May 13, 2010
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
BRIEFLY...
Having dropped two straight games and four of its last six overall, LMU (20-24, 3-9) will host rival Pepperdine (18-25, 6-6) for a three-game West Coast Conference series over the weekend. The Lions and Waves will begin the series on Friday with a game beginning at 3 p.m. LMU recorded a series victory over Saint Mary's in its last West Coast Conference appearance.
YOU CAN'T RAIN ON MY PARADE...
The April 20 rain-out at home versus Cal State Bakersfield has been rescheduled for May 26 at 3 p.m. at LMU's Page Stadium
VIRAMONTES/JOHNSON GARNER WCC RECOGNITION...
For the second time this season, LMU baseball had a hand in both the WCC Pitcher and Player of the Week awards in a single week, this time taking the honors on May 3. Junior Jonathan Johnson was named Co-WCC Player of the Week while sophomore Martin Viramontes took home Pitcher of the Week accolades for his two-hit shutout of WCC-foe Saint Mary's on May 2. LMU last swept the weekly awards on March 8 when Johnson and John Lally were lauded. Overall, this is the fourth Player of the Week and third Pitcher of the Week selection for LMU this year. LMU finished the week with a 2-2 overall record and a 2-1 mark in the WCC after dropping a midweek game to Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday and the first of a three-game series to Saint Mary's. The Lions rebounded to win the final two games of the weekend series against the Gaels at home. To read about Viramontes' stellar day on the hill, please read the "NEARLY A NO-NO..." section of this release. Johnson batted .600 (9-for-15) with six runs scored, a double, two triples, three walks and four RBI that week. He also collected a sacrifice fly and a stolen base while slugging .933 and reaching at a .650 clip. In the three-game series against Saint Mary's alone, Johnson batted .677 (8-for-12) with a double, two triples, six runs scored, two walks and four RBI. He slugged 1.083 and reached at a .667 clip. In Friday's game against Saint Mary's on April 30, Johnson nearly hit for the cycle, as the first of his two triples in that game hit off the top of the wall in straight-away centerfield. He finished the game 4-for-4 with four runs scored, three RBI, a walk, a sacrifice fly, a double and two triples. The native of Lakewood, Calif. then collected a pair of hits on Saturday and Sunday, including a 2-for-4 day with two runs scored and a RBI in the finale.
NEARLY A NO-NO...
Sophomore Martin Viramontes carried a no-hitter through two out and two strikes in the ninth inning en route to tossing a two-hit shutout against Saint Mary's on May 2. For his effort, Viramontes was named WCC Pitcher of the Week and CollegeBaseballInsider.com's West Region Pitcher of the Week. Moreover, he was also named to College Baseball Foundation's National All-Star Lineup. The Lions provided plenty of offense in the game, scoring 10 runs on 10 hits en route to the 10-0 victory. The two-hitter was the first for the Lions since Daniel Macias tossed a two-hitter against Gonzaga on April 30, 2006. The complete game was the second of the year for LMU, as freshman Aaron Griffin tossed nine against Cal State Fullerton on March 23 en route to a WCC Pitcher of the Week selection. Viramontes' complete-game shutout was the first dealt by a Lion since Lee Roberts shutout Santa Clara in a complete-game effort on March 27, 2009. The native of Fresno, Calif. went all nine innings, allowing just the two hits and two walks while striking out a season-best nine batters. He threw 132 pitches en route to the complete-game two-hit shutout. The right-hander retired 15 straight from the fourth inning through the first Gael hit, collected by Ryan Mulligan, on a 3-2 pitch with two-out in the ninth.
LION TRACKS...
LMU (20-24) won the continuation of the April 21 postponement against UC Riverside (25-19) by a count of 11-10, but dropped a 16-6 decision in the regularly-scheduled game on Wednesday. The Lions held a 7-0 lead after three innings in the continuation and held-off an impressive comeback effort from UCR in the first game. The Highlanders exploded for 16 runs on 21 hits in the second game, including six hits from Tony Nix alone out of the leadoff spot. The 21 hits matched a season-high allowed by the Lions on April 16 at Portland, while the six hits to Nix were the most allowed by Lion pitching since Royce Fukuroko collected six for San Francisco on March 24, 2002. Senior Brad Bauer paced the way in the first game, finishing 4-for-5 with two home runs, two runs scored and three RBI. Matt Koch and Alex Guthrie also homered in the game, but all four home runs came on April 21 before the continuation on Wednesday. Jonathan Johnson made the most of his one hit in the first game, collecting his seventh triple of the year. For Johnson, the triple was the 14th of his career, placing him tied for third all-time. In addition, the seven triples rank tied for fourth in the single-season record book. Xavier Esquivel got the win in the first game, tossing five innings and allowing four runs on seven hits and striking out seven batters. Junior Chris Eusebio entered with a five-run lead, and the bases loaded with nobody out, in the ninth inning en route to allowing all three inherited runners to score and one of his own over the final frame. Despite the ninth-inning rally, Eusebio got out of the jam and earned his fourth save of the year.
Johnson and Ryan Hawthorne each had three hits in the second game, as both players scored a run. Matt Lowenstein, Colton Plaia and Nick Devian all had two hits as the Lions collected 13 in the game, but it was not enough to earn the victory. Ramiro Carreon took the loss after allowing 10 runs (eight earned) on 13 hits in four innings of work, including seven runs in the first inning alone. Trevor Frank tossed six innings, allowing three runs, en route to earning the victory. LMU managed three runs in the second and three more in the seventh before succumbing to victory.
