Baseball Ends 2004 Season This Week
5/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 17, 2004
Gonzaga Baseball Notes - May 17, 2004
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MONDAY - May 17, 6:30 p.m. at Harris Field
Gonzaga (24-26, 16-11 WCC) vs. Lewis-Clark State (49-7)
FRIDAY- May 21, 3 p.m. at Avista Stadium
Gonzaga vs. Loyola Marymount (31-20-1, 20-7 WCC)
SATURDAY - May 22, 1 p.m. at Avista Stadium
Gonzaga vs. Loyola Marymount
SUNDAY - May 23, Noon at Avista Stadium
Gonzaga vs. Loyola Marymount
BULLDOGS END 2004 SEASON THIS WEEK: The Gonzaga Bulldogs will look to end the 2004 season on a high note as they conclude the regular-season with four games this week. GU will travel to Lewiston, Ida., for a single game at Lewis-Clark State prior to hosting Loyola Marymount on the weekend. Gonzaga will be looking to set a school record for WCC wins against the Lions as LMU ends the regular-season as the WCC Coast Division champs. Sunday will be senior day for the Bulldogs as they say farewell to nine seniors from this year's squad.
WCC WIN RECORD IN SIGHT: The Gonzaga Bulldogs are one WCC win away from matching their school record of 17 conference wins as Gonzaga has three WCC games remaining against Coast Division champion Loyola Marymount. Gonzaga has hit the 17 win mark twice since joining the WCC with back-to-back 17-13 records in 2000 and 2001. The 17 wins in 2001 were enough to send Gonzaga to its lone WCC Championship appearances, a series loss to Pepperdine. The Bulldogs are also in search of their sixth straight season with 25 wins or more. Gonzaga currently sits at 24 wins for the season.
THIBAULT CHASES GU HIT MARK: Sophomore catcher Kiel Thibault's chase of the Gonzaga and WCC single-season batting records took a hit over the weekend as Thibault's average dipped to .433 on the season. Whiel Thibault would have to get hot over the Bulldogs last for games to catch Larry Patterson's school record of a .448 average, Thibault does have a shot at the single-season hits record of 91 set by Patterson in 1977. Thibault currently has 87 hits, needing just four hits in his final four games to tie the record. He is currently tied for third place on the single-season list with Tim Mierz (1981) and Don Lyons (1976). With one more hit Thibault with tie Jerry Bendorf (1981) for second place on the list. A hot week could give Thibault an outside chance at the WCC single-season record of .442 set by Santa Clara's Troy Buckley in 1988.
BASEBALL ALUMNI GATHERING: The Gonzaga baseball alumni group will hold its final gathering of the 2004 season on Saturday, May 22, when the Bulldogs host Loyola Marymount at Avista Stadium. Alumni and friends of the program are invited to join the team as they wrap up their 2004 season under first year head coach Mark Machtolf.
HEAD COACH Mark Machtolf: Considered one of the Top 10 rising starts in the Division I coaching ranks by Baseball America in its 2000 publication, Mark Machtolf gets his first head coaching opportunity this season. Machtolf, an 11-year assistant at Gonzaga, was officially handed the coaching reigns on August 7, 2003, from 24-year head coach Steve Hertz who moved into an administrative position at the school. During his 11 years at Gonzaga, Machtolf has coached the Bulldogs hitters and outfielders as well as serving as the Bulldogs recruiting coordinator. Under his guidance Gonzaga has become one of the top power hitting teams in the nation setting a West Coast Conference and school record with 92 home runs in 2002, the seventh best home run per game average in the nation. Machtolf also coached Bulldogs slugger Nate Gold who led the NCAA with 33 home runs in 2002 en route to All-American honors. A 1987 graduate of Stanford University, Machtolf was a member of the Cardinal's 1987 College World Series championship team and an All-CWS selection. A 4-year baseball letterman and 2-year football letterman he graduated from Stanford in 1987.
LEWIS-CLARK STATE WARRIORS: Gonzaga travels to L-C State for the Bulldogs final road game of the 2004 season. Gonzaga and L-C State have split their previous two games this season with each school winning on the road. The Warriors have not played since last Tuesday when they knocked off Gonzaga 6-2 in Spokane. L-C State is currently on a 21-game win streak with their last loss coming in early April against Azusa Pacific. Warriors second baseman Justin Fuller is one of the team's hottest hitters with a 28-game hitting streak in hand.
