April 24, 2002
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BRIEFLY...
The Loyola Marymount University (LMU) baseball team will look to get back on track this weekend as they return home for a seven-game homestand, the final trip home of the 2002 season. The Lions, who were swept by Gonzaga last weekend, will look to get back to their winning ways when they host Santa Clara at Page Stadium in a three-game series that starts this Friday, April 26 at 1 p.m. The Lions have a record of 16-25 overall and 9-8 in the WCC, including a 6-2 record at Page Stadium. They are just one game behind San Diego in the West Division race in the West Coast Conference. Santa Clara enters the series 18-24 overall and 8-9 in the WCC.
HITTING SPREE...
After starting the season hitting just .240 in the toughest ranked non-conference schedule in the country, the Lions have made a statement in the West Coast Conference. Following the three-game series against Gonzaga, he Lions are hitting .345 in the WCC, increasing their overall average 55 percentage points in the last seven weeks. In the WCC, LMU has two consistent starters hitting better than .425. Sophomore Billy Lockin, who hit his first career home run against Gonzaga, is hitting .441 in 17 conference contests. He is followed by freshman Sean Smith, who is hitting .426 in 16 WCC games. Four other starters for LMU are hitting over .350 in conference, including sophomore Jonathan Higashi who has an eight-game hitting streak and was 8-for-15 (.533) at the plate in the Lions' four games last week. Following Higashi is freshman Joe Frazee at .371, sophomore Joshua Whitesell at .352 and senior Tommy Perez at .350.
GRAND THEFT...
Sophomore Billy Lockin is having a break-out second season with the Lions, leading the team with a .361 batting average, raising his percentage nine points in the three-game series against Gonzaga. He was 6-for-13 (.462) last week, hitting two doubles and the first home run of his career. His .446 on-base percentage for the season is tops on the team. In addition, he added two steals in the 8-2 win over Saint Mary's, giving him 15 on the season. In his freshman season he led the team with seven as the Lions finished with 43 stolen bases as a team. LMU has already tallied 45 this season (not including March 24) and Lockin is on pace to crack the top-10 for stolen bases in a single season. Four players are tied for 10th with 25 stolen bases in a single season. The last player to crack the top-10 in this category was in 1984 when Reggie Lambert had 30. The closest anyone has come since was Matt Riordan in 1999 and Ikaika Hoopii in 1996 with 21. The record for stolen bases in a season was John Krickl with 40 in 1979. Lockin has done it with great efficiency, getting caught just three times. The leadoff hitter (he has started 38 of the Lions' 41 games as the leadoff hitter) leads all starters with 21 walks.
LAST WEEK...
It was a tough week for the Lions as they are currently on a four-game losing streak. The week started with an 8-4 loss to USC. After LMU (16-22) served USC (21-16) their worse loss in program history 31-7 on March 19 in the first game of this season's two-game set, the Trojans responded in a more traditional fashion at Dedeaux field to take their first game against the Lions since the NCAA West Regional at the end of the 2000 season. After the Lions knocked out 27 hits against the Trojans in game one, the two teams each finished with nine on Tuesday. LMU started the game with a 1-0 lead thanks to senior Kris Zacuto's 16th double of the season. He would score on senior Tommy Perez' single. The Lions' lead would grow to 2-0 on Zacuto's solo home run in the top of the third. It was his fourth home run of the season. After taking the 5-3 lead, the Trojans would add a run in the sixth. LMU would cut the lead in the seventh when junior Joe Silva scored on Zacuto's sacrifice fly. Zacuto finished 2-for-3 with two RBI. Sophomore Jonathan Higashi finished the game 3-for-4 and Lockin was 2-for-5. Following the Tuesday loss, the Lions headed to Spokane, Wash., for a three-game set against Gonzaga. The series started on a sour note as the Lions lost for the fourth straight Friday, this time by a score of 11-2. Take away the bottom of the third inning, LMU would have earned a 2-1 victory over Gonzaga. However, the Bulldogs exploded for a 10-run third inning to run away for the 11-2 win. Gonzaga starter Ed Clelland, brother of former Lion James Clelland, took advantage of the lead to go six innings, allowing just two runs on nine hits. The Lions actually finished with just one less hit than the Bulldogs, earning 12 on the afternoon. However, they stranded 10 runners on the day. LMU would take a 2-0 lead in the top of the third. Sophomore Billy Lockin hit a double down the left field line to score Silva, who singled, for the 1-0 lead. Lockin would then score on Zacuto's single for the 2-0 lead. Lockin finished the day 2-for-4 and Perez extended his hitting streak to 20 games with his 2-for-4 outing. Also earning two hits was Higashi, who had a triple and finished 2-for-4. Sophomore Joshua Whitesell was 2-for-3 and Silva went 2-for-3. The Bulldogs took games two and three of the series by an identical score of 9-1. In the series, LMU combined for just four runs after averaging more than seven runs a game in conference play heading into the series. On Saturday the Lions managed just eight hits and followed that with a mere five hits on Sunday.
