April 7, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

WCC/Rawlings Player of the Week
Logan Gelbrich, San Diego

Logan Gelbrich led San Diego to a 3-1 record last week, including a three-game sweep of Gonzaga in conference play. Gelbrich batted .467 (7-for-15) through four games, while slugging four home runs and collecting six RBI. The senior clubbed a pair of doubles, and scored four runs as the Toreros improved to 22-11. Gelbrich went 3-for-4 with a pair of round-trippers and two RBI on Saturday, and closed out the week with his fourth home run in three days in a 9-3 win over the Zags on Sunday.

WCC/Rawlings Pitcher of the Week
Evan Fredrickson, San Francisco

San Francisco's Evan Fredrickson was dominant in his outing against then-No. 7 ranked California on Tuesday, striking out a career-high 13 batters in just seven innings of work as the Dons posted a 5-1 win in the third annual Dante Benedetti Classic at AT&T Park. The junior allowed just four hits, and did not surrender an earned run as the Dons defeated a top-10 opponent for the first time since 2006. Fredrickson improved to 3-2 on the year with the win, and upped his season strikeout total to 51.

Upcoming Games

Apr. 8
Long Beach State at LMU - 3:00 PM
Cal Poly at Pepperdine - 3:00 PM
Cal State Monterey Bay at Saint Mary's - 3:00 PM
Portland at Washington - 5:00 PM
Washington State at Gonzaga - 6:00 PM
San Diego at UC Riverside - 6:00 PM
San Francisco at San Jose State - 6:00 PM

Apr. 9
Santa Clara at California - 2:30 PM
UC Riverside at San Diego - 3:00 PM

Apr. 11
*Saint Mary's at LMU - 3:00 PM
*San Diego at Portland - 3:00 PM
*San Francisco at Pepperdine - 3:00 PM
*Santa Clara at Gonzaga - 6:30 PM

Apr. 12
*Saint Mary's at LMU - 1:00 PM
*San Diego at Portland - 1:00 PM
*San Francisco at Pepperdine - 1:00 PM
*Santa Clara at Gonzaga - 1:00 PM

Apr. 13
*Saint Mary's at LMU - 1:00 PM
*San Diego at Portland - 1:00 PM
*San Francisco at Pepperdine - 1:00 PM
*Santa Clara at Gonzaga - 1:00 PM

* Denotes Conference Game

Around The WCC

WCC Baseball On Television
An unprecedented amount of WCC baseball games will be broadcast to a national television audience this season, as five tilts involving conference teams will be televised during the 2008 campaign. WCC baseball continues its long standing relationship with College Sports Television this season, as four games will be televised on the network. It marks the fifth straight year that CSTV will broadcast a regular season league contest, and the second straight year that multiple league games will be broadcast. ESPNU will televise the fifth national broadcast of the WCC baseball season, marking the first time that a regular season league tilt will be carried by the network. Below is a list of the games involving WCC teams that will be broadcast this season.

WCC Baseball On Television 2008
April 21 - Stanford at Santa Clara - 5:00 pm (PT) - CSTV
April 28 - Stanford at Santa Clara - 5:00 pm (PT) - CSTV
May 2 - San Diego at Pepperdine - 1:00 pm (PT) - CSTV
May 3 - San Diego at Pepperdine - 1:00 pm (PT) - CSTV
May 9 - Portland at Pepperdine - 3:00 pm (PT) - ESPNU

USD's Romanski Named NCBWA Co-Pitcher of the Week
San Diego left-hander Josh Romanski was tabbed for National Co-Pitcher of the Week honors by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) on April 1. The junior was selected for recognition after tossing the first no-hitter by a Torero pitcher in 12 years, as Romanski faced one batter above the minimum in a 12-0 victory over Harvard on March 28. The Corona, CA native was masterful in the complete-game effort, striking out eight Crimson batters.

WCC Teams

Gonzaga Bulldogs (16-14 / 1-4 WCC)
- Gonzaga was swept at San Diego over the weekend, dropping the Bulldogs to 1-4 in conference play.

- Ryan Wiegand went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double in Sunday's 9-3 loss to the Toreros. It marked the team-leading fifth round-tripper of the season for the junior, who also moved into a tie for the conference lead in doubles with 11.

- Evan Wells went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate in Saturday's 7-4 defeat at USD, collecting four singles on the afternoon. Wells has pounded out 36 hits so far this season, and enters the week batting a team-high .350 (36-for-103).

- Gonzaga returns to Washington Trust Field & Patterson Baseball Complex to open a season-high nine-game home stand this week. The Zags host Washington State (4/8) before meeting Santa Clara for a three-game weekend set.

Loyola Marymount Lions (16-15/ 3-3 WCC)
- The Lions dropped an 8-2 mid-week tilt to then-No. 23 Cal State Fullerton, before traveling to San Francisco and suffering a three-game sweep in WCC action over the weekend.

- A.J. LaMonda capped a 3-for-4 performance with his second home run of the season in Friday's 9-5 loss at USF. It marked the eighth career dinger for the senior.

