Zags Embark For Pivotal WCC Series
5/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 17, 2005
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West Coast Conference Weekly Release
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WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE: The Gonzaga University baseball team will embark to Los Angeles, Calif. for the deciding West Coast Conference Coast Division series with Loyola Marymount University. GU is one game ahead of the Lions in the standings and needs to win two of the four games to claim the divisional crown. Before the Bulldogs head to Southern California they must first stop in Lewiston, Idaho on Wednesday for a non-conference game against Lewis-Clark State College. This game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start. Friday the Bulldogs will open the pivotal four-game set with LMU at 3 p.m. On Saturday the Zags will battle in a double-header with the first game starting at noon and the second game starting at 3 p.m. Sunday's game will remain at the scheduled time of 1 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: Gonzaga University returned to their winning ways as the Bulldogs won two-of-three from the Gaels of Saint Mary's College over the weekend in a pivotal West Coast Conference series. On Friday, the Bulldogs recorded a 10-9 win as GU was able to withstand a late SMC rally for the win. Jackson Brennan's two-run homer in the eighth inning proved to be the difference in the game. On Saturday, GU captured the series with a 5-1 win behind a strong pitching performance from junior left-hander Patrick Donovan. After a shaky first inning, Donovan settled down and only allowed two runners to move past second base for the remainder of his outing. He held the Gaels to one earned run on seven hits while striking out three in six innings of work. The Gaels were able to avoid the three-game sweep on Sunday as they rallied to score three runs in the eighth inning to capture the 9-8 win. Kiel Thibault led the Bulldogs offense going 3-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored.
GAMETRACKER AVAILABLE: Gonzaga will once again have GameTracker statistics available for the weekend series with the Lions of Loyola Marymount University. Fans can go to www.GoZags.com and click on the baseball schedule to view which other games are available throughout the season.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS: Lewis-Clark State College enters the week with a 43-6 record are are ranked No. 1 in the latest NAIA polls. LC State defeated the Bulldogs in March, 7-1, and are 54-49-1 all-time against the Zags. LCSC is led offensively by Joey Dyche who is hitting .488 with 84 hits and 47 RBI. On the mound, the Warriors are led by Derrick Landavano who is 6-1 with an ERA of 0.98.
SCOUTING THE LIONS: Loyola Marymount University enters the week as on of the hottest teams in the West Coast Conference. The Lions have won nine of their last 11 games and are 25-25 overall and 14-12 in the WCC, one game behind Gonzaga University in the standings. LMU dropped their only two games against the Zags this season in March, and are 22-17 all-time against the Bulldogs. LMU is led offensively by Joe Frazee who is hitting .370 with a team-leading 70 hits and 18 doubles. In conference play LMU is led by Chris Pettit who is hitting .385 with 37 hits, 11 doubles and 24 RBI. On the mound the Lions are led by Jeff Stevens who is 5-7 with an ERA of 4.29.
ZAGS MAGIC NUMBER IS TWO: The Gonzaga University baseball team's magic number is now two. GU must win two of their remaining four West Coast Conference games against Loyola Marymount University for the Zags to claim their second Coast Division Crown. GU last won the divisional crown in the 2001 season. Gonzaga is also just two wins shy from their first 30-win season in 14 years.
CARLSON CHASING RBI LIST: Gonzaga University junior first baseman Bobby Carlson continues the chase to place his name on the Gonzaga single-season RBI list as he leads the Bulldogs with 52 RBI this season. That total also puts Carlson in the West Coast Conference lead as the Bulldogs play their final five games of the season. Carlson needs two more RBI to tie three players in 10th place on the list with 54 RBI.
NOTES ON GONZAGA POSITION STARTERS
Bobby Carlson, Junior, 1B: Gonzaga University first baseman Bobby Carlson continues to lead the team in doubles with 14, RBI with 52 and is tied for the lead in home runs with six. Carlson is hitting .243 on the season with 46 hits.
Scott Campbell, Sophomore, 2B: Gonzaga University sophomore second baseman Scott Campbell went 4-for-12 with one RBI and one run scored over the weekend to move his batting average to .333 which places him in a tie for the team lead. He also leads the Zags in hits with 64. In West Coast Conference play Campbell is hitting a team-best .354.
Aaron McGuinness, Sophomore, SS: Gonzaga University sophomore shortstop Aaron McGuinness is hitting .287 with 52 hits and 22 RBI.
Darin Holcomb, Freshman, 3B: Gonzaga University freshman third baseman Darin Holcomb is tied for second on the team in hits with 63, doubles with 14 and is hitting .312 on the season.
Kiel Thibault, Junior, C: Gonzaga University junior catcher Kiel Thibault had a solid weekend going 5-for-11 (.455) with three RBI, one double and three runs scored. The preseason All-American is now hitting .315 with 62 hits, 10 doubles and 31 RBI.
Shawn Wayt, Freshman, LF: Gonzaga University left fielder Shawn Wayt had a good performance in Saturday's win as he went 2-for-3 with three RBI and one home run. Wayt is hitting .275 with 33 hits, four doubles and 14 RBI.
