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SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS
Strong Pitching, Solid Defense Anchor San Jose State

By Lawrence Fan

With a solid corps of starting pitchers and a reliable defense behind them, San Jose State University points to a fourth straight winning season under the direction of longtime head coach Sam Piraro. Now in his 22nd season directing the Spartans, Piraro picked up his 700th major-college coaching victory earlier in the season. All of these wins have been at San Jose State.

"This is probably the best depth I've had on a team in a long time. We actually have two people at each position and 12 pitchers competing for spots on the mound. I'm really high on this team, because of the experience factor. The outfield is six deep. I can throw a left-handed-hitting or a right-handed-hitting lineup out there," says Piraro of his largely local team. Twenty-two of the 34 Spartans are within an hour's drive of the team's home ball parks, Blethen Field and San Jose Municipal Stadium just off Interstate 280's Tenth Street exit.

The Spartans' skipper can call on at least five pitchers to handle the starting chores once Western Athletic Conference play commences in April. Southpaws David Berner and Max Peterson and right-hander Scott Sobczak were San Jose State's top three starters a year ago when the Spartans finished fourth in the WAC with a winning record and won 31 games overall. At the start of 2009, Berner occupied the No. 1 spot in the rotation, with Peterson and Sobczak next in line. Since a WAC series is four games over a weekend span, Piraro may give the nod to right-handers Ryan Shopshire or Luke Mazzanti in a starting role on the mound.

Whoever starts or is used as a middle reliever, the Spartans know the end of a game is in the good hands of closer Anthony Vega. The right-hander is among the top relievers in career saves at the university and averages about a strikeout an inning in his shutdown role. Jack Adams and Trevor Gibson also figure prominently in relief pitching roles.

The solid pitching allowed the Spartans to be one of the last three NCAA Division I teams to start the 2009 season undefeated and earn a top-25 early-season national ranking. Three-time WAC Coach of the Year Piraro takes great pride in sending out a solid defensive team to complement the pitching staff. The Spartans have led the WAC in fielding percentage three of the last four seasons and were among the top three teams nationally in two of those years. This year's team fits the mold again.

At the plate, the Spartans have established hitters in infielder Kyle Bellows, who is capable of playing shortstop or third base, and first baseman Danny Stienstra. Bellows and Stienstra received freshman All-America recognition in 2007 and 2008, respectively, and had major-college career batting averages over .300 heading into the season.

Centerfielder Jason Martin and infielder Karson Klauer have .300 season batting averages on their career ledgers, too. At the beginning of 2009, outfielders Jacob Bruns and Tommy Gale, utility players Craig Hertler, Corey Valine and John Shaffer, catcher Anthony Aguilera and infielder Tyler Heil got off to solid starts with the bat and hope to join Bellows, Stienstra, Martin and Klauer in the .300 club at season's end.

The Spartans need a total team effort to post back-to-back winning seasons in Western Athletic Conference action. With its veteran squad, San Jose State was a preseason pick to finish second behind 2008 College World Series champion Fresno State. Nevada, Sacramento State, Hawaii, New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech round out the teams competing for the WAC title.

"I'd like to think if we stay healthy and a few guys have a breakout kind of season, this team can contend for the championship. It's not going to be easy. This is a tough league. I believe in this team. I believe we can be in the upper echelon of the WAC, so we have to go and do it," says Piraro.