May 8, 2000
SPOKANE, Wash. -
Gonzaga (25-22, 15-12 WCC)
vs.
San Francisco (25-29, 9-18 WCC)
May 13 @ August / A.R.T. Stadium (Spokane) - 12 noon (DH)
May 14 @ August / A.R.T. Stadium (Spokane) - 12 noon
Series: (San Francisco Leads 15-12)
THE WEEK AHEAD: Gonzaga will host its final home stand of the year this weekend when San Francisco comes to town for the final West Coast Conference series of the season. The Bulldogs were eliminated from contention for the Coast Division title over the weekend with four straight losses to Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount. With six games remaining Gonzaga needs two wins to assure themselves of their second consecutive winning season. Already set for their best-ever win total in the West Coast Conference the Zags can complete their first WCC winning campaign with one weekend victory over San Francisco. For Gonzaga's six seniors this will be their final appearance in front of the home crowd at August / A.R.T. Stadium. Fifth year seniors Steve Bennett and Matt Siwek have joined with junior college transfer seniors Jason Bay, Kevin Hara, Brent Church and Jason Kennedy to help turn the Gonzaga program into WCC contenders the last two seasons.
NOT A HOLLYWOOD ENDING: For the second consecutive season Gonzaga traveled to the Los Angeles area in contention for the WCC Coast Division title and for the second consecutive season the Bulldogs return home after being swept out of the race. In 1999 it was Pepperdine that destroyed any Gonzaga Division title hopes, sweeping the Zags in three straight in Malibu. This season it was #14 Loyola Marymount that crashed the Bulldogs chances with a three game sweep. Gonzaga opened the L.A. trip with an 11-5 loss to Pepperdine in a game resumed from a March 4 rain out in Spokane. That loss set Gonzaga three games back of Loyola Marymount heading into the three game WCC set at Page Stadium. On Friday afternoon, Billy Traber out dueled Gonzaga ace Steve Bennett leading the Lions to a 5-1 victory and four game cushion in the race. Needing a sweep on Sunday to stay alive in the race, LMU catcher Scott Walter turned away any GU hopes with four home runs on the day as the Lions raced to the title with 12-2 and 13-8 wins. LMU battered Gonzaga's pitching staff with a .427 average and 10 home runs as only Steve Bennett was able to go more than five innings all weekend. Barry Matthews hit a quiet .538 for the weekend to lead Gonzaga and Danny Evans led the team driving in three of the Zags 11 runs.
SAN FRANCISCO DONS: San Francisco comes into this weekend series having dropped nine straight West Coast Conference games and in fourth place in the Coast Division. The Dons were swept over the weekend for the third consecutive time as Santa Clara won three straight from USF. The series was marred by a bench-clearing brawl during the Broncos series opening 17-3 victory over San Francisco. The last month of the season has not been kind to the Dons as they have lost 14-of-16 including a stretch of ten straight losses. WCC Player of the Year Tag Bozied has been hampered by injuries all season but still has managed to become the conference career leader in home runs with 48 blasts. The Dons are batting .315 as a team but have struggled to find a number two and three starter all season. Staff ace Ian Perio is 7-5 with a 4.12 earned run average and leads the conference in innings pitched.
HERTZ WINS NO. 600: Steve Hertz is in the midst of his third decade of coaching at Gonzaga as he leads the Bulldogs for his 21st season as head coach. An All-Conference pitcher at Gonzaga in the early 1970's, Hertz guided the Bulldogs to an NCAA Regional Final in his first season as head coach in 1978. Following a two-year stint as head coach at UC-Irvine, Hertz returned to his alma mater in 1981 and has guided the Bulldogs through three different conferences. In his 20 years at Gonzaga, Hertz has compiled a 549-545-5 mark while his 22-year career record stands at 608-607-5. Hertz won career game 600 on April 8 as the Zags defeated Saint Mary's College, 6-4, in the second game of a double-header.
MATTHEWS HOT HITTING CONTINUES: Junior Barry Matthews kept his hot hitting streak alive over the weekend despite Gonzaga dropping out of the Coast Division race. Matthews has now hit safely in the last 21 Bulldog games dating back to the Washington State game on March 31. During the 21 game streak, Matthews has boosted his average nearly 70 points hitting .432 over that span with three four hit games to his credit. Matthews now stands second on the Gonzaga squad with a .356 batting average while he leads the team in both RBI's and doubles. Matthews has also been a solid run producer during his streak collecting 20 RBI's during the 21 game streak, to stand at 47 for the season. This is Matthews second double figure hitting streak of the season after opening the 2000 campaign with a 10 game hitting streak.