Jeff Culpepper, Senior, CF: Gonzaga University's lone senior, Jeff Culpepper, led GU's offense for the weekend going 5-for-12 with two RBI, two home runs, two doubles and five runs scored. Culpepper is tied for the lead on the team in hitting with a .333 batting average and has 63 hits with 14 doubles and 37 RBI.
Jackson Brennan, Junior, RF: Jackson Brennan's two-run homer in the eighth inning on Friday proved to be the difference in the 10-9 win over Saint Mary's College. Brennan is hitting .319 with 29 hits, seven doubles and 11 RBI.
Will Ayala, Junior, DH: Junior transfer Will Ayala is hitting .278 with 44 hits, five doubles, one home run and 19 RBI while hitting in the seventh spot for the Bulldogs.
CULPEPPER CLOSES IN ON HITS RECORD: Gonzaga University senior outfielder Jeff Culpepper has continued his pursuit of the all-time hits record at Gonzaga and now is only eight hits away from tying the record, 269, set by Eric Rodland (2000-03). Culpepper needs to average 1.6 hits over the remaining five games of the season to catch Rodland. Culpepper is also second all-time in career doubles with 54 placing him five doubles away from Jerrod Wong (1993-96) for first place with 59.
DONOVAN'S SOLID PERFORMANCE: Gonzaga University junior left-hander Patrick Donovan threw a gem on Saturday. After a shaky first inning, Donovan settled down and only allowed two runners to move past second base for the remainder of his outing. He held the Gaels to one earned run on seven hits while striking out three in six innings of work. Donovan's effort earned him a West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week Nomination. Donovan is 6-6 with a team-leading 2.83 ERA.
THIBAULT HAS A GOOD WEEKEND: Gonzaga University junior catcher Kiel Thibault had a productive weekend for the Bulldogs. Thibault went 5-for-11 with three RBI, one double and three runs scored, which included a 3-for-3 one RBI perfromance in the 9-8 loss to Saint Mary's College on Sunday.
MONROE WINS NO. 9: Gonzaga University junior right-hander Josh Monroe picked up his ninth win of the season on Friday. Monroe allowed five runs on six hits, while striking out six in 6.1 inning of work in the 10-9 win over Saint Mary's College. Monroe is 9-3 with an ERA of 2.97 and has a team-leading 65 strikeouts.
BULLDOGS CONVERTING LEADS: One of the many trends that describes Gonzaga University baseball this season is that they can maintain a lead. GU is 21-2 when leading after seven innings, 10-2 when ahead after five innings and 15-4 when scoring first. On the flip side GU is has struggled a little when trying to overcome a deficit. The Bulldogs are 4-17 when trailing after five innings and 13-16 when opponents score first.
WHY PLAY FOUR?: One might wonder why Gonzaga University is playing a four-game series at Loyola Marymount University instead of the traditional three-game set. The fourth game is a make-up game of the March 26 rainout in Spokane, Wash. Per West Coast Conference rules if one game is postponed during the first of two series played between two teams, the game shall be made up at the end of the next series between the two teams. Therefore, GU will serve as the home team on Sunday for the make-up game.
ZAGS TABBED FIFTH IN WCC POLL: Gonzaga University was picked to finish fifth overall in the West Coast Conference in the preseason poll of WCC coaches. Gonzaga received 22 total points to finish one point ahead of the University of San Francisco in the overall poll. In divisional play Gonzaga was tabbed to finish third in the WCC Coast Division behind the University of San Diego and Loyola Marymount University. Gonzaga will be playing against San Diego, Loyola Marymount and Saint Mary's College in the Coast Division. Pepperdine University, University of Portland ,San Francisco and Santa Clara University comprise the WCC West Division. The WCC Champion will be determined in a WCC Playoff between the two divisional champions at the site of the team which wins the regular-season series between the two schools.
SKIPPER Mark Machtolf: Considered one of the Top 10 rising stars in the Division I coaching ranks by Baseball America in its 2000 publication, Mark Machtolf now enters his second season at the helm of the Gonzaga baseball program. 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 as an assistant, Machtolf coached the Bulldogs hitters and outfielders as well as serving as the Bulldogs recruiting coordinator. Under his guidance Gonzaga became 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 was an All-CWS selection. A 4-year baseball letterman and 2-year football letterman he graduated from Stanford in 1987.
WCC FORMAT TO CHANGE IN 2006: Starting in 2006 the West Coast Conference will change it's conference format and schedule for the baseball conference season. A one-division format will once again be implemented, and the eight institutions will compete in a 21-game conference season. Currently teams compete in a two-division format, West and Coast, with a 30-game conference schedule. The two-division format was origionally implimented in 1999, but underwent realignment, swapping a pair of teams from division to division, in 2000, 2002 and 2004. The 2005 season will be the last season to feature the two-division, 30-game format for conference games. Under the one division, 21-game format, each school will play the other seven opponents one time over the course of an eight-week season. Each school will play seven three-game series, with one week serving as a bye week. The WCC championship series will continue, despite the change in the format. Under the current format, the two division winners compete in the WCC Championship Series with the winner of the non-division series holding home field advantage. Under the new format in 2006, the top two teams with the best conference record will compete in the WCC Championship Series, with the regular season series winner holding the home field advantage.