SANTA CLARA...
The Broncos enter this weekend's series against the Lions with a record of 18-24 overall and 8-9 in the WCC. They defeated Sacramento State 18-1 in a non-conference match-up on Tuesday. The Broncos, who have won eight straight against the Lions dating back to the 2000 season, lost two of three to the University of Portland last weekend, including a 22-11 defeat in game one of the series. Santa Clara is led by Joey Gomes. The outfielder is hitting .406 on the season, including a conference high 22 doubles. He also leads the team with 37 RBI and eight home runs. As a team the Bronocs are hitting .289 on the season. On the mound, SCU has a team ERA of 5.47 and is led by reliever Grant Feischtmeir's 2.82 ERA and six saves. The Lions will most likely face an entire left-handed rotation this weekend, as Joe Diefenderfer (LHP, 3.96, 4-4) will start on Friday, Matt Travis (LHP, 4.44, 4-2) on Saturday and John Redmond (LHP, 4.58, 4-5) on Sunday.
WHAT A RETURN...
Junior Justin Abreu showed flashes of becoming a solid right-hander for the Lions in his freshman campaign in 2000, finishing his first season with a 3.72 ERA and a 4-1 record in 58.0 innings. Included in that was a complete game shutout in which he struck out nine hitters against UCSB. However, a shoulder injury limited him in his sophomore campaign in 2001. He appeared in just 11 games with a 9.00 ERA. His junior season has been one of the come-back-of-the-year stories. Abreu has become a consistent right-hander. In the Lions' last six games that Abreu has made an appearance the Lions are 4-2. Abreu helped LMU to another win on April 13, a 10-9 victory against the Waves. After a three-run first inning by Pepperdine, Abreu settled down to allow just one run on six hits in the next 5.1 innings. He went 6.1 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits with four strikeouts to put the Lions in the position to claim the win. Prior to the game against Saint Mary's in which he went seven innings and allowed just three earned runs in the loss, he had earned a win in three consecutive appearances. He claimed the win in the 31-7 victory over USC and then came on in relief in game two against USF. He pitched 5.2 innings and allowed just one run on four hits as the Lions came from behind for the 11-7 win. He would then earn his third straight win with his 5.2-inning performance against USD in game two of the series. Against the Toreros he allowed just one run on seven hits. His efforts in the month of March earned Abreu the Rawlings/WCC Pitcher of the Month honors. In 23.0 innings pitched, Abreu allowed just six earned runs on 21 hits. His opponents hit just .247 against him in March, the lowest of the LMU pitching staff. He was even tougher with runners on base, allowing just six hits in 40 at-bats, a .150 batting average.
DOUBLED-UP...
Senior Kris Zacuto continues to climb up the record books at LMU. With yet another double against USC, Zacuto tied Anthony Napolitano for second place on the all-time doubles list at LMU. Zacuto, the only two-time All-West Coast Conference selection on the roster, added his fifth home run of the season against USC, giving him 25 in his career. He moves ahead of Brian Turang (1987-88) for 10th all-time at LMU. Zacuto's climb up the records is thanks in part to his .308 batting average, which is fourth on the team this season.
A SENIOR LEADER...
Senior Tommy Perez is slowly climbing up the home run charts at LMU. He had 30 home runs in his career heading into the 2002 season, tied for fifth all-time with Jim McAnary. He had his seventh of the 2002 season against Long Beach State to move him ahead of Scott Walter (1998-00) and Miah Bradbury (1987-90) with 37 career home runs, second in the LMU all-time record book. In addition, his 33 RBI (including Mar. 24 game) has him at 156 for his career, eighth all-time at LMU.
UNUSUAL THREE-BAGGER...
Senior Tommy Perez hit just his third triple of his career against the Longhorns, the first of the season for the Lions. He was at it again against Portland, his second of the season. Perez, who is quickly climbing the all-time home run list with 37, had two triples as a junior while hitting 11 home runs. In his sophomore and freshman seasons combined, Perez had 19 home runs and no triples. This season he has five home runs and two triples, both team-highs. On the season he is hitting .285 and had a 20-game hitting streak (including Mar. 24) that was broken against Gonzaga.
WHAT A WEEK (AGAIN)...
