TURLOCK -- The 2008 Cal State Stanislaus baseball squad solidified its place among some of the university's best-ever baseball teams Saturday, logging its 30th win of the season in a 9-2, 14-6 doubleheader sweep of NAIA member Simpson University at Warrior Field.
Only 10 other teams in the 42-year history of the program have won 30 or more games. Only one team has done it at the NCAA Division II level, and that was head coach
Kenny Leonesio's 2006 team, which went 31-24. The school record for wins is 35, set by the 1977 NCAA Division III national championship team (35-18-1) and the 1982 team (35-16-1), which finished second in the nation for division III.
The sweep moves Cal State Stanislaus' record to 30-16 overall. Simpson falls to 11-33 on the season. The Warriors win the four-game series 3-1, their first series victory since sweeping Cal State Monterey Bay in a four-game series on March 14-16.
The offense got going early for the Warriors in game one when
Kyle Loretelli led off the bottom of the first by hitting a homerun to right field on the first pitch he saw, his ninth of the year. The Warriors exploded for five runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth of game one to push their 1-0 lead to 8-0.
"I kept everything the same, kept the same approach," Loretelli said about his day at the plate, where he went 5-for-7 with seven runs scored, four RBIs, two doubles, a homerun and two stolen bases. "I was just trying to get on and score some runs."
Jake Oketani also had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-6 with five RBIs, three runs scored and a homerun to deep centerfield in game two. Oketani was 2-for-3 with three RBIs in Saturday's first game, including a two-run single during the Warriors' five-run third.
Eric Federico started the doubleheader opener for the Warriors and pitched seven strong innings, holding the Red Hawks scoreless, striking out five, scattering five hits and walking just one for his fifth win of the season.
"Our pitching's been amazing," Loretelli said. "Today was a good day."
Simpson got one run in the eighth and one run in the ninth after Federico departed to avoid the shutout. Zach Gibbins (2-for-4) and Ryan Cadaret (2-for-4, RBI, stolen base) had multiple-hit games for the Red Hawks in game one.
Simpson's game one starter Ed Davila had a decent day outside of the third and fourth innings. Davila gave up seven runs on eight hits in those innings, but surrendered just two runs and eight hits in his five other innings of work. Davila took the loss to drop his record to 2-7.
In game two, the Warriors had two separate six-run innings to fuel their 14-6 win. Simpson committed four errors in the game, allowing the Warriors to score eight unearned runs, four of them coming in a six-run second inning.
The Warriors got another first inning homerun in game two, courtesy of Oketani's two-run shot, his first of the season, to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead.
Things unraveled for the Red Hawks in the sixth with two errors. The first allowed
Tom Long to reach first with one out. After a Loretelli single,
Dante Palacios doubled home both runners to increase Cal State Stanislaus' lead to 4-0.
Dennis Wolfe would score Palacios, and after a walk to Oketani,
Jacob Thelen tripled to right-center field to put the Warriors up 7-0. Thelen would later score on a wild throw by Red Hawk third shortstop Patrick Roman that allowed
David Contreras to reach first.
Back-to-back doubles by Dustin Donnell and
Tom Long to lead off the fifth inning got things started again for the Warriors. The Warriors would get six hits, including three doubles, and score six runs in the inning to push their lead to 14-4.
Long continued getting hotter Saturday after finding success at the plate against Cal State Dominguez Hills last weekend. Long went 5-for-8 with an RBI, three runs scored and two doubles to raise his average 36 points in one day, from .220 to .256.
It was the freshman Anthony Smith picking up his second straight victory in game two, pitching four innings and allowing three runs while striking out two. Red Hawk starter Kirk Marshlain gave up eight runs, only two earned, and got a strikeout in two innings of work to drop his record to 1-4.
The Warriors continue their non-conference stretch with a single game at 3 p.m. on Tuesday at Warrior Field against NAIA member Patten University.