Sour Apple

Disappointing.  There is no shame in losing in the semifinals of the NIT, and the Aztecs are to be commended for setting the single-season school record with 26 wins (and a final record of 26-10).  But I am sure that for the seniors who played their last game tonight, they are disappointed with a game in which they simply did not play very well at all.

You'd much rather get carried out on your shield than slip on a banana peel, but the Aztecs were left red-faced after 19 turnovers and numerous bad shots in the second half.  You'd rather go down swishing than clanking, but Richie Williams and Lorrenzo Wade combined for 3-16 shooting (Richie 0-7), 9 points (all Wade), and six turnovers.   After a first half in which SDSU turned it over 10 times, often carelessly, UCSD head coach Chris Carlson and I both thought on the halftime show that it was a good sign, as the Aztecs clearly had their best basketball ahead of them.  Then, they came right out and saw the 1-point halftime deficit balloon up to 13.  

At some point, after SDSU had twice rallied within six only to see Baylor re-establish their double-digit lead, the realization that this was it clearly settled into the team.  The last few minutes of the game were quite forgettable.  So I'm going to go ahead and forget them.

The wallpaper on my laptop is a picture of Kyle Spain, beaming, in a sea of fans, holding up one finger as the students stormed the court after the St. Mary's win.  I'm going to keep that photo up for a little while, because that's how I want to remember this team, and this senior class.  Their last home game is a much sweeter memory than their last game.

Coming Together

I was at the baseball game at Tony Gwynn Stadium between Kansas and SDSU.  This two game series is one of those quiet, unnoticed but truly important moments in the Aztecs' season.  The Mountain West (as we saw in hoops) has its identity issues in every sport, but in baseball the conference is seen as weak.  It's hard to get more than one team in from the conference UNLESS a team really schedules well and shows well against tough non-conference competition.  For the last couple of years Tony Gwynn has really been trying to beef up the schedule and test his team against top schools from the West and Midwest.  Last year the Aztecs showed well against USD but lost to teams such as Missouri, Long Beach State, Oregon State and Arizona.  Instead of getting a winning streak revving the Aztecs started 11-10 and finished 31-28. 

This year's start looked very similar to last year, with SDSU beating USD four out of five but struggling against Cal State Fullerton, Kansas State and Pacific.  At 7-6, the Aztecs started last week with their most important win of the year to date, the 6-run 9th inning comeback at UCLA.  Then, last weekend, all three starters shined on the mound as State swept UNLV.  Which brings us back to last night, and Kansas in town for two.  10-5 on the season, with a strong schedule and some impressive wins, the Jayhawks stood between a possible big time winning streak and another stop-and-start pattern for the Aztecs.

Ryan O'Sullivan got the start for SDSU, the freshman coming in from shortstop to make his 4th start on the mound.  Thanks to the aggressive schedule, Ryan has faced nothing but tough teams in his midweek starts, and he came in to last night with an 0-1 record and a 7.04 ERA, by far the highest on the staff.  Ryan has been solid at short but has struggled badly at the plate the last couple weeks, and you could sense he was hungry to contribute to a win.  

For the first time last night, it really came together for O'Sullivan on the mound.  He had a sinking, moving fastball working and retired 12 in a row.  Ryan also showed a solid slider to right-handers and an offspeed breaking ball.  O'Sullivan really has an aggressive, bulldog attitude while he is pitching and the infield fed off his energy and made good plays behind him.  

Cory Vaughn continued his tear in the 2nd inning by taking an outside fastball deep to right-center field for a wall ball.  Most would have had a double on the play but with his speed Vaughn easily made 3rd base.  That same speed revealed itself on the next play, when Mitch Blackburn hit a reasonably hard grounder to short.  Vaughn was moving on contact and the shortstop had no play but first base.  1-0 Aztecs.

Kansas freshman right-hander Lee Ridenhour was spectacular from there.  With a mean fastball and filthy slider, Ridenhour struck out 8 over 7 innings with just three hits allowed.  The Aztecs wouldn't even sniff another scoring threat on the night.  Which left SDSU hanging on for dear life in the late innings.