Freshman Sean Smith has had an amazing start to the 2002 West Coast Conference season. He is the only player in the conference to earn Rawlings/WCC Player of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks (Mar. 18 and 25). He finished the Lions' four-game week against USF and USC hitting a gaudy .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). 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 conference he is hitting .426 (23-for-54) and is .299 overall. He has two home runs, a triple and seven doubles.
HISTORICAL ERUPTION...
After the LMU offense got things going against the University of Portland in the Lions' first homestand in three weeks, it carried over to one of the more memorable games in LMU history. Playing in a mid-week game on Tuesday, March 19, the Lions exploded for a 31-7 thumping of Southern California at Page Stadium. No, LMU didn't start playing football again. The 31 runs was the second most in LMU history (34 in 1986) and was the most hits since they had 30 in the 2000 season. They would score 18 runs in the final two innings that featured freshman Jonathan Oller's back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning. He ties an NCAA record for home runs in a single inning with the pair of long balls as LMU won for the third straight time over the Trojans. The 24-run deficit was the largest in Trojan baseball history and the 31 runs was the most allowed in the 81 years of baseball at USC. LMU improves to 9-16 on the season and have averaged almost 16 runs a game in their last four contests since returning home from an eight-game road trip. Oller, who had a home run clear the Mikos Blue Monster in leftfield and another in deep left-center, finished the game with a career-best 4-for-6 outing, including seven RBI. Oller's home runs were two of just seven extra base hits for the Lions on the afternoon. LMU had 20 singles as they increased their season batting average 17 percentage points to .277. One of the other extra base hits came on freshman Sean Smith's grand slam home run in a five-run fifth inning that broke open the game. Smith, who was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week on March 18, was 2-for-5 with the four RBI. Also getting four RBI on the afternoon was freshman Christian Campos, who went 3-for-6 with his third double of the year. The Lions, who actually trailed 2-0 after the first inning, would score three runs in the second inning to take the lead for good. They would add three more in the fourth inning, the five runs in the fifth and two in the sixth before exploding for 10 runs in the seventh and eight more in the eighth inning. Every Lion who came to the plate had a hit as freshman Carl Stoeber got into the act with a 4-for-6 effort with two RBI and three runs scored. LMU would get eight hits in the 10-run seventh inning and seven in the eight-run eighth, leaving just one runner on base in the two innings. They would bring 13 batters to the plate in the seventh and 12 in the eighth.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK...
Junior right-handed pitcher Kevin Jenson was named the West Coast Conference/Rawlings Pitcher of the Week for Feb. 5 thanks to his 5-0 shutout of UC Santa Barbara in the first game of the 2002 season. The Yuba City native pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits in his debut with the Lions. He struck out four Gauchos and walked just one in the win. Jenson, a transfer from Yuba Community College, claimed the first pitcher of the week honor given in the 2002 season as he earned the Lions first shutout since May 9, 2000, when they blanked UCSB.
PIPE LINE TO THE PROS...
The 2001 season once again produced prospects for the 2001 Major League Baseball draft. LMU's pipe line to the pros continues to run strong as pitchers C.J. Wilson and James Clelland were both selected by teams. Wilson was selected in the fifth round by the Texas Rangers and Clelland was a free agent by the Montreal Expos. The two signees give the Lions 14 players in the past five seasons who have gone pro. 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 left-handed 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 Diamondbacks remained committed to the Lions pitching, signing Ben Bonilla as a free agent.
20 YEARS AT PAGE STADIUM...
Now in its 20th season as the home of Lion Baseball, George C. Page Stadium has established itself as a tough place for opponents. With its newest addition, Page Stadium continues to stake claim as college baseball's most unique ballpark. 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. LMU's historic first game in Page Stadium was played on March 19, 1983, LMU losing to Cal State Fullerton, 5-1. In the 2000 campaign the Lions were an impressive 21-6 at Page Stadium, which was the best winning percentage (.778) in the conference. Since 1997, when Frank Cruz took over the program, LMU has established a 80-66 record at Page, a winning percentage of more than 55 percent. That percentage is just below the Lions' overall mark at home in the park's 19 years, as LMU has posted a 325-222-1 record (.593). 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 MIKOS MONSTER...
Thanks to a gift from Paul Mikos, a new leftfield wall has been installed at Page Stadium that contains a manual scoreboard, complete with out-of-town scores reminiscent of some of Major League Baseball's classic ballparks. The Mikos Blue Monster stands 130-feet wide and 37-feet tall. Within the wall is one of only a handful of manual scoreboards in all of baseball. The board itself isn't small, standing 18-feet tall and 46-feet wide. The first ever home run was hit over the wall was hit by UCLA's Adam Berry on Feb. 11. The first Lion to hit it over the Blue Monster was Tommy Perez against Cal Poly on Feb. 17.
