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WCC Baseball Weekly Notes - 4/14
April 14, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
WCC/Rawlings Player of the Week Eric Thames continued his impressive senior campaign, leading the Waves to a 3-1 mark on the week including a three-game sweep of a San Francisco in conference play. Thames batted .588 (10-for-17) in four games, scoring four runs and collecting seven RBI, while clubbing his 10th home run of the season. The senior put together a pair of four-hit performances at the plate against the Dons, and also stole four bases on the week. WCC/Rawlings Co-Pitchers of the Week Gonzaga's Cody Martin and San Diego's AJ Griffin share WCC Pitcher of the Week honors after each reliever notched a pair of saves last week. Martin nailed down saves against Washington State and Santa Clara, striking out four batters and surrendering just two hits en route to tying the Gonzaga single-season save record with seven. Griffin was equally impressive, notching a pair of saves during San Diego's three-game sweep of Portland over the weekend. The sophomore surrendered just four hits, while striking out five batters in four innings of work on the week. Upcoming Games
Apr. 14 Apr. 15 Apr. 16 Apr. 18 Apr. 19 Apr. 20 * Denotes Conference Game; ^ at PGE Park (Portland, OR) Around The WCC
WCC Race Heats Up WCC Team Notes
Gonzaga Bulldogs (18-16 / 2-6 WCC) - Cody Martin saved both of Gonzaga's victories last week, tossing a combined 3.1 scoreless innings and striking out four batters. The freshman tied the program's single-season saves record with his seventh of the year in Saturday's 5-4 win over Santa Clara. - Ryan Wiegand enjoyed an outstanding week at the plate, batting .450 (9-for-20) and driving in eight runs to bring his season RBI total to a team-high 41. The junior enters the week with 130 career RBI, and needs just 13 more to crack Gonzaga's career top-10 list. - Gonzaga hosts Washington (4/14 & 4/15) for a two-game set before welcoming Portland to Spokane for a three-game WCC series this weekend.
Loyola Marymount Lions (18-17/ 4-5 WCC) - Ryan Wheeler collected multiple hits in three games for the Lions last week, including a pair of 3-for-5 performances against Saint Mary's over the weekend. The sophomore also drove in seven runs on the week, bringing his season RBI total to a team-high 33. - Angelo Songco slugged a pair of home runs last week, including his first career grand slam against Long Beach State on Tuesday. He clubbed his team-leading seventh round-tripper of the season in Saturday's 15-9 win over the Gaels. - LMU travels to Cal Poly (4/15) for a mid-week tilt before returning home to face No. 6 ranked Pepperdine in WCC play this weekend.
Pepperdine Waves (23-11 / 6-2 WCC) - Trent Diedrich helped pace the Pepperdine offense, as the sophomore batted .417 (5-for-12) with five runs scored and six RBI against San Francisco over the weekend. Diedrich also slugged a home run and a pair of doubles, and hit a walk-off RBI single in Saturday's 11-10 win over the Dons. - Eric Thames clubbed his team-leading 10th home run of the season, marking the first time a Wave has reached double-digit round-trippers since Chad Tracy hit 12 dingers in 2005. - Pepperdine makes the short trip to face No. 24 Long Beach State (4/15) before traveling to cross-town rival LMU for a three-game set this weekend.
Portland Pilots (16-20 / 2-7 WCC) - Riley Henricks continued to swing a hot bat for the Pilots, as the freshman batted .583 (7-for-12) against the Toreros, and clubbed his sixth home run of the season. Henricks enters the week with a conference-high 52 hits on the year, just 16 away from cracking the Portland single-season top-10 list. - Ari Ronick moved into a tie for second place on the Portland career chart with his 43rd career start in Sunday's 13-8 loss to the Toreros. - The Pilots will meet Oregon State (4/15) at PGE Park in Portland on Tuesday before traveling to Gonzaga for a three-game WCC series this weekend.
Saint Mary's Gaels (19-13-1 / 4-5 WCC) - Kyle Jensen continued to hit at a torrid pace, batting .625 (10-for-16) with five home runs last week. The sophomore moved into a tie for sixth place on the Saint Mary's single-season home run list with 12, and enters the week batting a conference-leading .430 (49-for-114) on the year. - Brian Justice improved to 3-1 on the season with a six-inning effort in Friday's 14-9 win at LMU. The junior right-hander has held opponents to a .238 batting average so far this season, the third lowest clip in the WCC. - The Gaels return home to face San Francisco State (4/15) before traveling to meet WCC-leading San Diego for a three-game set this weekend.
San Diego Toreros (27-11 / 7-2 WCC) - Brian Matusz earned his seventh win of the season after striking out nine batters in seven innings of work during Friday's 8-4 win over the Pilots. The junior enters the week with 336 career strikeouts, just two shy of moving into a tie with former LMU standout Billy Traber (1998-00) for fifth place on the WCC's all-time list. - James Meador clubbed a pair of home runs, and Victor Sanchez hit his team-leading 11th dinger of the year in Sunday's 13-8 win at UP. Sanchez needs just one more round-tripper to crack the USD single-season top-10 list for home runs. - USD hosts No. 5 UC Irvine (4/15) before taking on Saint Mary's for a three-game set.
San Francisco Dons (21-14 / 5-4 WCC) - Ryan Lipkin went 3-for-4 at the plate in Sunday's 8-5 loss to the Waves. The sophomore enters the week batting a team-high .394 (39-for-99) on the season, and currently ranks third in the conference in batting. - Evan Fredrickson was outstanding on the mound, striking out six batters in eight innings of work to earn the victory in Tuesday's win over the Spartans. The junior currently ranks third in the WCC with 57 strikeouts on the season. - The Dons continue an eight-game road stretch at No. 10 ranked Stanford (4/16) before making the short trip to face Bay Area rival Santa Clara for a weekend series.
Santa Clara Broncos (19-13 / 5-4 WCC) - The Broncos slugged five home runs in Friday's 12-4 win over Gonzaga, including a pair of dingers from Nathan Faulkner and a grand slam by Brady Fuerst. SCU enters the week with a conference-high 33 home runs as a team this season. - Jon Karcich hit three home runs during the series with Gonzaga, including a pair of round-trippers in Sunday's 9-5 win. The sophomore currently ranks third in the WCC with eight home runs, doubling his total from his freshman season. - The Broncos travel to No. 10 Stanford (4/14) before returning home to take on Bay Area rival San Francisco in a crucial WCC series this weekend.
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