cards with Noe, (Nick) Burke, (Joe) Raleigh, and whoever else is in to "play the game." After that I like to watch a movie or listen to some music and just relax in bed
and mentally focus for the game at hand tomorrow. Tomorrow I will wake up, get some breakfast, chill out in the hotel room and just stay focused on the upcoming game.
Chico is simply a baseball town. The independent league stadium is a perfect atmosphere for a tournament of this nature. You have the perfect hot, humid baseball weather along with the minor league stadium. You have the train that runs just outside the outfield wall and the horn blasts as it moves by. As for the tournament, there is definitely some excitement and eagerness to get after it. However, we still approach the games with the same mentality we have used to be successful all year. We just go out and play clean and confident baseball. I have received only the advice that if I go out and do my thing, I will be fine. I am not approaching this game any differently than any other start I have made this season. I have faced both of our possible opponents before and I know I am prepared to succeed.
If we go out tomorrow and play as we can, there is nothing more we can ask for. Gotta love this environment.
Guido Knudson is freshman pitcher from Bonita, CA and a graduate of Bonita Vista HS. He is an Electrical Engineering major at Sixth College.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Vance Albitz -
This last weekend was tough, losing two in a row in the conference tournament to Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus. Fortunately, we have a second chance to make this past weekend a forgotten memory. A conference championship would have been great, but each one of us would choose a trip to the College World Series over any other goal we've accomplished thus far. Going two and out helped us re-focus on the things that helped get us here: solid preparation and quality baseball. After a week of practice, we seem to be back on track and ready to go.
It's supposed to be hot during the games this weekend, but nothing too far out of the ordinary for us having practiced the entire year under the sun. The crazy fans from Chico will likely be out supporting their team, and we couldn't ask for much more than another shot at them under the lights sometime during the tournament. I think playing at Chico last weekend was good experience for us ? now we know how the ball looks coming off the bat, out of the pitcher's hand (especially at night), and how to maintain focus while fans cheer and the choo choo train chugs along in centerfield. I think their stadium is a great place to hold a regional; the stands are fan-friendly and the great lighting makes night games possible.
After a long day at the airport and on the plane, we got in a quick practice to finish up a clean and intense week of baseball. Being successful this weekend will be simple--make pitches, make plays, and string together hits. Much like my brother told me when I was 12, “If you guys score more runs than the other team, I guarantee you'll win.”
The great thing about baseball is that any team can win on any day; once the first pitch is thrown, each team's record and ranking means nothing. I don't think the teams in our conference have seen us at our best yet, but again, it doesn't matter anymore. This is the weekend for us to show what we can do.
Vance Albitz is sophomore shortstop from Torrance, CA and a graduate of South Torrance HS. He is a Communications major at Sixth College.
