Feb. 5, 2003
The 2003 Loyola Marymount University baseball team will look to regain its rightful position atop the West Coast Conference standings. After winning the league for three straight seasons in 1998, 1999 and 2000, the Lions have had consecutive sub-par seasons. But all indications point to changes on the horizon this season.
LMU head coach Frank Cruz welcomes seven starters back from a year ago, along with nine pitchers, including his top starters. Leading the way will be first-team All-WCC selections shortstop Billy Lockin and second baseman Sean Smith.
Smith was the only freshman on the league's first team, while earning the WCC Freshman of the Year, becoming the third Lion to receive the honor in the past six seasons.
"This is an experienced team with decent defense, hitting and pitching," Cruz said. "There isn't one strength that jumps out; we are solid across the board."
With that support, the Lions are the favorite to win the WCC's West Division, according to the Preseason Coaches' Poll. Pepperdine gets the early nod to win the league, but LMU and San Diego will be right on the Waves' heals.
The Lions will be without the services of their two largest power sources from a year ago: first baseman Tommy Perez and leftfielder Kris Zacuto. Perez ended his career second at LMU with 41 career homeruns, while Zacuto finished with a second-best program total of 70 career doubles. They finished among the school's top 10 in at-bats, hits, homeruns, total bases and RBI, while combining for 20 round-trippers last year.
With some talented table-setters, the Lions will look to designated hitter Josh Whitesell and third baseman Jon Oller for some much-needed power. Whitesell ended 2002 with six home runs and eight doubles, while Oller added five homeruns and 33 RBI.
"Obviously we don't have the same kind of power we had last season, but we have a number of guys that have some very good baserunning instincts that will help us score runs," Cruz said.
Infield
The Lions are very strong up the middle, starting with their first-team All-WCC selections of Lockin and Smith. Along with sophomore Carl Stoeber, Lockin (.421) and Smith (.404) batted over .400 during conference action. For the season, Lockin led the Lions with a .371 batting average with a team-high 15 steals. He also drove in 38 runs, while scoring a team-high 45. He also led LMU with 45 hits, while Smith hit .320 on the year with 11 doubles and three homeruns. The two combined for 39 double plays, while Smith did not commit an error during conference play.
Behind the plate, catcher Jon Higashi will have the responsibility of handling the pitching staff after earning conference honorable mention a year ago. The junior hit .335, including a sparkling .362 during conference play. Higashi hit 13 doubles and drove in 18 runs.
At the corners LMU will count on Stoeber at first, replacing Perez, while Oller will battle freshman Kyle Mura for third base. Stoeber led LMU with a .451 average during conference play with a team-high .457 on-base percentage on the season. Oller started 50 games last season, hitting .295. Mura was the MVP of the South Coast League as a prep, while earning first-team All-CIF.
Outfield
Sophomore Joe Frazee earned second-team All-WCC honors in centerfield after hitting .335 on the season, without committing an error. Frazee also earned honorable mention freshman All-America accolades by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, along with Smith who earned first-team honors. Frazee hit .335 on the season, while racking up 61 hits during his rookie campaign.
A multitude of student-athletes could flank Frazee in the outfield. Senior
Joe Silva started 22 of the 40 games he appeared in rightfield, while hitting .318 with a .424 slugging percentage. Freshmen
Chris Pettit and
James Cooper will also be pushing for playing time after having impressive falls. Junior college standout
Matt White will also figure into the mix after hitting .366 last season, while junior
Mark Carroll will add experience after appearing in 28 games last season.
Designated Hitter
The frontrunner for the DH position will be Whitesell. The left-handed slugger was one of nine Lions to hit over .300 last season (.301), as LMU hit .314 as a team. Stoeber and Oller may also be inserted into the DH spot as well.
Pitching
What last year was a hindrance, could be this year's shining star. Last season, Lion pitching struggled with a team ERA of 7.40 and an opponents' batting average of .339. In 2003, the LMU starting pitching may be the best in the WCC. Leading the way will be junior WCC honorable mention Vince Cordova, who posted an 8-4 record in 2002. The right-hander is consistently 90-plus with all of his pitches and has been incredibly consistent on the mound.
Left-handed Josh Muecke led the team with 60 strikeouts last season in 22 appearances. Muecke made 11 starts before taking over the closing role for LMU late in the season, racking up a team-high four saves. He will return to the starting rotation, along with senior Justin Abreu.
Abreu led LMU with a 5.46 ERA, while making 10 starts, posting a 5-5 record. Sophomore Kyle Huddy made eight starts and struckout 53 on the season.
Freshmen hurlers Steve Kahn,
Jeff Stevens and
Erik Reyes all could be impact players for the Lions this year. Kahn was an eighth-round draft choice of the Milwaukee Brewers, while Stevens and Reyes were Pitchers of the Year in their respective leagues. Fellow freshman
Jamie Mah and transfer
Ryan Yurek will also be valuable members of the staff.
"We have a solid group of upperclassmen and a very mature freshman class," Cruz said. "We knew the sophomores and juniors were talented when they came in and now that they have been in the program for a couple of years they should be a force in the league. Those guys will be important to our success this season. Not only do they do a tremendous job putting up numbers, but they also add a great deal of leadership as well."
The Schedule
As usual, the Lions will have one of the toughest schedules in the conference. LMU will open the season at No. 25 California for a three-game series on Feb. 7-9, before heading to USC to take on the third-ranked Trojans on Feb. 11. The Lions will play their third consecutive Pac 10 Conference team when LMU opens its 30-game home schedule on Feb. 14 with a three-game series with Washington. The Huskies finished third in the Pac 10 last season, while USC won its second consecutive league crown.
On Feb. 18, the Lions will host Cal State Northridge, the defending Big West Conference champions, before heading to Cal Poly on Feb. 21-23. LMU will conclude February and open March with a three-game series with San Jose State. The Spartans placed second last season in the WAC, posting a 45-17 record.
The Lions will host cross-town rival UCLA on March 4, before welcoming the Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara from March 7-9. LMU will travel to Cal State Northridge, before opening WCC play at Portland, March 14-16.
LMU will return to Page Stadium to take on the seventh-ranked Titans of Cal State Fullerton on March 19. The Lions will open their conference home schedule with San Francisco, March 21-23. After a midweek game with UC Riverside, LMU will host West Division rival and defending league champs San Diego, March 28-30.
After heading to No. 13 Long Beach State on April 1, LMU will return home to face Saint Mary's from April 4-6. Following a midweek game with Cal State Fullerton, the Lions will travel to Malibu to take on WCC rival Pepperdine, April 11-13.
On April 15, LMU will host USC, before a Thursday date with Gonzaga. The Lions will conclude its series with the Bulldogs with a Saturday double-header. LMU will welcome Long Beach State on April 22, before traveling to Santa Clara from April 25-27.
The Lions will travel to UCLA on April 29, before heading to San Diego for a three-game series, May 2-4. The series with the Toreros will be the final three games of the season against teams who advanced to the NCAA Regionals last season. Twenty of LMU's 56 games (36 percent) this season are against regional participants.
LMU will wrap up the season with back-to-back home series with San Francisco (May 9-11) and Portland (May 16-18).
