May 28, 2010
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
BRIEFLY...
Having dropped seven of its last eight games overall, including five straight for the second time this year, LMU (22-31, 4-14) will host Santa Clara (21-30, 6-12) in the final weekend series of the year this weekend. The Lions and Broncos will begin the three-game set on Friday at 3 p.m. before playing a game on Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. Sunday's finale will be LMU's Senior Day, as the Lion baseball program bids adieu to Brad Bauer, Xavier Esquivel, Jordan McClintick and Greg Meyers.
SALUTE THE SENIORS...
Sunday's Senior Day will be the final game in an LMU uniform for four Lion baseball players. Brad Bauer, Xavier Esquivel, Jordan McClintick and Greg Meyers will all don the Lion uniform for the final time on Sunday. The pre-game ceremony is slated to begin around 12:55 p.m., as the game will likely begin around 1:10 p.m.
LION TRACKS...
For the second consecutive day, LMU (22-31) blew a late-inning lead, this time falling 13-9 to Cal State Bakersfield (25-28) on Wednesday at LMU's Page Stadium. The Lions led 4-0 after three, 9-1 after five, and 9-5 headed into the eighth inning. Unfortunately, the Lions surrendered seven in the eighth and one more in the ninth en route to the loss. LMU has now lost five straight games and nine of its last 11 overall. Sophomore Ryan Hawthorne was the highlight offensively for LMU, finishing 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a run scored and three RBI out of the third spot in the order. With one hit on Wednesday, Matt Lowenstein extended his hitting streak to 13 straight games, while Jonathan Johnson has now hit safely in six straight after batting 1-for-3 with a run scored and a RBI as the LMU leadoff man. Freshman Aaron Griffin was impressive as LMU's starter, lasting five innings and allowing one run on six hits and two walks while punching out four batters. He gave way to the bullpen in the sixth, and that was when things went south for LMU. Sophomore Jason Wheeler surrendered four runs in just two-thirds of an inning before Alex Sachs contributed a scoreless inning and a third. John Lally, who is one of LMU's weekend starters, could not get an out while allowing four runs on four hits in the eighth. Xavier Esquivel, who took the loss, was next out of the bullpen, giving up four runs on four hits and a pair of walks. Greg Meyers entered with two out in the ninth and retired the only batter he faced to stop the bleeding. Each of the first three hitters in Cal State Bakersfield's lineup collected three hits, including a 3-for-6 day with three runs scored, a homer, a double and three RBI for Brandon Boren hitting out of the leadoff spot. Kevin Younger and Jeremy Rodriguez, who hit second and third, respectively, each scored twice, doubled and drove in a run in the ballgame. Doing the most damage with one swing was Derek Geisinger. Geisinger, who took over as a replacement player for starting third baseman JJ Henry, went 1-for-3 with a grand slam in the eighth inning. The grand slam was the first allowed by Lion pitching since Ryan Fisher belted one for UC Irvine on February 21 of this year.
HOW SWEEP IT IS...AND IS NOT...
With an 11-10 victory over No. 9 Cal State Fullerton on the road on May 18, LMU took both games against the Titans this year, first claiming a victory on March 23 at home by a count of 4-2. LMU has now won all three games against the Titans under second-year head coach Jason Gill, an alumnus of Cal State Fullerton. The two wins this season are the most by the Lions over Fullerton since the 2000 squad took two of three from the Titans. The last time LMU swept a season-series against the Titans was 1991, earning a pair of victories in the only two meetings between the two teams. Further showing success over a perennially powerful team, LMU also took both games this year against Long Beach State. The Lions earned a 6-5 victory over Long Beach State on the road on April 13 and at home on March 16 by a count of 6-4. The season-series sweep marks the first time the Lions have taken all games against Long Beach State in a season since 1988. The Lions actually swept the Dirtbags in 1986, 1987 and 1988. The last time the Lions recorded two victories over Long Beach State in a season was 1992, when the Lions won two of the three meetings. After earning the sweep of the Dirtbags, LMU was swept by Portland in a three-game WCC series. That sweep marked the first time in program history that the Lions had dropped every game of at least a two-game series to the Pilots in a given year. Prior to this year, the last time the Lions lost a season-series to the Pilots was 2004 (1-2), while the last time they lost three or more games was 1999 (1-5).
TALK ABOUT A TOUGH OUT...
Sophomore Ryan Hawthorne entered the week ranked 33rd in the nation in toughest to strikeout, averaging one strikeout per every 16 at bats. The native of Granada Hills, Calif. has now struck out 13 times in 201 at bats this year, an average of one strikeout per 15.46 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 enter the weekend with 45 home runs through 53 games. That equates to an average of 0.85 home runs per game. At the current rate, LMU is on pace to hit right about 47 home runs this year. Sophomore Matt Koch leads the way with 15 home runs, followed by sophomore Alex Guthrie and senior Brad Bauer with six apiece.
IT'S JUST A NUMBER...
LMU perennially squares-off against quality teams not only on the weekends, but also in midweek contests, competing in the baseball-rich landscape of Southern California. 2009 was no different...and it proved to be a major contributor to LMU's success last season. Unfortunately for the Lions, 2010 has not shown the same success. This season, LMU is 1-3 against ranked opponents, dropping each of the first three games of the season to then-No. 7 UC Irvine before defeating No. 9 Cal State Fullerton on May 18. Last year, LMU finished 9-2 against ranked opponents. The only two losses came at the hands of UC Irvine (March 31 and April 13). LMU took down then-No. 5 UC Irvine on March 3, swept then-No. 24 Fresno State in a four-game series from March 20-24, beat then-No. 6 Cal State Fullerton on April 7, and finally swept USD in conference play from May 1-3. In games against ranked opponents last season, LMU batted .332 (126-for-379) with 82 runs scored, 28 doubles, five triples, five home runs and 72 RBI. The team slugged .474 and reached base at a .407 clip. This year the Lions have once again been pretty impressive at the plate against ranked opponents, batting .311 (47-for-151) with nine doubles, five home runs and 23 RBI. The Lions have slugged .470 and reached base at a .376 clip. The pitching staff has accumulated a 10.59 ERA (40 er/34.0 ip), walked 15 batters and hit four more over those four games against ranked foes. Opposing hitters have batted .353 and reached base at a .424 clip. Sophomore Matt Koch has the most success against ranked foes, batting .625 with five runs scored, five doubles, two home runs and five RBI in the four games. He has slugged 1.313 and reached at a .632 clip.
GOOD IN A PINCH...
LMU as a team is hitting .362 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 three more triples, running his totals to 16 in his career and nine in 2010. He is now tied for first in the single season record book for triples (Dan Henry collected nine in 1975), while the 16 career three-baggers place tied for second all-time with Billy Bean (1983-86), as he trails only Bob Sheldon (19 from 1969-72).
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 thus reached base safely in 36 straight games from March 5 through May 12. The streak came to an end when Hawthorne went 0-for-4 against Pepperdine on May 14. Despite not reaching base in that game, he has hit safely in 37 of his last 42 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.
