April 21, 2015 LMU Baseball Schedule | | LMU Baseball Notes
MEDIA LINKS
LMU vs. Long Beach State - Tuesday 6 PM | Live Video | Live Stats |
THIS WEEK
LMU (24-16) will finish up a nine-game home stand tonight with a 6 p.m. game against Long Beach State (21-14)...LMU defeated the Dirtbags earlier this year, registering a 7-6 victory on the road on 3/3...tonight's game can be followed on video and live stats at LMULions.com...after the midweek game, LMU will travel to Portland for a three-game West Coast Conference series beginning Friday...
LION TRACKS
The LMU baseball team went 2-1 last weekend, winning a West Coast Conference home series against Pacific...all three games were decided by one run, with Pacific stealing the opener, 4-3, before LMU won 5-4 and 3-2...Saturday's 5-4 victory came in walk-off fashion as Kyle Dozier delivered the RBI-single in the bottom of the ninth...Dozier then robbed what would have been a game-tying home run off the bat of Brett Sullivan in the top of the eighth to keep the one-run lead intact on Sunday in the finale...the Lions also received a strong start from freshman Sean Watkins in that game, as the right-hander dealt 6.2 innings and allowed just two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four to improve to 4-0 on the season...senior Tanner Donnels batted .600 (6-for-10) against the Tigers, while senior Jimmy Jack drove in three runs in the series...
WALK IT OFF!
The LMU baseball program has recorded four walk-off victories this year, most recently leaving Pacific on the field in the bottom of the ninth on 4/18...LMU has now recorded a walk-off in two of its last four games, beating UNLV in the bottom of the ninth on 4/14...Kyle Dozier was the hero against the Tigers, delivering a two-out RBI-single into centerfield to bring home Ted Boeke and hand LMU a 5-4 victory...Ryan Erickson won the game against the Rebels, delivering a walk-off squeeze bunt with the bases loaded and one out to bring home Tanner Donnels...sophomore David Fletcher laced a two-out RBI-triple into the right field corner off of Santa Clara reliever Reece Karalus to score Austin Miller and hand LMU a 6-5 walk-off victory in 10 innings on 3/14...LMU also hobbled off with an unconventional 6-5 victory on 3/27 against Gonzaga, as freshman Billy Wilson drew a one-out bases-loaded hit-by-pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning to win the game...the Lions managed two walk-off victories during the 2014 season...
POWER SURGE
The LMU baseball program has slugged 23 home runs through 40 games this year, including 19 in the last 27 overall...the number may not stand out in the crowd amongst national leaders, but it is a drastic shift in direction for the LMU program itself, and is second in the WCC...the Lions hit just 10 home runs in 56 games played last year after becoming the last team in Division I baseball to homer while managing only four in 51 games in 2013...the final game of a three-game series against Arkansas on 3/8 saw LMU nearly double its home run total to that point (five to nine), as LMU hit four homers in a single game for the first time since 4/21/10 at UC Riverside...David Fletcher (solo HR), David Edwards (2R HR), Sean Watkins (2R HR) and Tanner Donnels (3R HR) accounted for eight of LMU's nine runs in a 9-0 shutout of the #20 Razorbacks...Donnels, who has also registered a two-homer game at Pepperdine on 3/22, leads the way with five home runs, followed by Edwards and Watkins with four, and Jimmy Jack and Austin Miller with three...Billy Wilson has two, while Ted Boeke and Fletcher each have one...
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
Never afraid to wear a pitch to reach first base, LMU has recorded 69 hit-by-pitches over 40 games this year (1.73 per game)...the mark is second in the NCAA, one behind Florida State with 70 entering the week...LMU is on pace to drawing 90 hit-by-pitches during the regular season...LMU's existing program record is 112 in 2000...Austin Miller has been hit 13 times, while Billy Wilson has been hit 12 times...15 different Lions have registered at least one hit-by-pitch...the high-water mark for the year was five hit batsmen against Saint Joseph's on 2/21 in the second game of a doubleheader, while LMU has not managed a hit-by-pitch in only eight games this year...the five hit-by-pitches were the most for the Lions since recording five at Cal State Fullerton on 5/18/10...the Lions also recorded a walk-off hit-by-pitch in a 6-5 victory over Gonzaga on 3/27 in the bottom of the 10th (Wilson) ...
