San Antonio Baseball recap

Bad fielding and good hitting clubs meant a slew of unearned runs for SIUC over spring break.

The Salukis committed 17 errors in the course of six games during the spring trip to San Antonio and not surprisingly 17 unearned runs crossed the plate.

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For one of the first times this season, it was not earned runs that buried the Salukis as SIUC managed to put up a solid performance on the mound. Collectively, Saluki pitchers posted a 4. 79 ERA on the trip. The Salukis’ ERA overall is 7.71.

Baseball coach Dan Callahan said it was nice to see some solid pitching after some of the disappointments the Salukis have had so far this season.

I think early on, one area we thought would be stable over the course of the season was in the area of pitching, Callahan said. And the first 10 or 11 games of the season I wasn’t very impressed with our pitching, which was kind of a surprise. I just thought we would be better than that.

The Salukis also got some good news with the status of junior pitcher Jason Frasor, who managed to get in 3 2/3 innings on the trip and is continuing to improve. He did not allow a single run in any of his appearances.

But even though the pitching is improved, there was some bad news as right-handed junior pitcher Justin Kees is down for at least six weeks with a groin injury. Junior right-handed pitcher Brad Heuring also is down with a slight case of tendinitis.

The Salukis ended the spring trip with a record of 2-4 and are now 5-12 overall. They suffered losses to University of Texas at San Antonio 7-6, the University of Texas 21-6, the University of Notre Dame 4-3, Brigham Young University 7-1.

Their only wins were against Southwest Texas State University 3-2 and University of the Incarnate Word 7-4.

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With the losses, Callahan said the focus right now is trying to get to the bottom of the fielding problems.

We got the timely hitting early on, Callahan said. Our defense wasn’t a huge concern early on. Then, over the course of the last six games, it has just been a different team. We got good pitching. We hit the ball well enough to be more successful on the spring trip.

Conceivably, if we play a little bit better defense, we have a chance to come back 4-2 or 5-1. Our big concern right now is team defense.

Callahan said he has seen the team practice well and do the fundamentals, but in game situations, the team seems to fall apart defensively. Errors cost the Salukis three games on the spring trip.

I think it is a mental thing, Callahan said. When I see the left side of our infield during pre-game and during batting practice doing a good job on ground balls and fundamentally they are sound in a practice session, and then they come into a game and they get a way from proper technique, what do you call it?

Do you call it a mental breakdown or a mechanical flaw? It is a tough call. As much as anything, it is confidence.

Callahan said he had contemplated the idea of moving sophomore second baseman Steve Ruggeri to shortstop, but that would mean having three position players Matt Dettman, Jon Winter, and Ruggeri in places they have never played.

The problem of fielding is not an individual problem. It is something the whole team has to deal with and find a solution before Missouri Valley Conference play begins this weekend.

We’ve got find a way to get things squared away, Callahan said. I feel badly for them sometimes. Dettman, he worked at it. He took hundreds of extra ground balls. Winter, it is not a lack of effort. It is not a lack of caring. It is just a lack of execution.

We’ve got to figure out a way where we can do things technique-wise consistently and in games where it truly counts.

The Salukis play Creighton University 2 p.m. Friday at Abe Martin Field.