Gonzaga Six Seniors
#2 Jason Kennedy (Yakima, WA) - A two year member of the Gonzaga baseball team, Kennedy has served as a utility infielder during his two season career. After appearing in 28 games as a junior and driving in 14 runs, Kennedy has battled back from an early season injury to see action in 19 games including four starts at third base.
#11 Kevin Hara (Tacoma, WA) - A two year member of the Gonzaga baseball team, Hara has started as a middle infielder during his two season career. As a junior, Hara appeared in 38 games primarily at second base where he hit .272 with 15 RBI's. As a senior Hara moved to shortstop and has become a run producing threat at the bottom of the Gonzaga order. Earlier this season, Hara was named WCC Player of the Week following his two grand slam weekend against Portland. Hara followed that up with a record tying third grand slam of the season against Santa Clara. He currently ranks second on the team with 41 RBI's.
#23 Brent Church (Marysville, WA) - A two year member of the Gonzaga baseball team, Church has worked his way from a reserve outfielder his junior season to the Zags everyday left fielder as a senior. As a junior, Church hit .333 in reserve and pinch-hitting roles while driving home one run. This season, Church has appeared in 41 games and won the job of an everyday player in the Zags outfield. Church has turned on the power stroke lately hitting three home runs with a .275 batting average. He is tied for second on team with 11 doubles and leads Gonzaga with 2 triples on the year.
#24 Jason Bay (Trail, B.C.) - A two year member of the Gonzaga baseball team, Bay has permanently etched his name in the Gonzaga record books with two stand out seasons as the teams center fielder. As a junior, Bay earned first team All-WCC honors after setting a school record with 74 RBI's and a team high 20 home runs. That long ball total was second highest on the Gonzaga single season list. As a senior Bay has continued his offensive production with a team high 13 home runs and 41 RBI's (second best on team). Earlier this season Bay was named the Canadian Player of the Week following a week in which he hit .556 to raise his batting average to a season high .430. He currently ranks second in the WCC with a .380 batting average. During his two year stint at Gonzaga, Bay has moved into a tie for second on the career home run list with 33 and ranks 10th on the career RBI list. Bay was recently named to the mid-season All-America list by Baseball America.
#29 - Steve Bennett (Helena, MT) - A five year member of the Gonzaga baseball team, Bennett has become one of the most dominant pitchers in Gonzaga baseball history. After facing Tommy John surgery as a freshman, Bennett has slowly worked his way up the Gonzaga record books as one of the Zags all-time great strike out artists. Bennett was an honorable mention All-WCC selection as a freshman, while grabbing second team honors as a junior. As a senior, Bennett has come into his own as a candidate for WCC Pitcher of the Year. His 8-4 record moved him into the career top ten at Gonzaga for victories, while he became only the fifth Gonzaga pitcher to record over 100 strike outs moving into fourth place with his 105 strike outs. His 256 career K's rank him third on the GU list while earlier this season he tied a school record with an 18 K' performance against Washington. Bennett has also racked up several honors on the season winning three WCC Pitcher of the Week honors as well as Pitcher of the Month for February. Bennett joined teammate Jason Bay on the mid-season All-America list published by Baseball America.
#32 - Matt Siwek (Port Orchard, WA) - A five year member of the Gonzaga baseball team, Siwek has been a true work horse pitcher during his career for the Bulldogs. Siwek was one of the Zags most dominant pitchers early in his career before being side-lined by injury during his junior season. As a senior, Siwek became the career leader in pitching appearances for Gonzaga making 14 appearances to date. Siwek has also worked himself into the top ten for career innings pitched and ranks as the career leader with 10 saves. Siwek currently ranks 12th on the Gonzaga career strike out list with 163 career K's.
Gonzaga Players in WCC Rankings:
Jason Bay - 2nd Batting Average
Jason Bay - 7th Runs Scored
Jason Bay - 7th Walks
Jason Bay - 4th Home Runs
Jason Bay - 6th Stolen Bases
Barry Matthews - 8th Runs Scored
Barry Matthews - 9th Innings Pitched
Barry Matthews - 2nd Wins
Steve Bennett - 4th Earned Run Average
Steve Bennett - 2nd Wins
Steve Bennett - 2nd Strike Outs
Steve Bennett - 4th Innings Pitched
David Hixson - 2nd Saves
Gonzaga in WCC Team Rankings:
5th Hitting
3rd Pitching
5th Fielding
