My oh my, did the Mountain West have a field day to open May. SDSU reclaimed their top spot in the conference, sending Nevada out of the top seeds to the point where their placement is all out of sorts. Air Force handled business against New Mexico, maintaining their second place in the standings. San Jose State finally had the chance to introduce themselves to GCU, and promptly set them back. All the while, Washington State did win the series against Fresno State, but the Bulldogs finally got back in the right
direction in conference play in the end.
It was a fun week to be a Mountain West baseball fan…unless you are a Nevada and/or New Mexico fan. Here’s our Mountain West baseball power rankings after week 12.
1.SDSU (prev 2)
- Beat Cal State Fullerton 5-3
- Swept Nevada at home 3-0
The Aztecs needed a huge week to jump back atop the standings, and that’s exactly what happened. After a brisk 5-3 win over Cal State Fullerton, SDSU welcomed Nevada for a huge three-game series, as Nevada was atop the Mountain West standings. Well, the Pack no longer owns that spot after the Aztecs swept them at home in three games.
The first two games of the series for SDSU required some comeback magic, punishing Nevada’s pitching (or lack thereof). The first game included a walk-off grand slam for San Diego State, winning 7-3. The second game wasn’t a walk-off, but the Aztecs scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth to win 8-5. The final game was a bit more dominant, taking the series sweep with an 8-2 victory.
SDSU has now won 11 in a row and is atop the MW standings with just two weeks left. The Aztecs will play UC San Diego for a game before another home series this weekend, this time against San Jose State.
2.Washington State (prev 3)
- Won three-game series over Fresno State 2-1
It was a short week for the Cougars, playing one series through that time. Wazzu took on the last-place Fresno State Bulldogs, making easy work of them through the first two games. Game 1 was a quick 5-1 win before transitioning into an offensive explosion in game two for a 17-0 victory in seven innings.
The final game of the series included a 4-4 tie entering the ninth inning. Fresno State scored one in the top half, heading into the bottom of the ninth at a 5-4 Bulldogs lead. Washington State got the tying run on second base but failed to score, ending the hopes of a sweep. Wazzu finds itself in third place with a 13-8 record as a huge week of games is on the horizon. Another one-game matchup over Gonzaga will kick off the week before facing Air Force for three games, which is just a game ahead of Washington State.
3.Air Force (prev 4)
- Lost to Northern Colorado 5-4
- Won three-game series over New Mexico 2-1
Who would’ve guessed the Air Force Falcons would be in this kind of spot this late into the season? Definitely not me (sorry Air Force fans, but I’m sure you didn’t either). Either way, the Falcons have soared high into the standings, and with two weeks left, have a very legitimate shot at winning the conference. While just one game over .500 at 23-22, Air Force is 14-7 in MW play, just behind SDSU for first place.
There was a slight setback to begin the week when Air Force fell to Northern Colorado 5-4. Although the Falcons lost, they broke a school record that game for stolen bases. With four snagged bags that game, Air Force broke the previous school record for stolen bases at 122. After this past week was over, Air Force now has 134 total stolen bases, and we’re still two weeks away from the season being over. The next closest team to that number in the conference is San Diego State with 66.
Air Force then went on to play a three-game weekend series over New Mexico, another team right in the hunt for a conference title. The Lobos took game one 9-7, but that lit a fire under Air Force. The Falcons won the next game 11-1, then finished off the series with an 8-4 win.
A huge series for Air Force is in line this week against Washington State.
4.Nevada (prev 1)
- Lost to Sac State 13-7
- Swept on the road by San Diego State 3-0
As both a Nevada beat writer and a Nevada fan, I’m both disappointed but not completely surprised with how last week went for the Pack. Nevada had a solid lead for the conference title and could’ve slowly stabbed the dagger with a good series over SDSU, but that all failed to happen.
It all started with a 13-7 loss to Sac State, as there were only three innings in which the Hornets didn’t score. The Wolf Pack needed to forget that game quickly as they traveled for a huge series over the Aztecs. But one, two, three, and Nevada was quickly swept. It all came down to the pitching, which gave up 23 runs to SDSU through three games. The first two games included comeback victories for SDSU as noted above, including a walk-off grand slam in game one. Nevada’s pitching ranks second to last in the conference, sitting with a 7.35 ERA as opponents are hitting .307 against that unit.
Nevada is now in fourth place with a 12-9 conference record. To add insult to injury, Nevada only has one Mountain West series left despite there being two weeks of the season left. A three-game road series over USC is next for the Wolf Pack before closing out the season a week later over GCU. Nevada will need a LOT of help if it wants to win another regular-season title.
5.New Mexico (prev 5)
- Lost to New Mexico State 16-15
- Lost series to Air Force 2-1
While the Lobos didn’t change spots, it was by no means a good week for them. It started with yet another loss to in-state rival New Mexico State, and this time it was a high-scoring game of hot potato before New Mexico lost 16-15. The game was tied 10-10 and entered extra innings. In the tenth inning, New Mexico State scored six in the top half while New Mexico scored five in the bottom half, failing to complete the comeback. New Mexico turned its attention to Air Force, starting the series off well with a 9-7 victory. While it was a solid win, that would be the only W that New Mexico would see last week. The Falcons hit the Lobos with an 11-1 win in game two, followed by an 8-4 victory to take the series over New Mexico. It was also senior night in that series finale.