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
In its 33rd season as the home of Lion baseball in 2015, George C. Page Stadium also enters its second year under the lights...the 2015 LMU baseball schedule features 31 of its 52 games played at home, including 23 under the lights...the Lions are 16-11 (9-10 under lights) so far at home in 2015...LMU went 20-10 at home last year, including 13-5 under the lights...the Lions will play only one non-conference road weekend series during the regular season this year (Arkansas)...non-conference series feature games vs. San Jose State, Saint Joseph's and Nebraska, while WCC foes Santa Clara, Gonzaga, BYU, Pacific and USD will all visit LMU...the Lions, who have posted a 533-395-4 (.574) overall record in the park's 32 seasons, have claimed five conference titles while calling Page Stadium home...the first Page Stadium conference title came in 1986, when the Lions posted a 24-8 record at home...the best record came in 1988, when LMU was 30-5 (.857)...
SAVING THE DAY
Sophomore closer J.D. Busfield is one of 39 players listed on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List...the honor, in it's 11th year, will eventually be awarded to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball...Busfield is one of three WCC pitchers on the list, joined by David Bigelow (Gonzaga) and Reece Karalus (Santa Clara)...the NCBWA will announce five finalists for the 2015 Stopper of the Year - the Division I national saves leader and four other relief pitching standouts - on Wednesday, June 3, prior to the start of NCAA Super Regional competition...the NCBWA's All-America Committee will select the winner, with this year's recipient to be announced during the 2015 College World Series...Texas hurler J. Brent Cox won the inaugural Stopper of the Year Award in 2005, with Don Czyz of Kansas claiming the honor in 2006 and Luke Prihoda of Sam Houston State winning it in 2007...Georgia's Joshua Fields topped the field in 2008, San Diego State's Addison Reed grabbed the honor in 2009 and Texas' Chance Ruffin earned the honor in 2010...the Longhorns' Corey Knebel won in 2011 with Southeastern Louisiana's Stefan Lopez picking up the honor in 2012...UCLA's David Berg, who is on this year's list, was crowned the winner in 2013, while Louisville's Nick Burdi took home the 2014 honor...
ABOUT LONG BEACH STATE
Long Beach State enters the midweek game with the Lions sporting a 21-14 overall record having just won a three-game series against UC Riverside lasat weekend...the Dirtbags have lost four of the last seven games overall...Garrett Hampson is the team's leading hitter, batting .307 with 28 runs scored, four doubles, two triples and 13 RBI...Hampson has also stolen 13 bases in 16 attempts...Zack Rivera provides further pop in the order, collecting nine doubles, a triple and three homers to the tune of 24 RBI and a .420 slugging percentage...right-hander Darren McCaughan is scheduled to make the start for the Dirtbags carrying a 1-1 record and a 2.52 ERA over two starts and 14 appearances...he has tossed 25 total innings, striking out 27...LBSU has hit .241 as a team and has managed a 2.73 team ERA...Long Beach State is led by fifth-year head coach Troy Buckley...
JOURNEY TO THE TOURNEY
For the third consecutive year, the West Coast Conference will hold a WCC Championship Tournament at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, Calif. from May 21-23 to decide who will claim the WCC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament...the top-four teams will compete in the tournament, with the #1 seed facing #4 and #2 facing #3 in first-round play...the tournament is double elimination until the championship game on Saturday, where the winner earns the automatic bid...
