May 12, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

San Diego Clinches Share of WCC Title; Toreros Host The WCC Championship Series
San Diego clinched a share of the WCC regular season title and will host the WCC Championship Series. The Toreros, who earned their second consecutive league title, will be making their second straight appearance in the championship event, and can clinch the WCC regular season title outright with a loss by Pepperdine this weekend. The Waves face Santa Clara this weekend in a crucial series that will determine the Toreros' opponent in the championship series. Pepperdine sits two games back of USD in second place, while Santa Clara is just a half game back of the Waves.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

May 12
Portland at Cal State Northridge - 3:00 PM
Lewis-Clark State at Gonzaga - 6:00 PM
LMU at Arizona State - 6:00 PM
Santa Clara at Stanford - 6:00 PM

May 13
Portland at Cal State Northridge - 1:00 PM
Washington State at Gonzaga - 6:00 PM
Pepperdine at Cal Poly - 6:00 PM

May 14
UC Irvine at LMU - 3:00 PM

May 15
Dallas Baptist at San Francisco - 3:00 PM

May 16
*Gonzaga at LMU - 3:00 PM
*Saint Mary's at Portland - 3:00 PM
Dallas Baptist at San Francisco - 3:00 PM
*Pepperdine at Santa Clara - 7:00 PM

May 17
*Gonzaga at LMU - 1:00 PM
*Saint Mary's at Portland - 1:00 PM
Dallas Baptist at San Francisco - 1:00 PM
*Pepperdine at Santa Clara - 6:00 PM

May 18
*Gonzaga at LMU - 1:00 PM
*Pepperdine at Santa Clara - 1:00 PM
*Saint Mary's at Portland - 1:00 PM

WCC/Rawlings Player of the Week: Mitchell Bialosky, San Francisco
San Francisco's Mitchell Bialosky played a big part in leading the Dons to wins over top 10 opponents Stanford and San Diego. Bialosky started the week by driving in four runs in USF's 13-9 win over No. 6 Stanford. The senior then went 9-for-15 with four RBI and four runs scored in helping the Dons take 2-of-3 from No. 8 San Diego. Bialosky also went 1-0 on the mound, earning the win in the Dons' 6-3 victory over the Toreros on Saturday.

WCC/Rawlings Pitcher of the Week: Brian Matusz, San Diego
San Diego junior All-American Brian Matusz turned in a dominating performance in the Toreros' 4-2 win at San Francisco on Friday. The win also clinched a share of the WCC regular season title for the Toreros. The southpaw allowed two runs on seven hits, while tallying 14 strikeouts in 8.1 innings of work. This marked the fifth time this season that Matusz has recorded 10 or more strikeouts in a game. Overall, Matusz is 10-2 with a 2.05 ERA and has a team-best 122 strikeouts.

WCC TEAM NOTES

Gonzaga Bulldogs (28-20 / 8-9 WCC)
- The Zags, who were idle last week, are led at the plate by sophomore Drew Heid, who is hitting .483 (29-for-60) in conference play.

- Cody Martin, who set a GU program record with his eighth save of the season in the Zags' win over Oregon State on April 30th, was named to the Roger Clemens Award watch list.

- With two more wins, Gonzaga will reach the 30-win plateau for the second consecutive season. Last season was the first time since 1990 that the Bulldogs earned 30 or more victories.

- As a team, Gonzaga is hitting .315 at the plate. Since 1974, the Bulldogs have only finished seven seasons hitting over .300, including a school record .329 clip in 1974.

- The Bulldogs host Lewis-Clark State (5/12) and Washington State (5/13) before traveling to LMU this weekend.

Loyola Marymount Lions (22-28/ 6-12 WCC)
- The Lions dropped two games at No. 3 Arizona State last week, falling 9-5 and 11-3.

- Sophomore Angelo Songco clubbed his team-leading 11th home run of the season in the Lions' 9-5 setback versus the Sun Devils.

- Senior Michael Glomb batted 2-for-4 with a run scored and a RBI in Sunday's game versus ASU to extend his hitting streak to 20 straight games. The streak is the longest by a Lion since Eric Farris hit in 25 straight games from the end of the 2006 season into the beginning of 2007.

- Ryan Wheeler tallied his team-leading 19th double of the season in Sunday's game.

- The Lions wrap up their three-game series at ASU on Monday, before hosting UC Irvine (5/14) for a mid-week game and Gonzaga for a three-game set this weekend.

Pepperdine Waves (32-16 / 12-5 WCC)
- The Waves posted a 4-1 record last week, rebounding from a 9-1 setback versus No. 12 Cal State Fullerton to defeat UC Santa Barbara, 5-4, and sweep Portland. The Waves' 2-1 win over UP on Friday secured their 31st consecutive 30-win season.