TALK ABOUT A TOUGH OUT...
Sophomore Ryan Hawthorne entered this week ranked fifth in the nation in toughest to strikeout, averaging one strikeout per every 30 at bats. The native of Granada Hills, Calif. has now struck out just seven times in 163 at bats this year, an average of once per every 23.29 at bats.
SO MUCH FOR A POWER OUTAGE...
LMU hit 42 home runs in 2009, and of those 42, just eight came from the bats of players who are still on the roster in 2010...that is a mere 19 percent of the home runs from a year ago. Taking that into consideration, LMU was expected to experience a "power-outage" in 2010. So far, LMU has avoided the `curse' to an extent. The Lions entered the weekend with 40 home runs through 44 games. That equates to an average of 0.90 home runs per game. At the current rate, LMU is on pace to hit right about 51 home runs this year. Sophomore Matt Koch leads the way with 13 home runs, followed by sophomore Alex Guthrie and senior Brad Bauer with six apiece.
GOOD IN A PINCH...
LMU as a team is hitting .370 in pinch-hit situations this year, led by Jason Barmasse, Chris Eusebio and Evan Simonitsch who are batting 1.000. Simonitsch has had the most success, batting 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles. Sophomore Case Miyahira has also been outstanding, batting 2-for-3 with two doubles and four RBI in the pinch. Overall, Miyahira has reached in each of his last four pinch-hit appearances, posting a double and two-RBI on March 13 and March 27, and drawing walks on March 19 and April 9. Senior Brad Bauer has also shown an ability to hit in a pinch, batting 3-for-5 with a double and four RBI off the bench.
JOHNSON IS A TRIPLES MACHINE...
Junior Jonathan Johnson went 4-for-4 with four runs scored, two triples, a double, a walk, a sacrifice fly and three RBI in LMU's 14-9 loss to Saint Mary's on April 30 at LMU's Page Stadium. The second baseman nearly completed the cycle as his first triple hit off the top of the wall in straight-away centerfield in the third inning. For Johnson, the triples were his fifth and sixth of the season and 12th and 13th of his career. The leadoff hitter has since collected one more triple, running his totals to 14 in his career and seven in 2010. He is now tied for fourth in the single season record book for triples, while the 14 career three-baggers place tied for third all-time.
HAWTHORNE IS A SERIAL STREAKER...
Sophomore Ryan Hawthorne had his team-best 19-game hitting streak snapped after a 0-for-4 day on April 13 at Long Beach State. Hawthorne batted .390 (30-for-70) with 10 runs scored, six doubles, a home run, six walks and 13 RBI over his 19-game streak. He collected multiple hits in nine of the 19 games, including three straight from March 19-20, and then again from March 28-31. Despite not recording a hit on March 7, April 13, April 27 or May 2, Hawthorne did reach in all four games via a walk or hit-by-pitch, and has thus reached base safely in 36 straight games dating back to March 5. He has hit safely in 30 of his last 33 games. No stranger to hitting streaks, Hawthorne hit safely in 16 games last year from March 27-April 1.
FOLLOW THE LIONS ONLINE...
Log on to www.LMULions.com for all the latest info on the Lions, including updated schedules, rosters, player bios, and more. Don't forget to also sign up to follow the Lions on Facebook (Facebook.com/LMULions) and Twitter (Twitter.com/LMULions). All LMU baseball games, including those games on the road, will be broadcast live via Gametracker. In addition, in conjunction with Stretch Internet, all LMU baseball games will be broadcast via live audio online at www.LMULions.com. Just visit the Lion baseball page, click on schedule, and click on the links located on the right side of the schedule for that particular game. All broadcasts will be archived within 72 hours of their original airing and will include both the pre-game and post-game shows.
LMU SPORTS WEEKLY...
LMU is also proud to introduce a new weekly podcast show, LMU Sports Weekly, hosted by Jesse Kass. The show will feature radio highlights and recaps from recent games, interviews with student-athletes and coaches, and previews of upcoming events. All shows can be heard online at LMULions.com. Fans can also subscribe to the free podcast via iTunes. Just search "LMU" in the iTunes Store.
INSIDE THE LIONS...
"Inside the Lions" is a special look into LMU Athletics and its student-athletes in a 10 to 15 minute show hosted by a student-athlete, sophomore men's basketball guard Jarred DuBois. Airing roughly twice a month, the show will highlight a student-athlete and give an inside look to why LMU is such a special place. In addition, highlights from top games and other game day features will be within the show. Take a look at the newest show or past shows. It's all here thanks to Lions' All-Access.
COMING TO A GAME?...
Fans, come cheer on the Lions this year at Page Stadium. LMU will host 29 home games this season. To reserve your tickets today, please contact the LMU Ticket Office at (310) 338-LION. Tickets are also available at the Ticket Office prior to the start of the game. When traveling to the venue, please remember that the Loyola Marymount University campus is located in Westchester at One LMU Drive, approximately four miles north of the Los Angeles International Airport. Fans traveling to LMU must use the main entrance off of Lincoln Blvd. on LMU Drive. Those seeking handicap parking must also use the main entrance, where they can get directions from the guard at the front gate. Gates to Page Stadium open roughly two hours before the start of a game.
