To be fair I think two of the losses this year were the result of what I think were questionable decisions by the coach. A high- pressure save situation against a quality opponent (Nevada) was not, in my opinion, the time to give junior Steven Ouellette his first collegiate pitching appearance- I don't care how hard he throws. Surely there was an opportunity to get him a tune- up when they were slaughtering Northern Colorado.

The last Utah Valley game was just a big mess that didn't have to be. First of all the online schedule said it was a 7 inning game. Then they made it 9 inning game without telling the fans ahead of time. If they'd kept it at 7 the Aggies would have gone right to Johnson or Lyford after the starter left.

The error in this game was the management of the pitching staff. For what it's worth Jake Spillane was pretty impressive. He has no fear of pitching inside, just goes right after the hitters. He's going to be a good one for the Aggies. However, it was also his first collegiate start after a few short relief appearances. When he struggled in the 5th that was a sign he was getting tired. He got out of the jam, and that should have been it, but he was run out for the 6th + left in to load the bases. Why ? Then Moffitt got the call, which I was happy about, but such an infrequently- used pitcher should not be entering with so little margin for error (see Ouellette, Steve). He should have started the inning. That extremely wild pitch Moffit threw should have been a clue he was ready to be removed. Then he's left in to cough up the rest of the lead + Andres Lara is brought in with the bases loaded to try to preserve a tie. To Lara's credit he only allowed 1 runner to score. Then they come back + Lyford gives up the winning runs. If Johnson +Lyford were available, why didn't they enter the game earlier- the coach had no qualms using the latter for four innings on opening day ?

And that leads me to another thought. Has Andres Lara ever pitched in a game UCD has won ? Usually he's pitching during garbage time in blowout losses to the likes of Stanford + doing a good job. Why doesn't he get more meaningful innings- he's good.

I will probably see some of the game against Sac State tomorrow, weather permitting. I'll explain why "some in a separate post + give kind of a preview of the hornets.