Cal State San Bernardino baseball Coach Don Parnell indicated that the success of this 2008 season would ride on the strong arms of his pitching staff and thus far, he's been accurate in his assessment.
    The Coyotes are off to an 8-3 start with seven of their eight victories against CCAA opponents in non-conference games and his pitching staff has solid combined earned run average of 3.53.
    However, the rubber meets the road starting Thursday as the Coyotes travel to La Jolla to take on UC San Diego, 10-3, a team favored by a majority of CCAA coaches to win the conference title this year and earn a spot in the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row.
    The Tritons are hitting .312 as a team and the pitching staff has posted a solid 3.47 ERA in 13 games.
After winning 37 games in 2007, the Tritons were ranked No. 15 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball to start this season.
    CSUSB enters the four-game series, that concludes with a doubleheader at home at 11 a.m. Saturday (weather permitting), minus one of its versatile senior players -- Bryan W. Hart.
    Hart suffered a season-ending injury last Saturday during a game with Cal State L.A. The 6-6 pitcher and utility infielder-outfielder was hitting .294 in seven games and posted a spiffy 1.29 ERA in seven innings of work, allowing just four hits.
    Through the first 11 games of the season, senior right-hander Matt Long has been a workhorse, posting a 2-1 record with a 2.66 ERA in 20.1 innings with 25 strikeouts and just five walks.
    Senior right-hander Cheyne Hann is 2-0 with a 4.05 ERA in 20 innings with 21 strikeouts and just four walks. Senior right-hander Kevin Wilson is 1-1 and has fanned 17 batters in 21 innings.
    Offensively, the Coyotes are batting just .251 as a team but senior first baseman Jason Klug, the CCAA and West Region MVP in 2006 at Cal State Dominguez Hills, is off to a good start, batting .351 in 11 games with five doubles, two home runs and 19 runs batted in.
    Junior centerfielder Johnnie Haas is batting .341 with four doubles, a homer and eight RBI. Freshman catcher Chris LeFay, inserted in the starting lineup when Chris Olsen was hobbled by a leg injury, is hitting .333 in eight games.
    The Tritons bring back junior all-American Matt Cantele (.365 BA, 23 HR, 60 RBI in 2007) to lead them on offense. However, though 11 games, Chris Franco is the team leader in homers with three and RBI with 15. Cantele is hitting .298 with two homers and 14 RBI.
    Shortstop Vince Albitz has been the most consistent Tritons hitter at .409 in 13 games with a team-leading 18 hits in 44 at bats with 13 runs scored and 10 RBI. Guido Knudson leads the Tritons starters with a 1.50 ERA and 2-1 record.
    The teams play at 2 p.m. Thursday and 2 p.m. Friday at UCSD before heading to San Bernardino for the final two games on Saturday, starting at 11 a.m., weather permitting. Saturday's games will be webcast at www.csusbathletics.com (click on Listen Live).