March 25, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

WCC/Rawlings Player of the Week
Marcus McKimmy, Gonzaga
Marcus McKimmy led the Gonzaga offense, as the Zags posted a 5-1 record last week. McKimmy batted .423 (11-for-26) against Utah Valley and Sacramento State, clubbing four doubles, a home run, and driving in 13 on the week. He posted four multiple-hit games, including two contests with three hits, and scored eight runs in six games. The senior also stole a pair of bases, and drove in five runs on three hits in the first game of Saturday's double header sweep of Sacramento State.

WCC/Rawlings Pitcher of the Week
Brian Matusz, San Diego
Brian Matusz was named WCC Pitcher of the Week after his outstanding outing against Harvard on Saturday. The junior pitched San Diego to a 7-2 victory, tying the one-week old USD single-game record with 16 strikeouts against the Crimson. The left-hander tossed eight innings in the victory, surrendering just three hits and one earned run on the afternoon. Matusz improved to 4-1 on the season, and has fanned 55 batters in just 35.2 innings so far this year.

Upcoming Games

Mar. 25
UC Davis at Saint Mary's - 2:00 PM
Long Beach State at Pepperdine - 3:00 PM
Cal State Fullerton at San Diego - 3:00 PM
Gonzaga at Washington State - 5:30 PM
California at Santa Clara - 6:00 PM
LMU at USC - 7:00 PM

Mar. 26
UC Davis at San Francisco - 2:00 PM
Lewis & Clark at Portland - 3:00 PM

Mar. 27
Harvard at San Diego - 2:00 PM

Mar. 28
*San Francisco at Saint Mary's - 2:00 PM
*Santa Clara at San Diego - 2:00 PM
*LMU at Portland - 3:00 PM
*Pepperdine at Gonzaga - 6:30 PM

Mar. 29
*LMU at Portland - 1:00 PM
*Pepperdine at Gonzaga - 1:00 PM
*San Francisco at Saint Mary's - 1:00 PM
*Santa Clara at San Diego - 1:00 PM

Mar. 30
*LMU at Portland - 1:00 PM
*Pepperdine at Gonzaga - 1:00 PM
*San Francisco at Saint Mary's - 1:00 PM
*Santa Clara at San Diego - 1:00 PM

* Denotes Conference Game

Around The WCC

WCC Play Begins This Week
The 41st season of West Coast Conference baseball begins this week, as all eight teams open the league's eight week schedule on Friday. Gonzaga hosts Pepperdine, while LMU travels to Portland for three games. Saint Mary's and San Francisco will meet in Moraga, and San Diego will host Santa Clara for a three-game set.

WCC Ranked No. 6 In Boyd's World RPI
West Coast Conference baseball teams are enjoying tremendous success in the early part of the non-conference season, propelling the WCC to a No. 6 listing in the conference RPI ratings, according to boydsworld.com. The WCC trails only the Pac-10, the ACC, the Big 12, the SEC, and the Big West in the RPI rankings, and is listed above highly regarded baseball conferences like Conference-USA and the Sun Belt.

USD's Matusz Named National Pitcher of the Week
San Diego's Brian Matusz was tabbed for national Pitcher of the Week honors by Collegiate Baseball following his dominant outing against Harvard on Saturday. The junior tied the USD single-game strikeout record with 16 against the Crimson, allowing just one run on three hits in eight innings against the Crimson.

WCC Team Notes

Gonzaga Bulldogs (15-9 / 0-0 WCC)
- Gonzaga took two-of-three from visiting Utah Valley before traveling to Northern California, where the Zags swept Sacramento State before falling to UC Davis on Monday.

- Marcus McKimmy was tabbed for WCC Player of the Week honors after batting .423 (11-for-26) as the Bulldogs went 5-1 last week. The transfer from San Jose State posted four multiple-hit games, and drove in five runs in a win over Sacramento State on Saturday.

- Ryan Wiegand continued to produce runs for the Zags, driving in eight runs last week to bring his season RBI total to 29. The junior has driven in 118 runs during his time in Spokane, and is just 25 RBI short of cracking the Gonzaga career top-10 chart.

- Gonzaga travels to face No. 28 Washington State (3/25) and will open WCC action against Pepperdine at home this weekend.

Loyola Marymount Lions (12-11/ 0-0 WCC)
- The Lions enjoyed a solid week, taking three-of-four in a weekend series with Cal State Northridge before posting an 11-10 victory over USC on Monday to improve to 12-11 on the season.

- Andy Preston went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate in Monday's win over USC, collecting an RBI and clubbing his seventh double of the season. The transfer from Purdue enters the week batting .394 (28-for-71) on the year.

- Lee Roberts tossed his first career complete game in a 6-2 win over Cal State Northridge last week, striking out four batters and surrendering just two runs on six hits to earn his first victory of the season.

- LMU makes the trip across town for a rematch with USC (3/25) before opening WCC play at Portland this weekend.