- Senior Nick Gaudi had a productive week on the mound, picking up the win versus UC Santa Barbara and notching two saves versus Portland. The two saves give Gaudi 13 on the season, moving him into a tie for fourth place on the Pepperdine single-season saves list.

- Junior Nathan Newman continued his torrid pitching, allowing one earned run on five hits, while striking out six Pilots in 8.2 innings. The win improved Newman to 7-2 on the season and 4-0 in conference play.

- The Waves travel to Cal Poly (5/14) before heading to Santa Clara for a three-game set.

Portland Pilots (19-30 / 3-15 WCC)
- Portland defeated Concordia, 4-0, before suffering setbacks versus Washington and Oregon State, and being swept at Pepperdine.

- Junior Mark Triolo picked up the loss on Friday against Pepperdine, despite allowing just two runs on two hits in 5.2 innings of work. Triolo, a transfer from San Diego State, retired the first nine batters he faced before Pepperdine's Bryce Mendonca led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a single to left field.

- Junior Cort Carpenter enjoyed a solid day at the plate against the Waves on Sunday, finishing 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs.

- The Pilots travel to Cal State Northridge (5/12-5/13) for a two-game set, before hosting Saint Mary's in a three-game series to close out the regular season.

Saint Mary's Gaels (23-27-1 / 5-13 WCC)
- Saint Mary's posted a 1-4 record last week, defeating San Francisco in a non-conference matchup, but fell to San Jose State and dropped three at Santa Clara over the weekend.

- Sophomore Anthony Aliotti earned the win in the Gaels' 6-5 non-conference win over league rival San Francisco. Aliotti evened his record at 2-2 as he tossed 5.2 innings, scattering two hits, two runs, both earned, three walks, while striking out three Dons.

- Sophomore Kyle Jensen clubbed his team-leading 13th home run of the season in the Gaels' setback versus Santa Clara on Sunday. Jensen is now just two home runs behind James Mouton and Jeff Hebert for the single season record at Saint Mary's. His 13 home runs also ties him for the WCC lead.

- The Gaels close out their season with a three-game set at Portland this weekend.

San Diego Toreros (39-15 / 16-5 WCC)
- San Diego defeated UCLA, 5-3, in a midweek game before posting a 1-2 record at San Francisco over the weekend.

- Junior All-American Brian Matusz turned in a dominating performance in the Toreros' win at San Francisco on Friday, which clinched a share of their second consecutive WCC regular season title. Matusz allowed just two runs on seven hits, while striking out 14 in 8.1 innings of work.

- Sophomore All-American closer AJ Griffin was one of the first 12 players who accepted an invitation to the 2008 National Team Trials to be held June 11-23. Griffin has nailed down 13 saves this season and leads San Diego with a 2.04 ERA.

- The Toreros will have the week off to concentrate on finals, then they will return to action on May 23 as they begin the WCC Championship Series at USD's Cunningham Stadium.

San Francisco Dons (31-23 / 12-9 WCC)
- San Francisco went 3-2 during a challenging week, earning wins versus No. 6 Stanford and taking two-of-three against No. 8 San Diego over the weekend. The Dons have topped the 30-win barrier for just the sixth time in their 101 year history, and third time in the last four years.

- Senior second baseman Joey Railey extended his hit streak to 16 games with a lead off home run in the Dons' 14-3 win over San Diego on Sunday. Railey ended the day with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate, giving him 235 hits for his career. He is one away from tying Arnie Sambel (1987-90/236) for fourth place on the Dons' all-time hits chart.

- Senior Mitchell Bialosky earned his first WCC Player of the Week award after batting .526 (10-for-19) with eight RBIs, while also posting a 1-0 record on the mound last week.

- The Dons close out the regular season by hosting Dallas Baptist for a three-game set.

Santa Clara Broncos (32-18 / 12-6 WCC)
- Santa Clara dropped an 11-7 decision at Pacific, but rebounded by sweeping Saint Mary's over the weekend. Santa Clara is one of the hottest teams in the conference, winning 11 of its last 13 games.

- The 32 wins are the most for the Broncos under Head Coach Mark O'Brien, and marks their first 30-win season since 2003.

- Junior Brady Fuerst notched his 14th double of the season in the 10th inning to drive in three runs and lift the Broncos to a 9-8 come-from-behind win over Saint Mary's on Saturday.

- Thain Simon continues to be one of the top freshman hurlers in the conference, leading the Broncos in wins (9), ERA (2.80), and strikeouts (65).

- SCU travels to Stanford (5/12) before hosting Pepperdine for a crucial three-game series.