Dirtbags
will need Freshmen to win
By Michael Bower
On-line Forty-Niner
Troy
Glaus and Tim Salmon carried the Anaheim
Angels into the playoffs last year, but
the team certainly wouldn’t have won the
World Series without its rookie-sensation
Francisco Rodriguez.
In essence, the Dirtbags are going to need
more than its two horses to pull the wagon
all the way to the College World Series
in Omaha.
Abe Alvarez and Jared Weaver are those two
big horses pulling the wagon for the Dirtbags
this year, but a trio of freshmen will decide
just how far the Dirtbags will go.
Alvarez and Weaver have put the Dirtbags
(29-13) in a position to snatch its 15th-straight
30-win season. The nations best one-two
punch has the Dirtbags ranked fifth in the
country and in the top 10 for a school-record,
12 straight weeks.
Alvarez is perfect on the season at 8-0
with a 2.27 ERA, while Weaver is at 9-3
with a 2.16 ERA. Both pitchers have the
Dirtbags eyeing the upcoming series against
Cal State Fullerton beginning May 16, which
will likely decide the Big West Conference
champion.
With the huge series approaching and the
playoffs just 13 games away, the Dirtbags
will have to look past the two hurlers and
to a young batch of freshmen to help get
them over the hump and to Omaha.
Cesar Ramos, John Bowker and Troy Tulowitzki
are the three freshmen that could boost
the Dirtbags over that hump.
Ramos has had a tough job throwing behind
the best one-two duo in the nation. He struggled
early on for the Dirtbags but has been coming
on at the right time. He has won his last
two starts posting a 1.39 ERA over 13 innings
- giving The Beach another reason to be
excited about playoff time.
Bowker, a redshirt freshman, saw his at
bats increase as well as his home run total
when Sean Boatright went down with a back
injury. The Dirtbags are hoping Bowker can
provide some pop in the middle of the lineup.
So far so good.
Bowker has been scorching the ball over
his last eight games. He is hitting .407
with 10 RBIs smashing his fourth and fifth
homers of the season last Friday and Saturday.
He is batting .315 with 21 RBIs on the year
and leads the team with five homers and
a .506 slugging percentage.
Tulowitzki has had it rough at the
plate all year for The Beach and has had
an average fielding year but has still played
in 35 games for the Dirtbags. He is hitting
just .230 and has a .956 fielding percentage
but he is a clutch player and the playoffs
are all about the clutch.
Despite his .230 batting average Tulowitzki
has drove in a team-leading 24 runs. If
Tulowitzki continues to come through in
the clutch like he has all year then he
will be a serious offensive threat come
playoff time.
With the three playing great baseball right
now the playoffs can’t come quick enough
for the Dirtbags.
The two horses have pulled the wagon long
enough and they are going to need the freshmen
to give them that extra push in the end.
The trio may not know it, but they control
the destiny of the 2003 Dirtbags and any
hopes of a return to Omaha.
Just ask the Anaheim Angels how far its
rookie got them.
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