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April 8, 2005
Briefly...
LMU baseball opens an eight-game homestand this weekend with West Coast Conference opponent Portland. The Lions, having played each WCC team on their Coast Division side once, will now begin to battle the West Division. Fans can follow all of the action of the homestand on the Lions' Audio Network and Gametracker, both at www.LMULions.com.
Scouting Portland...
Portland (11-18, 2-7 WCC) took two of three games from Santa Clara last weekend and then dropped a non-conference game at Washington on Tuesday. Against the Broncos, the Pilots earned their first WCC win with a 4-3 victory on Friday. The teams split a doubleheader on Saturday, with UP winning the early game 9-2 before falling 5-3 in the late game. Designated hitter Nik Kosach went 4-for-7 with two doubles, a run and an RBI in the series. Center fielder Justin Ehlers finished 5-for-11 with three RBI, while right fielder Travis Vetters also went 5-for-11 and belted his first home run of the season. First baseman Matthew Peters hit his team-leading fourth homer in the first game and finished with four RBI on the weekend.Washington cruised to an 18-7 victory over UP at Husky Ballpark on Tuesday. UP catcher Riley Snell drove in two runs. Sophomore infielder Andrew Wrisley has a team-high batting average of .346 for the Pilots and senior third baseman Jason Krohn enters the weekend batting .300 with 33 hits. As a team, Portland is hitting .249 with a 6.10 ERA. Sophomore Given Kutz (4-3, 5.63 ERA) will take the mound for the Pilots on Friday. Freshman Ari Ronick (2-4, 4.30 ERA) will make his eighth start of the year on Saturday and sophomore right-hander Sean Sargent (2-3, 5.74 ERA) will get the ball on Sunday.
LMU Tops #1 Titans...
A seven-run fifth inning gave LMU baseball the 13-6 win over top-ranked Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field. The win marked the first time in the history of LMU athletics that any Lion program defeated a team currently ranked No. 1 in the nation. When the dust from the top of the fifth inning storm had cleared, the Lions had tallied seven runs on seven hits, four of which were for extra bases. The seven runs allowed were a season-high inning mark for the defending national champion Titans. Cal State Fullerton, who has hovered around the top of the national polls all season, was named Collegiate Baseball's top rank the day before, making it the first time in LMU athletic history that the Lions have defeated a No. 1 team. Ninth-year Head Coach Frank Cruz surpassed his own previous mark, as he led the 1998 Lions to the 6-2 upset of then-No. 2 Stanford in the 1998 NCAA West Region in Palo Alto. Cruz and the Lions had also defeated then-No. 2 USC 9-1 during the 2001 season. Five Lions registered a multiple-hit outing at the plate with each spot in the lineup recording a hit. Pettit led the offensive charge for the Lions with his 3-for-5, two RBI, two runs scored effort. The junior was just a home run shy of hitting for the cycle with a single, double, and triple on the night. LMU tallied a season-low two strikeouts en route to out-hitting the Titans 15-12. Ten of LMU's 15 hits were extra base hits, including eight doubles, which equals the Lion record for doubles in a game set in 1998 and 2000.
Frazee Named Student-Athlete of the Month...
Senior outfielder Joe Frazee was named the LMU/Enterprise Rent-A-Car Student-Athlete of the Month for March. Frazee led LMU- and the entire West Coast Conference- in batting average all month, going 24-for-57 at the plate (.421). He was perfect through his first two games in March, going a combined 4-for-4 at Fresno State and Houston. The senior scored 11 runs and tallied seven RBI, despite hitting in the leadoff spot. He also led the team in stolen bases (5-for-5) and walks (13). Frazee tallied a team-leading eight extra base hits during March, with six doubles and two triples. He finished the month also leading the team in both slugging percentage (.596) and on-base percentage (.541).
Lions Sweep San Diego...
The Lions swept their WCC opening series for third straight season and it was the second consecutive season that the opening sweep has come against San Diego, as the Lions have now taken eight of the last nine match-ups with the Toreros. Friday starter Stephen Kahn worked seven innings and allowed just two earned runs while striking out nine. The Lions broke open a 2-2 tie Friday thanks to a three-run fifth inning that gave them a 5-2 lead. With the bases loaded, senior Evan Shahak's single scored Jon Oller and put LMU up 3-2. Sophomore Elvis Herrera then provided the big hit with a single to center that scored a pair. Saturday starter Jeff Stevens was one batter shy of a complete game and allowed just two earned runs while striking out five to lead the Lions to the 4-3 game two win. A.J. LaMonda's two-run single in the bottom of the eighth gave the Lions the lead. LaMonda's single to left scored Joe Frazee in the bottom of the fifth to give the Lions a lead they would not relinquish en route to the WCC series sweep of San Diego Sunday. LaMonda and Frazee each went 2-for-3 in the 7-3 game three win. Sunday starter Kyle Huddy worked 5.2 innings, striking out six. Huddy, along with relievers Greg Nagy, Andy Beal, Feaser, and Daniel Macias, held the Toreros scoreless in the final five innings. Macias picked up his first save of the season. Frazee finished the week hitting .438 (7-for-16), with three RBI and four runs scored.