New Mexico will play its final conference series of the regular season this week against GCU. The Lobos sit at 26-20-1 overall and 11-9-1 in conference play.
6.San Jose State (prev. 8)
- Beat San Francisco 12-0
- Won series over GCU 2-1
While this week wasn’t the only step the Spartans needed to take to get back to the conference tournament, it was still a very good first step. After gaining some momentum in the mid-week with a clean 12-0 win against San Francisco, San Jose State hosted GCU, hoping to climb back into a decent spot heading into the final two weeks of the season. The Spartans won the first game 8-3, but then got a bad flashback to last year’s conference tournament in the second game, going all the way into the 14th inning and losing 5-4. Then, in the rubber match, SJSU were down early, but came out on top by scoring six unanswered runs, finishing the series with a 6-1 win.
San Jose State needed a week like this, as this was the most put together the program looked through a whole week since the beginning of conference play. Not allowing double digits in one game has been a stretch for almost every team in the conference, and the Spartans did that not only in one game, but in the four games they played combined. Their bats are still a question mark, which is a really bad thing this late in the season, but if they can continue their hot streak on the mound, we might see SJSU steal a playoff spot late. That will be a mountain of a task this week, however, as they will have the mid-week off to prepare for a road series against San Diego State next weekend.
7.UNLV (prev. 7)
- Lost to Utah Tech 8-3
- Won series over Milwaukee 2-1
It was a conference bye week for the Runnin’ Rebels this past week, and they did pretty decent overall. They started with their second loss to Utah Tech this season, eating a poor 3-8 defeat. Then, UNLV hosted UW-Milwaukee, a decent Horizon League program that had a bad 5-19 non-conference record going into Las Vegas. The Rebels dominated the first game, winning 14-4 in eight innings. But in the second game, they were upset 1-4, giving up an early lead similar to GCU. But in the end, UNLV was able to win the rubber match thanks to a five-run, ninth inning, capped off by a walk-off, RBI single by designated hitter Cooper Sheff.
The lack of a conference series this week and downfall of GCU helped keep the Hustlin’ Rebels at the top of the bottom three in the power rankings. It has also propelled the program into the final spot in the conference tournament, as they are now tied with the Lopes and hold the tiebreaker in both head-to-head and overall record. With two conference series left, the Rebels hold the cards on whether or not they make the conference tournament, but they can also lose control very quickly if the program falters (especially on the mound). The Rebels can start off on the right foot this week though, as they will host BYU on Tuesday and then head to Fresno for a series against the Bulldogs in SoCal.
8.GCU (prev. 6)
- Beat BYU 10-3
- Beat Arizona 9-8
- Lost series to SJSU 2-1
There was so much promise from GCU this week, and all of it came crashing down over the weekend. After beating back-to-back Big 12 opponents in BYU and Arizona, the Lopes took a trip to San Jose. And to say it was a stepback is…accurate. Grand Canyon lost the first game 3-8, but then took San Jose State the distance and then some, coming out the victor of a 14 inning contest 5-4 to force a rubber match. But after starting the scoring in the third game with a home run from outfielder Tanner Johns in the fourth, the Lopes fell apart, allowing six unanswered runs on their way to losing 1-6.
GCU actually did pretty well outside of the box score, as they controlled a decent portion of the second and third games. However, the program’s issue throughout the weekend was letting off the gas, which cost them the rubber game and almost lost them the second (they were up 4-1 heading into the eighth inning). The Lopes are now in a scarier spot than they were before, as they are now tied with UNLV for the final conference tournament spot (currently looking in due to head-to-head AND tiebreaker), and only a half game ahead of SJSU. They will need to pick things up quickly, as they have a three-game date with New Mexico next weekend.
9.Fresno State (prev. 9)
- Lost to CSUN 7-4
- Lost series over Washington State 2-1
There has not been a lot to say regarding Fresno State’s performances as of late, which was almost the case this past week as well. But, after taking three straight losses to CSUN and Wazzu (two), the Diamond Dogs did something they haven’t done in a month, win a conference game. Fresno State battled with Washington State all throughout Sunday’s matchup, as both teams controlled the league at different points. Entering the ninth tied at four a piece, second baseman Mikey Pickett hit a single to right field, scoring the fifth and final run the Bulldogs needed for the lead. Fresno State had a quick scare after giving up a double with one out, but then cleaned up the final two batters for the win.
Just like last week, the Diamond Dogs are not mathematically out of conference tournament seeding, but due to the astronomical amount of luck they would need in order to get the sixth seed, it’s safe to say they will not be participating in late-May this year. Their play has been decent to good overall statistically, but the Bulldogs have just not been able to piece together many complete games this year. They can try to salvage a bit of their reputation starting this week, with a quick Tuesday game at CSU Bakersfield and a three-game set against UNLV at home over the weekend.