- Ryan Wheeler continued to lead the Lions, batting .455 (5-for-11) in the series at USF and slugging his third home run of the season in Friday's defeat. Wheeler is currently batting .363 (41-for-113), and has driven in a team-high 26 runs so far this season.

- The Lions return home this week, and will attempt to snap a four-game slide against No. 16 ranked Long Beach State (4/8) before hosting Saint Mary's for a three-game weekend series at Page Stadium.

Pepperdine Waves (20-10 / 3-2 WCC)
- The Waves split a two-game mid-week series with UC Santa Barbara before traveling to Saint Mary's and taking two-of-three from the Gaels in Moraga.

- Eric Thames led the charge in Sunday's 20-9 win over Saint Mary's, clubbing a three-run home run during Pepperdine's 10-run second inning, and collecting five RBI on the afternoon. Thames moved into a tie for the WCC lead with nine home runs so far this season, and currently leads the conference with 40 RBI.

- Nathan Newman struck out eight batters in nine innings to tie his season-high in Saturday's 2-1, 10-inning defeat at Saint Mary's.

- Pepperdine returns home where it will take on Cal Poly (4/8) before meeting first place San Francisco for a three-game series.

Portland Pilots (16-16 / 2-4 WCC)
- The Pilots got back on the winning track, rebounding from mid-week losses at then-No. 26 Oregon State and Washington to take two-of-three at Santa Clara over the weekend.

- Riley Henricks went 3-for-5 and slugged a pair of solo home runs in Sunday's 6-2 win over the Broncos. The freshman enters the week batting a team-high .326 (44-for-132), and moved into a tie for the conference lead with 44 hits on the season.

- Ari Ronick earned the victory on Sunday, striking out six SCU batters in 6.1 innings pitched. Ronick has posted a 2.45 ERA in seven appearances this year, the third-lowest in the WCC.

- The Pilots will travel to Washington (4/8) before returning to Joe Etzel Field for a three-game WCC series with No. 13 ranked San Diego this weekend.

Saint Mary's Gaels (16-12-1 / 2-4 WCC)
- Saint Mary's posted a 2-2 mark on the week, handing San Francisco State a 7-5 defeat before dropping two-of-three to then-No. 11 ranked Pepperdine in WCC play.

- Kyle Jensen was outstanding at the plate over the weekend, batting .533 (8-for-15) with six RBI against the Waves. Jensen, who currently leads the WCC with a .398 (39-for-98) batting average, hit a walk-off single to propel the Gaels to Saturday's 2-1 win.

- Joel Staples legged out a pair of triples in Friday's 10-8 loss to Pepperdine, giving the junior four three-baggers on the season. Staples, who led the WCC with five triples as a freshman in 2006, moved into a tie for fourth on the Saint Mary's career list with 11.

- The Gaels host Cal State Monterey Bay (4/8) before traveling to LMU for a three-game weekend set.

San Diego Toreros (22-11 / 4-2 WCC)
- San Diego closed out a season-high 12-game home stand, rebounding from a 3-2 loss to USC to post a three-game sweep of Gonzaga in WCC play over the weekend.

- Logan Gelbrich homered in each of San Diego's wins over the weekend, clubbing a total of four home runs against the Bulldogs. Gelbrich moved into a tie for second place on the squad with five round-trippers so far this season.

- AJ Griffin tossed 1.1 scoreless innings of relief to nail down his fifth save of the season in Saturday's 7-4 win over Gonzaga. It marked the 16th save of the sophomore's career, moving him into a tie for sixth place on the WCC's all-time list.

- The Toreros take on UC Riverside (4/8 & 4/9) for a pair of games before traveling to Portland for a three-game series this weekend.

San Francisco Dons (20-11 / 5-1 WCC)
- San Francisco remained one of the hottest teams in the WCC, as the Dons handed then-No. 7 California a 5-1 defeat before sweeping LMU over the weekend to move into first place in the conference standings.

- Evan Fredrickson was outstanding in his start against the Golden Bears, as the junior struck out a career-high 13 batters in just seven innings of work. Fredrickson has struck out 51 batters in 33.1 innings so far this season.

- Joey Railey collected four hits during USF's weekend set with the Lions, moving the senior into second place in the conference with 42 hits on the year. Railey also moved into sole possession of ninth place on the Dons' career hits list with 203.

- The Dons open an eight-game road stretch at San Jose State (4/8) before resuming WCC action at No. 9 ranked Pepperdine this weekend.

Santa Clara Broncos (17-11 / 3-3 WCC)
- Santa Clara had a busy week, defeating Washington State and Pacific in mid-week tilts before dropping two-of-three to visiting Portland in WCC play over the weekend.

- Jon Karcich capped a 3-for-4 performance with his team-leading fifth home run of the season in Saturday's 14-4 win over the Pilots. The sophomore, who is also tied for the team lead with 25 RBI on the year, scored four runs and collected three RBI in the win.

- Steve Kalush earned a pair of victories out of the bullpen last week. Kalush tossed two no-hit innings against Pacific on Wednesday and added 1.1 scoreless innings in the win over the Pilots, striking out eight batters in 3.1 innings on the week.

- The Broncos hit the road this week, traveling to take on No. 5 California (4/9) before meeting Gonzaga for a three-game series this weekend.