BRIEFLY
The Lions concluded their longest home stand of the season going 3-5 in eight games as they look to head out on the road for a four-game road tour to Long Beach State and Saint Mary’s with an overall mark of 15-20 and 4-8 in the West Coast Conference. The Lions’ program continues to live in a “youth movement,” as the talented group of freshman came up big for the Lions. In a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Portland, freshmen Jonathan Higashi and Joshua Whitesell performed in the clutch for the win. Whitesell hit a two-out double to tie the game at 6-6 to send it into extra innings. Down 7-6 with two outs in the 10th, Higashi, who dislocated his shoulder in a defensive play the previous half inning, it a homerun to left center to extend the game, which was won by the Lions in the bottom of the 11th.

LONG BEACH STATE...
Exactly a week in-between meetings, the 49ers and Lions will go at it once again. Long Beach State is on a four-game win streak that started with the 13-6 win over the Lions at Page Stadium a week prior. They swept Cal Poly in three games over the week, improving their record to 18-10 on the season and earning them votes in the National Coaches’ Poll. In the first meeting, the two teams combined for 14 runs in a one hour and 20-minute third inning that propelled the 49ers to the victory. With the teams deadlocked at 1-1 entering the third inning, the 49ers brought 13 hitters to the plate to score nine runs on eight hits to put the contest out of reach. Junior Bobby Crosby, who finished the game 3-for-6 in the contest, was 2-for-2 in the innings with a single and a homerun. The third inning for the 49ers included doubles by Jeremy Reed, Bryan Kennedy, Chris Wright, and Mike Hofius. Kennedy’s drove in a run, which gave him 162 RBI in his career, setting the all-time career record at Long Beach State. Reed leads the team with a .342 batting average.

SAINT MARY’S...
The Gaels enter the week with an overall record of 10-20, and a conference mark of 4-8. They dropped two-of-three against Santa Clara, winning game three 6-5 behind the pitching of Mike Byer, who went the distance in allowing only five runs on nine hits. Byer, 3-3 on the season, leads the pitching staff in victories and in strikeouts with 37. On the season, the Gaels’ pitching staff has a 6.03 ERA while their offense is hitting a mere .256 on the season. Both Mark Teahen and Tim Spooner have played in all 30 games for the Gaels, with Teahen leading the team with a .330 batting average. Spooner follows with a .328 average. The Lions have won every series the teams have played since 1996 when the teams split a four-game set. However, neither team has swept a series since 1993, when Saint Mary’s swept the Lions in Moraga and the Lions returned the favor with a sweep at Page Stadium.

PREVIOUS WEEK...
Loyola Marymount pitching staff had a rough week, as the Lions finished 1-3 in a loss to Long Beach State and taking one of three against Portland. In the four games, the Lions gave up 72 hits, including 55 to the Pilots in conference play. The 49ers took a 13-6 win on Tuesday last week, scoring nine runs in the top of the third to put the game out of reach. The Lions scored five of their own in the bottom half. The series against Portland started out in dramatic fashion, as the Lions took home a 8-7 win in 11 innings. Freshman Joshua Whitesell hit a two-out two-run double to tie the game at 6-6 after the Lions found themselves down 6-0 after four innings. The Pilots scored a run in the top of the 10th and look to have the win with two outs and two strikes on freshman Jonathan Higashi. However, the back-up catcher came through with his first homerun of his career to send the game to the 11th. The Lions loaded the bases and junior Tommy Perez hit a sacrifice fly to right to score David Maffei for the winner. However, the Pilots rebounded in a big way and pounded out 19 hits to lead them to a 20-2 win in game two of the series. Starter Kyle Corra was stellar in the win, going for a complete game and allowing only six base runners all game. It was more of the same in the final game, as Portland went for 20 hits for the 11-3 win. Eric Hull went the distance this time, allowing only six base runners of his own.