It's In the Innings...
The Lions have been hot in the fifth, outscoring opponents 31-25 entering the weekend series with Portland. But LMU opponents have topped the Lions 59-26 in the first two innings and the Lions are 6-12 when their opponent scores first.
White's Pinch-Hit Single Gets Win at UCSB...
With the Lions trailing 1-0, Matt White broke open the game with his pinch-hit, bases-loaded, two-RBI single up the middle in the top of the seventh to give LMU baseball the 2-1 lead over UCSB. Brad Meyers allowed just one run in seven innings, as LMU evened the three-game series at one with the 4-2 win. Joe Frazee followed White in the seventh, bringing in two more insurance runs on a single to right center to make it 4-1 LMU. A solo home run by Matt Wilkerson in the bottom of the fourth accounted for the only run of the game until the Lions' rally in the seventh inning.Meyers had another strong outing for the Lions, working seven innings and allowing just one run on seven hits. The freshman right-hander retired the side in the fifth, striking out Alden Carrithers and getting Matt Kalafatis and Matt Emerick to fly out. In the early pitchers' dual, Meyers faced off against Steve Morlock, who gave up just one hit over his 6.1 innings of work. Blake Feaser earned his first save of 2005 after facing the final batter in the ninth.
Long Ball, Long Shot...
The Lions, who now have 16 home runs on the season, have hit five of them in the first inning. While a team would typically be encouraged to see any extra base hit early in the game, LMU has been outscored 37-17 in games where a Lion hits a home run in the first. The Lions have also tallied seven leadoff homers on the season and are 0-4 in games where home run leader Chris Pettit puts one over.
Frazee Helpful In Houston...
LMU's Joe Frazee hit .500 on the week, with a 6-for-12 effort at the plate. The senior started all four games, and had a run scored and a RBI as the Lions' leadoff batter. He added a double and went 2-for-2 in stolen bases, along with two walks. In the Lions' win over Houston on Friday, the center fielder went a perfect 3-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt and a walk. Sunday, he prevented Houston from scoring a run in the fifth, throwing their shortstop out at home plate from center field.
LMU in Nation's Top Five for NCAA Academic Rate...
LMU Athletics ranked fifth in the nation among all NCAA Division I schools in the first Academic Progress Rates (APR) report, issued by the NCAA on Feb. 28 for its 326 Division I schools. The APR measures an institutions success in retaining scholarship athletes and keeping them eligible in each sport. The Lions earned an APR score of 991, placing them in a tie for fifth with Villanova among all 326 Division I institutions. Rounding out the top-5 are Yale (999), Princeton (994), Penn (993) and William & Mary (992). LMU also ranks number one among all scores in the state of California, number one among all Jesuit institutions and best in the West Coast Conference (WCC). The average APR among the eight schools in the WCC sits at 964. The national average among all Division I schools is 948. Specifically, LMU baseball earned 988 points, placing the program second among all California baseball schools. The APR data is from the 2003-04 academic year and evaluates the institution's overall APR as well as each NCAA championship sport a school sponsors. LMU had 11 of the 16 sports earn a perfect score of 1000 and every sport earned a rate above a 967.
Lions Win in Grand Fashion...
Two five-run innings and a season-high 18 hits gave LMU baseball a big 17-8 win over Utah Sunday at Page Stadium. Junior James Cooper hit the Lions' first grand slam of the season in the fifth inning to break open the final contest of the three-game series. LMU totaled 18 hits, equaling its season-high from last year, when the Lions recorded 18 hits at Cal State Northridge on May 18, 2004. The Lions' 17 runs were the most for the program since 2003.
Cooper Highlights Homestand...
Right fielder James Cooper started the season with a great February, going 11-for-27 (.407) with eight RBI, two home runs, two triples, and nine runs scored in his eight starts. The Lions' junior also posted a slugging percentage of .778 and an on-base percentage of .543 after tallying 21 total bases. Entering the Lions' first road swing, the Los Angeles, Calif. native remains perfect in stolen bases (1-for-1) and fielding percentage.
TV Game Added to Lions' Schedule...
LMU baseball will have its first scheduled televised game this season when the Lions take on WCC opponent San Diego Saturday, May 14, in San Diego. CSTV will televise the conference action, which begins at 1:00 p.m. PST.
