As the 2014 season loomed for the Chico State baseball team, Luke Barker’s role on the pitching staff was still up in the air. Already a proven starter, the junior righthander has also demonstrated he can more than handle the load in relief. So much so, in fact, that Barker has emerged as Head Coach Dave Taylor’s go-to guy out of the bullpen. The Chico native continued his torrid month of March last weekend with six scoreless innings and three saves as the ’Cats swept a four-game road series against Cal State Stanislaus. Barker’s bullpen brilliance makes his the latest Wildcat of the Week.
Barker allowed just three singles and a walk in his six innings of work against the Warriors, bringing his California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA)-leading saves total to eight. Seven of those saves have come in conference action, helping the Wildcats (20-5 overall, 12-4 CCAA) surge into first place in the conference standings.
Barker started the weekend with three scoreless innings Friday night against Stanislaus, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out three. He set the Warriors down in order in the ninth inning in the first of two games Saturday. And he fired the final two frames Sunday, allowing only a single.
Saturday’s save was Barker’s first and only requiring fewer than two innings thus far.
The junior from Chico’s Pleasant Valley High School has compiled 19.1 consecutive scoreless frames entering this weekend’s four-game home series against San Francisco State, lowering his season earned run average to 0.93 – fourth-best among CCAA hurlers.