TICKET PACKAGES ON SALE
With a home-heavy 2015 schedule that features 31 games at Page Stadium, including 23 under the lights, fans will have plenty of opportunity to see the Lions in action this year - and there is no better way to catch the action than by purchasing a season ticket plan...season ticket plans start at $40 for a General Admission season ticket...each season ticket purchased comes with a commemorative LMU Scarf...children 12 years and under attending any regular season LMU baseball game get in for free if they are wearing their softball or baseball youth league uniform...to purchase General Admission season tickets or single-game tickets, please visit LMULions.com/tickets...
THAT'S GOLD, COLIN! GOLD!
Senior right-hander Colin Welmon is one of 50 players named to the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award watch list...the award will eventually name the top amateur baseball player in the country in a trophy presentation on Tuesday, June 23 in Los Angeles...sponsored by Major League Baseball, and presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, 2015 marks the 38th year of the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award...Welmon is the first Lion to be named to the list since Angelo Songco (2009)...the preseason watch list features 50 of the nation's top amateur players, and will be a "rolling" list until May 22 -- when the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists are announced -- ensuring that athletes can play themselves into consideration for the award throughout the collegiate and high school seasons...
I'M GOING STREAKING!
LMU had four different players register a hitting streak of 12 games last year, but only one made it past that mark...David Fletcher carried a 15-game hitting streak into the 2015 season, and with a hit in each of the first four games this year, ran that streak to 19 games before it ended against Saint Joseph's on 2/20 (0-for-2 | 2 BB)...Fletcher posted multiple hits in 10 of the games en route to accumulating a .413 batting average to go along with 12 runs scored, 7 RBI, 2 doubles, a triple and 11 stolen bases...despite the hit streak coming to an end just short of 20 games, he has hit safely in 57 of his last 68, and 60 of the last 72 dating back to 2014...the native of Cypress, Calif. has also reached in 52 of his last 55 games (25 game streak ended on 3/1 vs. Nebraska), and 64 of the last 68, overall...while Fletcher has only failed to reach three times this year, senior Tanner Donnels is right behind him having reached in 33 of LMU's 40 games this year...
BROWN ON THE BENCH
Sophomore Cassidy Brown was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List, it was announced by The Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission on March 11...75 catchers were nominated for the award, presented by BaseballSavings.com, by their coaches, but because the award is given annually to the top Division I collegiate catcher, the list will be updated to include other candidates until May 4...the list will then be narrowed down to the semifinalists on May 14...
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Tylor Megill earned Rawlings West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week for his efforts in his second career start, it was announced by the Conference office on 2/23...Megill combined on a 10-0 shutout of Saint Joseph's on 2/21 from Page Stadium...Megill clinched the weekend series victory over Saint Joseph's, tossing five scoreless innings and allowing just three hits while striking out a career-best 11 batters to record the win...the right-hander threw 88 pitches before turning the ball over the bullpen as the Lions ultimately posted the first shutout victory of the season...the weekly selection is the first of the year for LMU...Santa Clara's Jose Vizcaino, Jr. was named WCC Player of the Week for the second time in as many weeks...
WELLS FARGO PCH CUP
Separated by 19.1 miles of scenic coastline, longtime cross-town adversaries Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine came together in an effort to boost their decades-long rivalry with the creation of the Wells Fargo Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) Cup...the series, which is in its sixth year, serves as an annual scorecard for the NCAA-sponsored athletic contests between the Lions and Waves, and challenges each institution to rise above the other within the West Coast Conference...any head-to-head competition, including matches in the post-season and tournaments throughout the year, will be counted toward the scoring and added to the scorecard as they occur...for the sports in which the two teams do not meet head-to-head, the teams will battle for points that will be awarded on the basis of overall finish at their respective post-season championships...LMU currently leads the 2014-15 standings, 9.5-9...Pepperdine has won the challenge in each of the first five seasons...to learn more about the PCH Cup and view the current scorecard, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/6n4l82s
PICKED BEFORE THE PITCH
Senior right-hander Colin Welmon and sophomores David Fletcher and Austin Miller were tabbed preseason All-WCC prior to the start of the 2015 campaign...all three players earned first team All-WCC selections in 2014...the All-WCC selection was the second for Welmon...for more information on their stellar 2014 campaigns, please see the "All-Conference Returners" section of this release...