WHAT A WEEK AGAINST USF...
C.J. Wilson, a junior college transfer from Santa Ana Junior College continues a major upswing now that West Coast Conference play has started. The lefty finished the four-game week going 6-for-15 (.400), netting a double, a triple and three RBI. His single in the final game of the series against San Francisco drove in two runs and he scored twice himself to help his own cause, helping the Lions to their first multiple-game win streak since they opened the season with five straight wins. Getting the start on the hill in that game, Wilson had his longest outing of the season, going 7.2 innings and striking out six Don hitters. He allowed only two earned runs and four hits (all coming in the fourth inning). It was his first win of the season. On the season, Wilson has shown he can do a little everything for the Lions. In the Lions four-game stint against San Diego State and Santa Clara, Wilson had a breakout series, finishing the week with a .467 average. He was 7-for-15 from the plate, getting his second homerun of the season and adding a double. He had 11 total bases on the week, finishing with a .733 slugging percentage. On the season, he is second on the team with a .303 batting average, and is second on the team with 23 RBI. Wilson continues to show signs of improvement on the mound, as he picked up the win against Portland, his second straight. On the week, he pitched 7.1 innings, allowing just five hits and striking out 10. On the mound, Wilson continues to improve. He leads the team with 54 strikeouts and 53.2 innings pitched. He is 2-4 with a 5.53 ERA.

TURN TWO...
Second baseman Jack Brooks had one of his finest series in his four-year career as a Lion against USF. He finished the Lions' four-game set hitting .417 (5-for-12) with three doubles and three RBI. In the series against the Dons, he was 5-for-9 (.555) with all three RBI. He was 3-for-3 in the Lions’ game two win over the Dons, breaking LMU's seven-game winless streak. He also added a sacrifice bunt and a stolen base. More importantly, in the Lions four games this past week he helped shore up the defensive duties for the Lions, getting eight put-outs, 10 assists while committing no errors. He was also part of the Lions seven double plays against the Dons. He is now hitting .262 on the season. The other part of the Lions senior double-play team is Moon Cordero. In addition to his 14 putouts and 28 assists (team high) with no errors against the Dons, he finished the USF series hitting .363 (4-for-11) with two doubles and four RBI. In nine conference games, the senior short stop is on fire. He is leading the team with a .442 batting average (19-for-43) with five doubles and seven RBI. He has also added a sacrifice bunt and a stolen base in those nine games. For the first time in his career with the Lions, he is hitting above 300 with a .311 average on the season (33-for-106), which is third overall for the Lions.

ANOTHER P.O.W...
Junior Tommy Perez hit his team-leading sixth homerun against Portland. He his biggest series of the season came against Cal as he earned three in the three-game series. He had his first multiple homerun game of his career in the final game of the series, getting a three-run shot in the first and a solo shot over left-center in the eighth. How hot was the junior against Cal? He finished the week hitting .615 (8-for-13), with six RBI, three homeruns and one double. He scored seven times and finished the week with a 1.385 slugging percentage. His performance earned him Player of the Week honors in the West Coast Conference, the Lions second straight. He led the team in RBI, homeruns and a .784 slugging percentage. On the season, he is hitting .316 (31-for-98) with a team high 25 RBI.

FIRST P.O.W...
Senior outfielder David Maffei earned the Lions’ first West Coast Conference Player of the Week nod of the season. He finished the Lions’ 2-2 week with a .857 slugging percentage. The leftfielder had four hits on the week, all for extra bases. He finished with two double and two homeruns. The 12 total bases drove in eight runs for the Lions, while Maffei himself scored six times. He led the team in runs scored, homeruns, RBI and total bases.