In the 7th Easton Gust booted a routine grounder for a leadoff error, and after a sacrifice O'Sullivan issued his first walk of the night.  The 7th was uncharted territory for the freshman, but Tony Gwynn stuck with him against Kansas' best hitter, third baseman Tony Thompson.  The sophomore slugger had a 23-game hitting streak active, 1 away from tying the Kansas record.  It looked like he had it on a deep launch to right field, which was carrying over Cory Vaughn's head.  But Cory continued his star performance by somehow catching up to the ball, leaping, and grabbing the ball high over his head on the dead run toward the wall.  Both Kansas baserunners were off and running and Vaughn was able to throw back in and double off the lead runner to end the inning.  A spectacular play!

Chase Thomas came on in relief to start the 8th but walked the leadoff man, and Andrew Leary relieved him.  The right-hander has become an unsung hero on the Aztecs, so I will sing his praises here.  Even after Brandon Meredith made a shaky decision trying to throw for the lead runner on a bunt and failing, Leary came back to strike out three in a row and get the game to the 9th. 

On came Addison Reed, who was a perfect 6-for-6 in saves so far this year.  A leadoff single was followed by a sacrifice and a strikeout.  Then, it was the big hitter Thompson at the plate for one more chance.  Reed got ahead 0-2, Thompson fouled one off, and then Reed lost his grip on a slider and hit Thompson in the back.  Corey Lytle followed with a worm-burner ground ball to 2nd, but Mitch Blackburn booted the play for an error (after making several good plays on the night).  Now with the bases loaded, it was nervous time, but Reed knucked down and got left fielder Nick Faunce to pop out and preserve a 1-0 win.

SDSU has now won 5 straight and 7 of 8, and at 12-6 on the season, the team is coming together and winning games they didn't use to win.  Tonight's game now looms as an even bigger chance, as a win would link up this win streak to the next conference home series against BYU, with the Aztecs' top pitchers coming back around in the rotation.  The game will be on goaztecs.com tonight at 6pm.  

A couple of other notes...

• Why are WBC games as long as World Series games?  I set up last night's Puerto Rico-USA game to tape for 4 hours and still came up short for a 9-inning game.  Grr.  Yay for the USA comeback in the 9th, though.  Now Peavy will get one more chance for redemption, at his favorite stadium in which to pitch, Dodger Stadium.  
• A great first step to redemption for the Aztecs' men last night against Weber State.  Chris was there so I'll leave the analysis to him, but if SDSU can get past their 2nd round opponent and a pretend home court at USD on Friday, they could possibly earn a rematch with St. Mary's and a chance to exorcise one of their demons from this season.

All About the Aztecs...March 17

The question, as far as I'm concerned is, how do Lorrenzo Wade, Richie Williams and Kyle Spain want to be remembed?

Throughout this season, the trio -- along with center Ryan Amoroso and backup guard Matt Thomas -- have been referred to on many occasions as the best Senior class in San Diego State basketball history.

The references, I'm sure, are flattering...but at this point in time, they are far from accurate. I mean, let's take a look at what they've accomplished: as freshmen, they rode the coat tails of Marcus Slaughter and Brandon Heath to a Mountain West Conference title -- then immediately were ridden out of the NCAA Tournament by Indiana....as sophomores, again it was Heath who led them, this time to the NIT where a magical shot by the sharp-shooting guard at least earned them one victory, over Southwest Missouri...as juniors, they again fell short of the big dance and hardly even looked the part of a postseason team, rolling over in favor of Florida. Spain, in fact, wasn't even around for the disasterous conclusion, having been suspended from the team for a second time.

Wade joined Spain on the police blotter prior to the start of this season, and Williams has been in trouble off the court as well during his career....So, back to the beginning: just how do they want to be remembered? What happens in the NIT, which begins tonight when the Aztecs host Weber State (7 p.m., Cox Arena), will go a long way towards defining their legacy.

To me -- as it stands now -- Wade, Williams and Spain are nothing more than an example of great talent frittered away. Sure they've won a bunch of games, and there have been some awards sprinkled in. Sure they've helped elevate SDSU basketball to the level of yearly contender (something that Aztec fans could only have dreamed of a decade ago).

But when the chips have all been on the table...when that one victory was needed to push the program over the top...the trio of stars have simply come up short.