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT LIONS: Gonzaga will finish off the 2004 season against the WCC Coast Division champions as Loyola Marymount visits Spokane to end the regular-season. The Lions will host next week's WCC Championship series against either Pepperdine or Santa Clara. LMU currently holds a four-game advantage over both Gonzaga and San Diego as both teams eliminated each other for the WCC race two weeks ago. The Lions are led starting pitchers Stephen Kahn, Jeff Stevens and Will Quaglieri as all three starters have an ERA of 4.09 or less. Jonathan Higashi is the Lions top hitting with a .352 average.
GONZO TAKES SAVE RECORD: John Gonzalez had a pretty good week as he appeared in four games with three saves and no runs allowed. The three saves moved his season total to six, matching his save total from last season and moving into second on the single-season list. Sunday's save was all memorable as Gonzalez became the Bulldogs career saves leader passing fellow senior Eric Everson on the all-time list.
BULLDOGS SIGN SIX PLAYERS IN FALL: Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf signed six players in the fall early signing period to open his first recruiting class after being named GU's head coach in August. Signing with the Bulldogs are left-handed pitcher Jay Bryner from Bellevue (WA) Community College, third baseman Darin Holcomb from Spokane's Shadle Park High, right-handed pitcher Brian Ouelette from Kamiak (WA) High, utility player Dan Ramsay from Spokane's Mead High, first baseman/right-handed pitcher Shawn Wayt from Westview (OR) High and left-handed pitcher Matthew Wickswat from Issaquah (WA) High.
SENIOR CLASS NOTES: Gonzaga's senior class will finish out their careers on Sunday afternoon against Loyola Marymount. The class includes fifth-year seniors Darrin Trautmann and Brad Welker, fourth-year seniors Ed Clelland, Eric Everson, John Gonzalez and Matt Reding along with seniors Marshall Bratton, David Johnson and Chris Sinner all three junior college transfers. Members of this class played on Gonzaga's 2001 WCC Coast Division team and have helped the Bulldogs post 105 wins going into this weeks action including 61 WCC wins.
#2 Chris Sinner - Sinner has appeared in 91 games during his two-year career, collecting 14 doubles and 14 stolen bases as the Bulldogs centerfielder. This season Sinner is hitting .270 with 32 runs scored as team's lead-off hitter.
#4 Brad Welker - Welker is one of two fifth-year seniors on this seasons team as he has battled injuries throughout his career. This season Welker has played in 36 games and is hitting .292 with 9 doubles and 17 RBI.
#14 Ed Clelland - Clelland has been one of the Bulldogs most durable pitchers during his four-year career as he has collected 15 wins and three saves in 58 career appearances. Clelland currently ranks 8th on the Bulldogs career strike out list with 193. This season he is 5-6 with 69 strike outs in 14 starts.
#16 Eric Everson - Everson served as one of the Bulldogs top relief pitchers during his career. He was a freshman All-American in 2001 picking up five saves including one in the WCC Championship series. Everson currently ranks second on the Bulldogs career saves list and 7th in career appearances.
#17 John Gonzalez - Gonzalez has emerged as the Bulldogs closer over the past two seasons and currently ranks first on the GU record list for saves. He was an honorable mention All-WCC selection last year and a two-time Academic All-WCC selection.
#18 Matt Reding - Reding has served as a pivotal two-way player during his four-year career as he has played outfield and appeared as a starting and relief pitcher for the Bulldogs. As a position player he has played in 79 games including 43 starts this year. On the mound Reding has appeared in 30 games picking up six wins during his career.
#21 David Johnson - Johnson has played as the Bulldogs left fielder the last two seasons with 96 starts. Last season he was second on the Bulldogs team with eight home runs. This season Johnson continues to drive in runs as he leads the team with 51 RBI to rank second in the WCC. Last season he was an honorable mention All-WCC selection.
#26 Marshall Bratton - Bratton has emerged into one of the Bulldogs top hitters during his senior season as he ranks fifth on the team with a .305 average. Bratton has appeared in 76 games during his two-year career, driving in 34 runs with 4 home runs over that span.
#42 Darrin Trautmann - Trautmann ends his five-year career with the Bulldogs after battling injuries during a good portion of his time. He appeared in 11 games on the mound during his freshman season but has made just 16 relief appearances over the past four seasons. This year Trautmann has gone to the mound 9 times helping to collect the Bulldogs lone shutout of the season.