A Quiet Leader...
Junior first baseman Kris Zacuto quietly became a force for the Lions in the 2000 season. Thus, heading into the 2001 season he has been named a third-team All-American by the NCBWA. As one of the returning offensive forces in the Lions’ line-up, Zacuto has begun in the middle of the order. While playing primarily at first base a year ago, the junior has been a mainstay at catcher while suppling time at first base in late inning situations. Through the first five games of the season, Zacuto was only hitting .235 with a double and three RBI. However, he has had the hot bat for the Lions and welcomed West Coast Conference play with a bang. In three games against Gonzaga the junior finished hitting .692 (9-for-13). He finished the week with two doubles and his third homer of the season. He has stayed on the hotstreak, and is leading the team with a .351 average. More leading numbers for Zacuto: He leads the team with 46 hits, nine doubles, and 61 total bases. He has played in all 35 games for the Lions this season. In the latest four-game set, he led the team with a .385 batting average, going 5-for-13 with two runs scored.

SENIOR LEADERS...
The Loyola Marymount University baseball team has five players on the roster who know how to win West Coast Conference championships. Five seniors return to the Lions’ roster this season that have been a part of the Lions’ last three WCC titles. Outfielder Robert Hirsh, second baseman Jack Brooks, and pitchers James Clelland, Brian Felten and Chris Gray will compete in their fourth and final year in a Lions’ uniform. All told, there are 10 seniors on the squad this season.

CAMEO APPEARANCE...
Senior right-handed pitcher Chris Gray has become a staple out of the bullpen for the Lions in his previous three years with LMU. Entering his final season, Gray has broken into the top 10 list for appearances. With his 22 already this season, appearing in a game last week, he moved into third place all-time with 96. Darryl Scott holds the record for appearances by a pitcher with 131 in his career that spanned from 1987-90. Gray started the season with 74 career appearances. Of Gray’s 96 current appearances, only seven have been starts. He holds a 9-11 record with a 6.04 career ERA. He needs 2 to move into second place.

ANOTHER TWO-WAY THREAT...
Another two-way threat for the Lions is freshman Joshua Whitesell. The lefty from Rialto High School has been a pleasant addition to the Lions line-up, pitching in 15 games and appearing in 30 offensively. He has a 4.60 ERA and has appeared in games as a designated hitter, first baseman and in the outfield. He has a .280 batting average, going 30-for-107 with eight doubles. Against Cal Poly he finished with his best four-game series of his career. He finished .438 from the plate, getting a team-high seven hits during the four-game set. He added two doubles in the series and finished with a slugging percentage of .562. He was one of the young heroes in game one against Portland, as his two-out, two RBI double tied the game in the bottom of the ninth to send it into extra innings. He also picked up a win on the mound in game one of the doubleheader against the Mustangs, pitching the final 3.1 innings during a 11-10 win in 11 innings. He earned his second loss of the season against Portland, going 4.2 and allowing nine hits and four earned runs. He is now 3-2 on the season, tied with senior James Clelland and Joshua Muecke for the team-high in wins.

CAREER FIRST...
Junior Kayzell Milton, who continues to amaze following full recover from cancer two years ago, showed some rare power against Gonzaga. Milton, who has eight hits on the season in playing in earning three starts last week, earned his first homerun of his career in game one against the Bulldogs. He finished the week against Santa Clara going 2-for-4 (.500) with a run scored. Against Porltand and Long Beach State, Milton finished the week hitting 3-for-9 (.333) with a double and a run scored. He is now hitting .244 on the season (11-for-45). He leads the team in stolen bases with five.

LIONS PICKED TO WIN COAST AGAIN...
The WCC coaches selected the Lions as the favorite to win the Coast Division followed by Gonzaga. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper also selected LMU to win the Coast Division, while all both polls picked Pepperdine to win the West Division and overall league title.

Cruz Helps Team USA to Memorable Summer
Loyola Marymount University head baseball coach Frank Cruz became a major frequent flyer this summer. The fifth-year head coach of the Lions was asked to be an assistant coach for the USA National Baseball team this summer, which took him to almost every corner of the world, finishing the tour in Haarlem, The Netherlands. Similar to what he has done with the Lions' program in leading them to three consecutive West Coast Conference titles, Team USA found unparalleled success this summer. Cruz was part of the USA National Team's win over Cuba, 8-5, to claim the championship of the Baseball Week Tournament in Haarlem, The Netherlands Sunday. The win was the second for the National Team over Cuba in four days after defeating the Cubans 9-1. Cruz helped Team USA finish the 2000 Red, White and Blue Tour with a 27-3-1 record, including a 6-0 mark in the tournament. Team USA closed the season with a 21-game unbeaten streak dating to July 7th, which included 20 wins and one tie. The Americans won its last eight games in a row. Cuba dropped to 4-2 in the tournament, with their only losses coming to the USA. The victory gives the National Team a .900 winning percentage, the best in team history. The 1984 team, featuring future Major League All-Stars McGwire, Barry Larkin, Will Clark and B.J. Surhoff, was 37-5-1, for an .881 winning percentage. Cruz and the LMU Lion's program has seen similar success in owning the WCC the past three seasons. In 2000, the Lions posted a 22-8 record in the WCC and 40-19 overall. The team featured six future MLB draft picks and ranked third all-time for victories in a season. Entering his fifth season at LMU, Cruz has posted a 128-109-1 record and has earned two WCC Coach of the Year honors (1998 & 2000).

Breaking the Win Barrier...
The Lions entered the 2001 season with three consecutive 30-plus win season. The only other time they had three or more consecutive seasons of 30 or more wins was from 1986-1991 when they did it six straight years. The 40 wins in 2000 was the fourth best in LMU history. In 1986, the Lions won a record 50 games... The 2000 season featured a 10-game win streak near the end of the season, as the Lions won 13 of their last 17 and 16 of their last 21 games. The Lions went 12-4 in three-game series last season and were 23-0 when scoring 10 or more runs, which included a 30-run outburst against Saint Mary’s.

WCC Three-Peat...
Ranked #16 at the time, the Loyola Marymount Lions captured their third straight West Coast Conference Championship with a 6-2 win over Pepperdine University at Page Stadium in game two of the WCC baseball championships. Junior right fielder Jason Aspito led the Lions offensively with his 10th home run of the season. He finished the game 2-for-4, scoring two runs and driving in three RBIs. RHP Michael Schultz went the distance for LMU, he gave up just two runs on four hits while fanning five batters for his ninth win of the season. After using a solid pitching performance from junior Billy Traber to take game one in the best-of-three series, the Lions turned the pitching duties to Schultz. The junior shut down the Waves, going seven before allowing the two runs in the eighth. He closed the game with a perfect ninth to lift the Lions to the title. The Lions took a 1-0 lead in the fifth as Jeff Walker's single drove in Kris Zacuto. The first baseman singled to left with two outs. Schultz faced the minimum in the bottom half to hold the 1-0 lead. LMU broke through in the sixth, scoring three runs thanks to the home run by Aspito. The blast to right that hit the scoreboard scored Scott Walter and Mike Hymes. The Lions added two in the eighth, also with two outs. The rally started with Aspito's single. Aspito scored on Anthony Angel's triple. Angel was driven in by Zacuto's single. For the two game championship series, Angel, the WCC co-player of the year, finished 6-for-10 with two doubles, a triple and four RBI.

PIPE LINE TO THE PROS...
The 2000 season produced some of the top prospects in the country, as five Lions were selected in the first 20 rounds of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft. Junior lefthanded pitcher Billy Traber, who was named second team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, was the 16th overall pick in the draft, being selected by the New York Mets. Right-hander Michael Schultz, who was also a junior, was selected in the second round with the 69th overall pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Schultz's and Traber's battery mate, junior Scott Walter, was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the third round with the 74th overall pick. The third team All-America selection was a Johnny Bench Award finalist for the countries best catcher and finished tops in the West Coast Conference with 19 home runs. In the ninth round, the Chicago White Sox selected utility specialist Jason Aspito with the 262nd pick in the 2000 draft. The WCC Co-Player of the Year, senior Anthony Angel, was selected by the Houston Astros in the 14th round as the 427th pick in the 2000 draft. Following the draft, the Arizona Diamondbacks remained committed to the Lions pitching, signing senior Ben Bonilla as a free agent.

LIONS AND THE REGIONALS...
The three-time defending West Coast Conference Champions headed into their third straight Regional appearance as the number three seed and facing Cal State Fullerton in the Lions first game. Behind the efforts of second team All-American Billy Traber, LMU earned its first postseason win since the upset of Stanford in 1998, 6-4 over the number two seeded Titans. Traber’s complete game, 13-strikeout performance included two bases loaded jams, coming in the fifth and ninth innings with no outs. In the fifth, after the Titans loaded the bases on a walk, a single and an error, Traber struckout the next three batters to get out of the jam. With a 6-3 lead in the ninth, the Titans again loaded the bases. Traber allowed a run on a sac fly and retired the next two batters on a fly and a ground out for his 10th win of the season. David Maffei’s two-run home run in the first inning started a four-run outburst for the Lions in the first two innings of the game. The win allowed the Lions to advance in the winner’s bracket against Southern California. USC used a three-run eighth and a five-run ninth to break a 5-5 tie in the top of the eighth for a 13-5 win over the Lions. LMU dropped to 0-3 against the Trojans on the season. The Lions allowed 18 hits in the loss, dropping the Lions to an elimination game against Cal State Fullerton, who defeated Virginia Tech to advance. Michael Schultz went seven and two-thirds innings and picked up his sixth loss of the season. Jeff Walker was an offensive spark for the Lions, finishing the game 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double. Senior Ben Bonilla pitched a complete game for the Lions, but picked up his first loss of the season in a 5-2 defeat to Cal State Fullerton, knocking the Lions out of the NCAA Tournament. Fullerton’s Ronnie Corona went eight innings and allowed only four hits and struckout 12 Lions for the win. Kirk Saarloos came in the ninth for the save. The Lions had only five players reach base, as Fullerton advanced to the championship against USC. The Trojans would win the regional to advance to the Super Regional. The Lions finished the season 40-19 (22-8).

Coach of the Year..
Head Coach Frank Cruz, wrapping up his fourth season as skipper of the LMU Baseball program, earned career win No.100 on March 10 when his Lions defeated San Francisco, 16-4, in Game 1 of LMU’s three game series at Page Stadium. Cruz has guided LMU to 30-plus win seasons in each of the past three years. The 40 wins this season is his career high here at LMU.

19 Years of Baseball at Page Stadium...
Now in its 19th season as the home of Lion baseball, George C. Page Stadium represents one of the finest collegiate baseball facilities in the country. The facility, which has been the site of filming for numerous commercials as well as feature films, is named in honor of George C. Page, president of the Incentive Aid Foundation. Maynard Kambak, father of LMU baseball alumnus Jeff Kambak, assisted Mr. Page in the stadium's construction that was completed in 1983. LMU's historic first game in Page Stadium was played on March 19, 1983, LMU losing to Cal State Fullerton, 5-1. This season the Lions were an impressive 21-6 at Page Stadium, which was the best winning percentage (.778) in the conference. They enter the 2001 campaign with a five game win streak at Page Stadium. Since 1997, when Frank Cruz took over the program, LMU has established a 71-45 record at Page, a winning percentage of more than 61 percent. That percentage is also the Lions’ overall mark at home in the park’s 18 years, as the LMU has posted a 316-201 record (.611). Some of the best years have come in the five conference titles the Lions have won while calling Page Stadium home. They are 168-55 in conference championship years at home. The first Page Stadium conference title came in 1986 when the Lions posted a 24-8 record at home that season. The best record came in 1988, when LMU was 30-4 at home (88 percent).