White-Hot...
Senior Matt White led the LMU offense in the opening weekend against Cal Feb. 12-13, going 7-for-11 (.636) with four runs scored. Though he was never at the plate with a runner in scoring position as the Lions' lead-off batter, White did his job, recording an on base percentage of .692 and a slugging percentage of .909. He had three doubles and 10 total bases in the Lions' three games, after previously totaling just three doubles in his entire two-year LMU career. White's success made a great comeback story for the fifth-year senior, who had had the game-winning double for the Lions on Opening Day 2004, but was sidelined the rest of the season with an injury.
LMU Short On Shortstops...
The Lions knew it would be difficult to replace middle infielders Billy Lockin and Clint McGill from the Class of 2004. Both were All-WCC honorees and have now begun their professional baseball careers. But the Lions were not counting on starting the 2005 season without either of their options at shortstop. Projected season starter Eric Farris was out with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand. Michael Glomb, who did get the start at shortstop on Opening Day, has been out with an injured right thumb. In their absence, the Lions' coaching staff was forced to get creative with the defensive lineup; most noteably, moving usual third baseman Kyle Mura to shortstop early in the season. While Farris has returned and finds himself in the starting lineup now, Glomb remains listed as day-to-day.
LMU Gets 4-3 Win Over #4 Chapman...
Joe Frazee brought in the go-ahead run with a record-setting triple in the bottom of the fifth, as LMU baseball handed Chapman its first loss of the 2005 season. Frazee, went 3-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored in the 4-3 win at Page Stadium. In an attempt to makeup for last weekend's rained out series, the Lions scheduled Wednesday's game with Chapman, who entered the game 6-0 as the fourth-ranked team in Division III. The Panthers scored three runs in the first inning, but were held scoreless the rest of the game by a combination of five Lion pitchers. Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth, senior designated hitter Matt White led-off with a single to right and advanced to third when junior Chris Pettit followed with a double. White then scored on a passed ball off the glove of Chapman catcher John Alexander. Later in the inning, junior Kyle Mura reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to second to set up Frazee's game-winning triple.
Frazee's 2-Run Shot Lifts LMU in Exhibition Win...
Joe Frazee's two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh lifted LMU over the University of British Columbia 7-6 in Wednesday afternoon's exhibition game. The Lions trailed 6-2 after five and half innings, but scored three runs in the sixth to pull within one and set-up Frazee's game-winner.
Opening Day Comeback Vs. Cal...
James Cooper went two-for-two with two runs scored and a key seventh-inning RBI that helped jump start LMU's Opening Day comeback against Cal on Saturday. Kyle Mura's three-run homerun over the Mikos Blue Monster got LMU (1-0) on the scoreboard, but it was the Lions' five-run seventh inning that gave them the 9-8 comeback win in front of a sellout crowd. The Lions, who trailed 8-3 in the sixth, held the Golden Bears (1-4) scoreless through the final three innings, while they chipped away at the lead until they had secured their second straight Opening Day win.
Kahn Named Preseason All-American...
Stephen Kahn was named a preseason All-American by Baseball America. Earlier this fall, Baseball America also predicted that Kahn, the 2004 WCC Pitcher of the Year, would be a top-25 pick in June's MLB Draft. Different from other preseason squads, Baseball America asked major league scouting directors to make the selections based on performance, talent and major league potential. Kahn, named to the third-team, was the only player from the WCC selected to the squad. Honored as the 2004 WCC Pitcher of the Year after leading LMU to the Coast Division title and the program's third WCC Championship Series appearance in six seasons, Kahn continued a great year, earning a gold medal at the World University Championships with the USA Baseball National Team. Kahn posted a 7-3 record in 2004, while registering a 3.61 ERA. He struck out 80 batters in 82.1 innings of work, en route to earning two WCC/Rawlings Pitcher of the Week selections and the Player of the Month honor for April. Kahn was the only Division I pitcher in the nation to make at least 12 starts and not allow a home run. He brought the WCC Pitcher of the Year selection to LMU for the second time in four seasons, as Billy Traber (Cleveland Indians) won the conference award in 2000.
Cruz Named International Coach of the Year...
LMU Head Coach Frank Cruz was named 2004 International Coach of the Year by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). The IBAF awarded Cruz with its Mizuno Award for his success as manager of the gold-medal winning USA Baseball National Team this summer.
The IBAF selected Cruz as Coach of the Year from managers from all 112 participating member countries and all team levels. The award is a special honor in a year of Olympic competition, as Cruz was chosen from a pool that included all nations' Olympic baseball coaches. Cruz became just the fourth American coach to receive the selection, and the first since 1995. He is the only Team USA coach to win the award in an Olympic year.
-GO LIONS-