SURVEY SAYS
The LMU baseball team, led by seventh-year head coach Jason Gill, is the favorite to win the 2015 WCC Championship, it was announced by the conference office following a poll of the 10 conference head coaches...the Lions earned six of 10 possible first-place votes and 77 overall points in the poll...LMU is also the favorite according to Perfect Game and D1Baseball.com...
ALL-CONFERENCE RETURNERS
LMU returns four players who received All-WCC recognition at the end of the 2014 season, including first-teamers Colin Welmon, Austin Miller and David Fletcher to accompany honorable mention selection Ted Boeke...Welmon went 10-2 with a 2.37 ERA over 14 starts last year, posting four complete games, including three straight to finish the year, and all four in his last five starts...the native of Tustin, Calif., who struck out 58 and walked 19 over 106.1 innings, tossed 7.0+ innings in all but two starts...Miller earned first team Freshman All-American accolades from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association to go along with a WCC Freshman of the Year selection...he batted a team-high .374 with 46 runs scored, 10 doubles, three triples and 18 RBI while swiping 25 bases in 29 attempts and reaching at a .474 clip...the native of Greeley, Colo. also drew 21 hit-by-pitches, matching the LMU record for a single season, while leading the team in average, slugging percentage (.451), on-base percentage, runs scored, hits (77), triples, total bases (93) and stolen bases...Fletcher earned Freshman All-American accolades from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association to accompany an American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings second team All-West Region selection and the WCC Defensive Player of the Year...the native of Cypress, Calif. hit .329 with 37 runs scored, six doubles, two triples and 28 RBI while starting all 56 games for the Lions at shortstop...he also hit safely in 30 of LMU's last 32 games, including a team-high 15-game hit streak to finish the year...Boeke batted .289 with 14 runs scored, four doubles, two triples and 10 RBI over 45 games played and 35 starts as a freshman...the La Crescenta, Calif. native also batted .364 with 10 runs scored, three doubles, two triples and seven RBI against conference foes...
WATCH IT LIVE ONLINE
LMU Athletics will video stream all home baseball games this year through Lion's All-Access...the video stream is free of charge, and will be accompanied by an audio play-by-play broadcast...all road games will once again feature an audio play-by-play broadcast, and links to those broadcasts can be found on the LMU baseball page at LMULions.com...
HEADED TO THE HALL
LMU baseball was well-represented in this year's LMU Hall of Fame class, as Billy Traber and Scott Walter were both be inducted into the Hall on 2/21 as part of the 16th class to be inducted...as part of the celebration, Traber threw out that night's ceremonial first pitch - to Walter...Traber and Walter combined to form one of the best three-year batteries in the history of the West Coast Conference, leading the baseball program to three straight conference crowns, the first men's program to do so in school history...Walter would go on to earn second-team All-American honors as a catcher in 2000 and ranks third all-time with 36 home runs...Traber also went on to earn All-America honors and was the WCC Pitcher of the Year in 2000, ranking second all-time with 338 strikeouts...
@BASEBALLLMU ON TWITTER
For fans, scouts, parents and players who are interested in following LMU baseball even closer this year, LMU baseball assistant coach Bryant Ward is tweeting under the handle @BaseballLMU...to get the inside look at LMU baseball from the coaching perspective, make sure to follow @BaseballLMU on Twitter...
