April 9, 2015 LOS ANGELES, Calif. -
LMU Baseball Schedule | | LMU Baseball Notes
MEDIA LINKS
LMU vs. BYU - Thursday 6 PM | Live Video | Live Stats |
LMU vs. BYU - Friday 6 PM | Live Video | Live Stats |
LMU vs. BYU - Saturday 2 PM | Live Video | Live Stats |
THIS WEEK
LMU (20-13, 8-4 WCC) will play a three-game West Coast Conference series with BYU (15-17, 6-6 WCC) this week, beginning with a 6 p.m. game on Thursday...Friday's game will start at 6 p.m., while Saturday's finale will feature a 2 p.m. first pitch...all three games can be followed on video and live stats at LMULions.com, including Friday's game on TheW.tv...
LION TRACKS
The LMU baseball team (20-13) had more runs than it did hits on Tuesday night, but the Lions grinded out a 5-4 victory on four hits at home against UC Riverside (10-23)...the game, which was originally scheduled for a 6 p.m. first pitch, was pushed forward to 5 p.m. in an attempt to avoid rain in Southern California, but ultimately began at 6:39 p.m...the time changes and having to remove and replace the tarp twice pregame seemed to have the Lions a little lethargic as UC Riverside jumped out to an early 3-0 lead headed to the bottom of the fourth...sophomore Brenton Arriaga allowed the three runs on seven hits over 3.2 innings of work in his start, but some run support ultimately handed him a no decision...trailing 3-0, LMU got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Jimmy Jack belted his second homer of the year inside the foul pole down the right field line to cut the deficit to 3-1...the Lions scored four runs on one hit in the fifth, including plating the first three without the benefit of a hit...instead, LMU took advantage of three walks and a hit-by-pitch to get even in the game before David Edwards singled into centerfield to bring home the go-ahead run...junior Michael Silva did a wonderful job of bridging the gap to the closer, J.D. Busfield, tossing two scoreless innings and striking out two before turning it over to Busfield in the ninth...the right-hander had to earn his 11th save of the year, issuing a leadoff walk to put the tying run aboard before ultimately stranding the runner at first after a 20-pitch inning that ended with a strikeout of Witt on the eighth pitch of his at bat...
POWER SURGE
The LMU baseball program has slugged 21 home runs through 33 games this year, including 17 in the last 20 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...the Lions hit just 10 home runs in 56 games played last year after 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, Austin Miller and Billy Wilson with two...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 64 hit-by-pitches over 33 games this year (1.94 per game)...the mark is first in the NCAA, ahead of Florida State with 59...LMU is on pace to drawing 101 hit-by-pitches during the regular season...LMU's existing program record is 112 in 2000...Billy Wilson has been hit 12 times, while Austin Miller has been hit 11 times...14 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 six 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 12-8 (7-7 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 529-392-4 (.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)...
ABOUT BYU
BYU enters the weekend series with the Lions sporting a 15-17 overall record, including a 6-6 mark in the WCC...the Cougars have won four of their last five games overall, including taking two-of-three from Portland at home last week...Dillon Robinson guides BYU to a .292 team batting average, hitting .345 with 21 runs scored, 12 doubles, a triple, a homer and 22 RBI...Hayden Nielsen is also hitting above .340, entering the weekend batting .341 with 24 RBI...Colton Shaver is the team's leading power hitter, belting five homers and nine doubles...right-hander Kolton Mahoney is scheduled to take the mound on Thursday sporting a 3-3 record and a 3.80 ERA over eight starts and nine appearances...Mahoney has struck out 55 over 47.1 innings of work...fellow righty Brandon Kinser will pitch Friday carrying a 3-2 record and a 4.04 ERA over seven starts and 10 appearances...BYU is led by third-year head coach Mike Littlewood...
TOUGH WITH TWO
The LMU pitching staff is holding opponents to a .233 batting average against with two out, including the same mark with runners in scoring position and two out...relievers Cory Abbott (2-for-33 | .061) and J.D. Busfield (2-for-22 | .091) are especially impressive...LMU starters Colin Welmon and Trevor Megill also show major improvements with two out, with Welmon allowing 48% of leadoff hitters to reach, but just a .175 average (10-for-57) with two out...Megill allows 41% of leadoff hitters in an inning to reach, but limits the opposition to a .156 average (5-for-32) with two out...
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 52 of his last 61, and 55 of the last 65 dating back to 2014...the native of Cypress, Calif. has also reached in 46 of his last 48 games (25 game streak ended on 3/1 vs. Nebraska), and 58 of the last 61, overall...while Fletcher has only failed to reach twice this year, senior Tanner Donnels is right behind him having reached in 26 of LMU's 33 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, 9.5-6.5...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 had two former baseball players in the Major Leagues in 2014, as C.J. Wilson (Los Angeles Angels) spent his 10th 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, 10 former Lions played in the Minor Leagues in 2014, including Bret Dahlson and Kevin Garcia who finished LMU careers in 2014...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 