Pepperdine Waves (15-7 / 0-0 WCC)
- The Waves went 2-2 against top-25 ranked opposition last week, handing then-No. 23 Cal State Fullerton a 13-2 defeat before dropping two-of-three to then-No. 25 Oregon State on the road over the weekend.

- Nick Gaudi tossed 2.1 innings of relief to earn his conference-leading seventh save of the season in Saturday's 8-5 win over the Beavers. Gaudi has posted a miniscule 1.69 ERA, and has struck out 18 batters in 16 innings pitched this season.

- Trent Diedrich extended his hitting streak to six straight games after hitting a double in Saturday's win over Oregon State. Diedrich is batting .409 and has driven in seven runs during the six-game stretch.

- Pepperdine will face No. 4 Long Beach State (3/25) before beginning conference play at Gonzaga this weekend.

Portland Pilots (14-10 / 0-0 WCC)
- The Pilots split a two-game series with Southern Utah at home, before traveling to Seattle where they took a 2-0 decision against Utah Valley and fell to the host Huskies, 6-5.

- Ari Ronick tossed a gem in Friday's 2-0 win over Utah Valley, as the senior went seven innings and surrendered just three hits, while striking out four batters. Ronick enters the week with a 2.22 ERA in five starts this season.

- Scott Burris picked up his first two collegiate saves last week, going three innings against Southern Utah on Wednesday and tossing 1.1 scoreless innings in the win over Utah Valley.

- The Pilots return home to host Lewis & Clark (3/26), and will open WCC action against LMU at Joe Etzel Field this weekend.

Saint Mary's Gaels (13-7-1 / 0-0 WCC)
- Saint Mary's had a busy week, finishing off a sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson before dropping a mid-week tilt at San Jose State. The Gaels then traveled to UC Santa Barbara, where they dropped two-of-three in a weekend series.

- Brian Justice improved to 2-0 on the season, tossing seven innings in Friday's 9-3 win over UC Santa Barbara. The junior allowed just four hits and struck out four batters, while surrendering just one earned run.

- Saint Mary's is batting .320 (219-for-685) as a team, and nine Gaels are currently batting over .300 on the year. Kyle Jensen has produced the top power numbers for Saint Mary's thus far, slugging a team-high six home runs, and pacing the squad with 16 RBI.

- The Gaels host UC Davis (3/25) in non-conference action before opening league play at home against Bay Area rival San Francisco this weekend.

San Diego Toreros (17-7 / 0-0 WCC)
- San Diego posted a perfect 5-0 week to improve to 17-7 on the season. The Toreros notched wins over Hawaii-Hilo and Hawaii on the road, and swept a three-game set against Harvard at home.

- Brian Matusz was named the WCC Pitcher of the Week, and was tabbed for national Pitcher of the Week honors, after striking out 16 batters in Saturday's 7-2 win over Harvard. Matusz has struck out 55 batters in just 35.2 innings pitched so far this season.

- Josh Romanski was also dominant in his outing against the Crimson on Monday, tossing his first career no-hitter in a 12-0 victory. The junior faced just one batter above the minimum, striking out eight batters in the complete game effort.

- San Diego hosts No. 21 Cal State Fullerton (3/25) and Harvard (3/27) before hosting Santa Clara in WCC action this weekend.

San Francisco Dons (13-10 / 0-0 WCC)
- San Francisco capped an undefeated week with a four-game sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson at Benedetti Diamond over the weekend. The Dons improved to 13-10, and 6-1 at home on the season.

- Connor Bernatz enjoyed an outstanding week at the plate, batting .588 (10-for-17) with a home run as USF went 5-0. The freshman outfielder currently leads the team with a .397 (27-for-68) batting average, and ranks second on the squad with 16 RBI.

- Matt Lujan dealt eight innings of shutout ball in Thursday's 6-0 win over Fairleigh Dickinson, allowing just six hits and striking out five batters in the victory. The freshman improved to 2-0 on the year, and has posted a 2.15 ERA in six mound appearances so far this season.

- The Dons close out a six-game home stand against UC Davis (3/27) before traveling to Saint Mary's to begin league play.

Santa Clara Broncos (11-8 / 0-0 WCC)
- Santa Clara split a double header at Cal Poly on Saturday, snapping a four-game skid with an 11-8 win in the opener and dropping the night cap to fall to 11-8 on the year.

- Thain Simon tossed 2.1 innings of scoreless relief to earn the victory over the Mustangs on Saturday. It marked the conference-leading fifth victory of the season for the freshman, who improved to 5-0 on the year.

- Geoff Klein went 3-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI in Saturday's win, including his third home run of the season. The sophomore, who is batting a team-high .387 (29-for-75), also moved into a tie for the team lead with 18 RBI on the year.

- The Broncos host No. 11 California (3/25) before beginning their conference slate at No. 14 San Diego this weekend.