FINISH WHAT YOU START
Senior Colin Welmon has registered three career complete-game shutouts, including two last year, and six career complete games...the right-hander completed four of his last five starts overall in 2014, including each of his final three...his first career complete-game shutout came against Hawaii on 2/28/13 (2 H | 6 K | 95 Pitches)...he then went the distance in a shutout on 4/17/14 at BYU (6 H | 2 BB | 3 K | 117 Pitches)...his most recent shutout came on 5/16/14 at Pacific (5 H | 4 K | 99 Pitches)...
BEAN NAMED AMBASSADOR FOR INCLUSION
One year after Major League Baseball issued a policy prohibiting players from harassing and discriminating against others players based on their sexual orientation, former Commissioner Bud Selig appointed former LMU outfielder and LMU Hall of Famer Billy Bean as MLB's first Ambassador for Inclusion...the announcement was made on July 15, 2014...in his new role, Bean, who made public that he is gay in 1999, will provide guidance and training related to efforts to support those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community throughout Major League Baseball...he will work with Major and Minor League Clubs to encourage equal opportunity in accordance with the joint MLB-MLBPA Workplace Code of Conduct...Bean, whose No. 44 baseball jersey is retired at LMU, spent four seasons with the Lions, where he still is a record holder in numerous categories...Bean led the Lions to the program's first ever College World Series appearance in 1986 during his senior season...he was named to the All-WCC first team twice in his career, and was a member of the ABCA All-American second team in his senior season...Collegiate Baseball named him honorable mention All-American as a junior...Bean holds the WCC single-season record for walks with 66, is the LMU single-season record holder for runs scored with 84, and still ranks among WCC career leaders in five offensive categories...Bean was inducted into the WCC Hall of Honor in 2012...
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Senior Tanner Donnels, redshirt senior Kevin Glomb, sophomore Tim Peabody, freshman Josh Blank, and brothers Trevor and Tylor Megill all have family ties to LMU...Donnels' father, Chris, played baseball at LMU and was part of LMU's 1986 World Series team before being selected in the first round of the 1987 draft by the New York Mets and embarking on a eight-year MLB career...Chris Donnels is LMU's all-time leader in slugging percentage (.650), home runs (45) and RBI (225), setting the LMU single-season records for home runs (21) and RBI (91) in 1986...Donnels' mother and grandfather also attended LMU...Glomb's brother, Michael, played baseball for LMU from 2004-08, while his sister played volleyball at LMU in 2005...Peabody's mother, Nadine, played softball at LMU, while his uncle, Tom, was a member of LMU's 1989-90 Elite Eight men's basketball team...Blank's uncles, Joe and Jeff Ciccarella, both played baseball for LMU...Joe was the 1991 WCC Player of the Year, an All-American, and a 4th-round draft pick of the Red Sox that same year...he still holds the LMU record for single season batting average (.435), slugging percentage (.778) and on-base percentage (.552) for his efforts in 1991...right-hander Trevor Megill enters his redshirt junior year, while his brother, Tylor, begins his first year on the hill at LMU...
LIONS IN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL
LMU has had one former basd1eball player in the Major Leagues in 2015, as C.J. Wilson (Los Angeles Angels) is currently in his 11th year on the game's biggest stage...Ryan Wheeler (Los Angeles Angels) appeared last year for Colorado, while Eric Farris (Minnesota), who also has MLB experience, competed in Minor League Baseball throughout the 2014 season...in addition to Wheeler and Farris, four other former Lions have played in the Minor Leagues in 2015...the Lions have had more than 120 players drafted by Major League Baseball teams in program history, including 29 players in the last 10 years...Billy Traber and Chris Donnels are the lone Lions to be selected in the first round, both selected by the Mets...Traber went 16th overall in 2000, while Donnels was taken with the 24th pick in 1987...including Traber and Donnels, LMU has had 22 players selected in the first five rounds of a MLB draft...LMU's best draft came in 2000, as a Lion was taken in each of the first three rounds - Traber went in the first, followed by Michael Schultz in the second, and Scott Walter in the third...for a list of current Lions playing in professional baseball, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/7taglqf
LMU Baseball Notes 
