Who’s In?: There are no teams that are a lock for the postseason in this league. However, a couple teams could possibly sneak into the conversation with a good showing this weekend.
Bubble: Nevada→ 58 RPI; 0-2 vs. RPI Top-25; 7-11 vs. RPI Top-100; 60 SOS
San Diego State→ 62 RPI; 0-1 vs. RPI Top-25; 11-8 vs. RPI Top-100; 113 SOS
UNLV→ 74 RPI; 0-0 vs. RPI Top-25; 10-11 vs. RPI Top-100; 122 SOS
Nevada has by far the best case for an at-large bid in the Mountain West. Even so it might be a long shot for them. I think they’d have to at least make it to the championship game to get selected. If SDSU could win a couple games to boost their RPI a bit, maybe they could be an at-large. None of these teams will be able to rest easy unless they win the tournament.
Bracket: 1 Nevada (29-22; 20-9) vs. 4 UNLV (33-22; 14-16)
2 SDSU (36-19; 18-12) vs. 3 SJSU (26-28; 16-14)
Games run from 5/24-5/27
Players to Watch: Nevada→ Util. Grant Fennell (.387, 4 HR, 48 RBI); OF Mike Echana (.335, 6 HR, 50 RBI); Keone Cabinian (25.0 IP, 9 SV, 2.16 ERA)
SDSU→ Inf. Jordan Verdon (.352, 12 HR, 61 RBI); OF Chase Calabuig (.358, 5 HR, 44 RBI); Casey Schmitt (29.0 IP, 9 SV, 0.31 ERA)
SJSU→ Inf./OF Shane Timmons (.332, 8 HR, 53 RBI); OF Brett Bautista (.359, 4 HR, 34 RBI); Andrew Mitchel (6-1, 3.79 ERA, 80.2 IP, 92 K)
UNLV→ 1B Nick Ames (.295, 18 HR, 69 RBI); OF Kyle Isbel (.357, 13 HR, 53 RBI); Bryan Menendez (35.1 IP, 2.04 ERA, 12 SV)
Who Will Win?: This is a tough one to predict because the teams are all pretty even. I expect offense to be a headline this weekend. SDSU and UNLV both have 6 players batting over .300. Nevada and SJSU each have 5 players over .300. Although I wouldn’t be surprised by any outcome, I believe the Aztecs have what it takes to win it. SDSU’s team ERA of 3.98 is the best in the conference. They’ve also won the tournament four of the last five seasons. The tournament is in San Diego this year as well. All these factors will lead SDSU to a dogpile celebration this weekend.