How can this possibly be called the greatest Senior class in Aztec history without a single marquis victory anywhere on its resume'?...What I remember about this group is that it didn't even bother to show up last year against Florida....What I remember is that had it won any of its three important non-conference games this season (all losses to Arizona St., Arizona and St. Mary's), it would have made it to the NCAA Tournament...I remember a 14-point second-half lead blown against BYU, a loss that ultimately cost them a share of the Mountain West title and a No. 1-seed in the conference tournament.

Ultimately I remember Saturday afternoon when -- presented with one last chance at the Big Dance -- they rendered dramatic victories over UNLV and BYU useless by stinking up the joint worse than Utah did and losing the MWC Championship Game.

Honestly I'd rather remember Wade, Williams and Spain differently...The three of them have provided some spectacular moments...and perhaps they can provide a few more.

Yes, the NIT isn't the NCAA's...but once again a chance has been presented...a door has been opened...an opportunity has been offered...Beat Weber State, beat either Kansas State or Illinois State in the second round, and get revenge on (probably) St. Mary's in the quarterfinals.

End your careers in Madison Square Garden playing in the NIT semifinals (or even the finals)...Those are the memories I'd rather have.

Meanwhile, the San Diego State women's team -- to me anyway -- has become the polar opposite of the men's team...Beth Burns' squad has not just met expectations, but they have easily surpassed them.

And their reward was a Monday celebration in their Cox Arena locker room when they watched together on television and received news of their NCAA Tournament berth.

To really understand what this accomplishment meant, one needs only to go back three seasons, when SDSU won only three games total and finished an imperfect 0-and-16 in conference play. Change, of course, was needed...and it started with the signing of point guard Quenese Davis and the transfer from Cal to SDSU of athletic two-guard Jene Morris.

Two-time San Diego County Player of the Year center Paris Johnson (from San Diego High) joined the following year as did All-CIF power forward Allison Duffy (from El Capitan High).

Young and precocious, the kids took their lumps for two seasons, but steadily grew together...They made their first mark in last year's conference tournament, upsetting a pair of NCAA teams, Wyoming and TCU, before losing the MWC final to New Mexico.

This year, they shook off a season-ending suspension to Duffy (who is expected back next year) and became champions. They tied for the conference title with a 13-3 mark, and went 23-7 overall...Morris and Johnson were named first-team all-MWC, and Morris was named the conference's defensive player of the year...Davis earned second-team all-MWC honors and became the school's all-time leader in assists...Burns was named Coach of the Year (tends to happen when your team improves by 19 wins over a short three-year span).

Now they'll face 7th-seeded De Paul in the first round of the NCAA's on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Cox Arena...Can they beat the Blue Demons? They absolutely can, if for no other reason than the fact that they went 14-and-0 at home this season (including a win over No. 4-ranked Texas).

After that...they'd almost assuredly meet Pac-10 champ Stanford in the second round...Stanford was the NCAA runner-up last season (beating UConn in the National Semifinals), and they're ranked No. 2 in the country this season....No chance, you say? Well...just keep in mind that the second-round game would be played at Cox as well.

One last note about the women...regardless of what happens this season, this group is still a year ahead of schedule...Next year, Davis and Morris will both be seniors...Johnson and Duffy will be juniors...and Jessica Bradley, an all-Big 12 conference transfer from Baylor, will join the ranks.

The future is even brighter.

Another fantastic performance by the Aztecs' All-American pitcher Stephen Strasburg last Friday, kicking off a three-game weekend sweep by Tony Gwynn's team of UNLV. (By the way, SDSU owns UNLV in everything this year. Football got one of its two wins over the Rebels, both the men's and women's basketball teams were 3-0 vs. Vegas, and now baseball beats 'em three-straight).

But the best pitching performance of the weekend was not turned in by Strasburg, but rather by UCSD senior right-hander Travis Decker, who pitched a no-hitter on Saturday and defeated top-ranked Cal State Stanislaus, 6-0...Decker walked the first two hitters of the game, then retired 20 batters in a row to complete the seven-inning jem.

Decker's effort was the centerpiece of a four-game UCSD sweep of Division II's top-ranked squad and improved the Tritons to 15-7....Nicely done!