Series 12
CSUMB vs. Cal State Stanislaus
Friday, March 27 at 3:00 PM
Saturday, March 28 at 12:00 PM (DH)*
Sunday, March 29 at 12:00 PM

*in Turlock, Calif.

Live Stats: Click Here (Sat Only)



Game Notes



FIRST PITCH:
The Otters host Cal State Stanislaus on Friday and Sunday in single games with a doubleheader in Turlock on Saturday. 

NEXT WEEK:
CSUMB competes against Academy of Art University on Tuesday, March 31, in non-conference play before hosting Cal State L.A. that weekend in a four-game series to kickoff the month of April. 

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS:
Cal State Stanislaus was at one time ranked No. 1 in the national polls but dropped to No. 27 a week later after being swept by UC San Diego.  The Warriors fell out of the top 25 this week after taking only one game of a four game series against Cal State San Bernardino this past weekend.

THREE CCAA TEAMS IN NATIONAL STANDINGS:
In the new Collegiate Baseball Division II rankings that were released on March 24, three CCAA teams are featured.  UC San Diego leads the group with a No. 7 ranking after posting a 15-7 record.  Sonoma State, who is third in the CCAA standings, is ranked 11th this week.  Cal State L.A. moved from 17th to 15th this past weekend after taking 3-of-4 games off Cal State San Bernardino this past weekend.

CCAA LEADERS:
(as of 3/25/09)

CSUMB Batters: 3rd in doubles (63), 6th in hits (246), 5th in stolen bases (29), 3rd in hit by pitches (33)

CSUMB Pitching Staff: 2nd in lowest amount of balks (3).

CSUMB Defense: 1st in double plays (30)

#Patrick McClain# - 1st in strike outs (44)

ACADEMY OF ART:
Senior #Steve Mays# went 3-for-4 with three doubles to lead the Cal State Monterey Bay baseball team to a 13-2 victory over Academy of Art University in non-conference play on Friday. The Otters fell behind in the top of the first, giving up a run off three hits.  CSUMB scored three runs in the bottom of the frame and maintained the lead the rest of the game. After adding one run in the second inning, freshman #Niko Kanakaris# hit his first collegiate home run, a three-run blast over the right center wall. The Otters put up three more runs in the fourth on senior #Matt DeJesus#'s two-run homer and a RBI double by Mays. CSUMB starter #Patrick McClain# was the winner, allowing only a pair of earned runs on six hits and one walk with six strikeouts over the first 6.0 frames.  Senior #Brian Callen# came in for relief for three innings and did not give up a single run on three hits. The Otters scored in all but two innings and outhit the Urban Knights, 10-9.

MAYS SETS NEW OTTER RECORD:
Senior #Steve Mays# set a new CSUMB record, completing a 14-game hitting streak. Mays broke fellow teammate #Andrew Marquardt#'s 11-game streak set in 2008. Mays leads the team with a .313 average in 80 at bats with 25 hits, four doubles, a triple and three home runs. He has a team-high 16 RBI.

BARRAS GETTING IT DONE:
Senior third baseman #Daniel Barras# has hit safely in nine of his last eleven games, going 10-for-34 (.294) with five doubles and three RBI. 

FRESHMAN HEATING IT UP:
Outfielder #Niko Kanakaris# has broken into the Otters lineup with a .364 batting average in the last seven games.  Kanakaris is 8-for-22 with two doubles, a home run and six runs batted in.

HIGH SCHOOL PROSPECT MINI CAMP:
The Cal State Monterey Bay baseball team is having a High School Prospect Mini Camp on April 5, 2009. This camp will provide one afternoon of baseball skills development at CSU-Monterey Bay for pitchers and position players. The camp offers a unique baseball opportunity for high school baseball players interested in playing Division II college baseball. Players will have the opportunity to work with the Otter coaching staff, learn the importance of team play, goal setting, self-discipline and commitment to excellence.
COST: 150.00  AGES: 9-12
For more information, go to otterbaseballcamps.com

COACH ALDRETE FEATURED IN SAN JOSE EXAMINER :
By Rob Fisher at the San Jose Giants Examiner

A member of the first San Jose Giants team in 1988, first baseman Rich Aldrete had a .320 average over a seven-year minor league career. Those are darn good numbers. So why did Aldrete never play in the majors? He thinks it had something to do with his older brother Mike, who was battling to keep his job as a backup first baseman with the San Francisco Giants.

“It was one of those things where if I had played in another organization I think I would've gotten a little more love, as far as the bloodline,” says Rich. “Mike was struggling with the Giants, and you don't need two 25th men. We were kind of the same player, hit for high batting average, with average power, five-ten, five-eleven inches tall.” The fact that Will Clark was the starting first baseman for San Francisco didn't help either.

Aldrete played five years in the Giants chain, then in the Saint Louis and Milwaukee organizations. He played as high as Triple-A, and won a Double-A championship with the Giants' old Texas League affiliate, the Shreveport Captains. Several times a minor league all-star, he's on the San Jose Giants 20th Anniversary and All-Decade teams. Off-seasons in his pro career, he ran the non-profit Aldrete Baseball Academy in his hometown of Monterey, Calif., and by his numbers sent more than 100 players on to play college baseball. He continues the Otter Baseball Academy for boys and girls at California State University-Monterey Bay, where he was hired as the first head baseball coach in 2005. The university, which was built on the old Fort Ord military base in nearby Seaside, had no field, no tradition and little money for scholarships.

His baseball academy spent $250,000 on materials and labor and turned an old football field into a baseball diamond. But the work isn't finished. Aldrete hopes to get donor support to build an indoor training facility, outdoor lights, locker rooms and weight rooms.

Aldrete says you need “quality kids” to build a winning program, and is proud that the grade point average of this year's team, which plays in the Division II California Collegiate Athletic Association, is just shy of 3.0.

He says playing before friends and family in San Jose was “one of the best experiences of my life.” Aldrete has turned down various professional coaching and scouting jobs, and although he says he could've played a couple more years, he has no regrets.

“I really like the fact I'm one of the few coaches who's okay with his playing career that I didn't play in the big leagues.”

His goal is to leave a legacy at CSUMB of graduating student-athletes, build a winning tradition, and mentor some productive young adults.