Feb. 26, 2009
Weekly Release in PDF Format 
Game 5
Gonzaga (3-1)
vs.
Notre Dame (2-1)
Tempe, Ariz.
Friday, Feb. 27, 5 p.m.
Gametracker Available
Game 6
Gonzaga
vs.
Creighton (0-4)
Phoenix, Ariz.
Saturday, Feb. 28, 2 p.m.
Live Stats Available
Game 7
Gonzaga
vs.
Dayton (1-2)
Phoenix, Ariz.
Sunday, March 1, 1 p.m.
Gametracker Available
Probable Bulldog Lineup
Position Player (Yr., B/T) 2009 Stats
Catcher Tyson Van Winkle (Jr., R/R) .500, 9 H, 5 R, 4 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBI
First Base Ryan Wiegand (Sr., L/R) .444, 8 H, 6 R, 3 2B, 4 RBI
Second Base Evan Wells (Sr., L/R) .375, 6 H, 4 R, 1 3B, 4 RBI
Shortstop Ernesto Ortiz (Fr., L/R) .375, 6 H, 6 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 5 RBI
Third Base Jason Chatwood (Sr., R/R) .200, 4 H, 5 R, 3 RBI
Left Field Mark Castellitto (Jr., R/R) .313, 5 H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI
Centerfield Drew Heid (Jr., L/R) .278, 5 H, 4 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB
Right Field Royce Bolinger (Fr., R/R) .105, 2 H, 2 R, 1 2B, 4 RBI
Designated Hitter Anthony Synegal (Sr., R/R) .429, 6 H, 4 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI
THIS WEEK: This weekend Gonzaga University will return to the state of Arizona for the Phoenix Classic and matchup with the University of Notre Dame Friday, Creighton University Saturday and the University of Dayton Sunday. The game against Notre Dame will be played at Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Ariz., the spring training home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim while the games against Creighton and Dayton will be played at Marich Field on the campus of Phoenix College.
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS LIVE: All Gonzaga University home games and selected away games will be video streamed and available via Gametracker on the internet at http://www.gozags.com. Check the Gonzaga web site to sign up for live video streaming and view other Gametracker links.
LAST WEEK: Gonzaga University went 3-1 at the Grand Canyon Classic in Phoenix, