March 25, 2002

Los Angeles, CA (March 25, 2002) - The dust has yet to settle in the third and final game of this weekend's series between Loyola Marymount University and the University of San Francisco and it won't be until the teams meet again on May 10 in San Francisco.

Thanks to the Lions two run bottom of the ninth rally on Sunday, the game would go into extra innings tied at 21-21 and extend it beyond the five-hour mark. The Dons would score four runs in the top of the 10th inning before the game was suspended due to darkness in the middle of the inning.

The game will be picked up on Friday, May 10 when the teams begin the final three-game series in San Francisco. LMU will once again attempt a rally as they will come to bat in their half of the inning with score at 25-21.

"We will rally for those five runs," said Head Coach Frank Cruz on a game that saw the Lions erase deficits of six, five and three runs on the day. Trailing 21-19, the Lions sophomore Joshua Whitesell would get a solo home run with one out to cut the lead to 21-20. Freshman Jonathan Oller would then single to right field with freshman Sean Smith on second to score the tying run. Oller, however, would get tagged out at third trying to extended the base hit on the throw.

The two teams combined for an amazing 46 runs and 51 hits, including five home runs and 11 doubles.

RUN SUPPORT
The Loyola Marymount University baseball team started the 2002 season taking on the toughest non-conference schedule in the country. In one stretch the Lions played 11 of 12 games on the road, including three-game series against 17th-ranked Texas, 15th-ranked Arizona State and 25th-ranked Mississippi State. The Lions would escape with just one win in those nine games while averaging just 4.5 runs in their first 21 games to start the 2002 campaign 6-15. However, since the start of play in the West Coast Conference, the Lions have felt right at home. In the last seven games the Lions are 5-1 not including the suspended third game against San Francisco, winning four in a row. In the seven games LMU is averaging 15 runs per game to push their season batting average from .240 following the non-conference play to .296 after Sunday. The Lions had combined to score 95 runs in 21 games to start the season and have now scored 105 runs in the last seven games.

YOUTH IS SERVED
It was a quite a week for the Lions underclassman. The Lions had seven players hit .400 or better in their four-game week, helping LMU to a four-game win streak. Six of the seven that accomplished the feet were underclassman, the other being a junior. Freshman Carl Stoeber finished the week hitting .667 and was followed by freshman Sean Smith (.647), freshman Joe Frazee (.533), sophomore Joshua Whitesell (.500), junior Joe Silva (.500), freshman Christian Campos (.467), sophomore Billy Lockin (.444) and sophomore Jonathan Higashi (.400). For the second time this season Whitesell tied the LMU single game record with four walks in Sunday's marathon against USF.

WHAT A WEEK
There was no drop off in freshman Sean Smith's performance after earning the Lions first player of the week nod from the West Coast Conference March 18. He finished the Lions' four-game week hitting an amazing .647 (11-for-17) in helping the Lions to a four-game winning streak. In the three-game conference series against the San Francisco Dons, Smith was even better, hitting .750 (9-for-12) and getting at least three hits in every game. For the week he had three doubles, a home run, 10 RBI, seven runs scored and was once again perfect in the field, getting 18 putouts, 13 assists and no errors at second base. His home run was a grand slam shot over the left-center wall in the 31-7 win over USC. In the last seven games Smith has taken his batting average from .269 to the current .323.

BREAK OUT
The Lions' third baseman, freshman Jonathan Oller, had a career-week, hitting .450 (9-for-20) in the Lions' four games this week. Oller was responsible for getting the Lions to a four-game winning streak as his grand slam home run in the bottom of the ninth completed a come-from-behind win for the Lions in game two against the Dons. Oller would finish the week with three home runs, earning two against USC. Both homers came in the seventh inning as the Lions would score 10 to thump USC 31-7. Oller's blasts, both three-run homers, would tie a NCAA record for home runs in an inning. With his three home runs he added 13 RBI (a career-high seven against USC), two doubles and 10 runs scored.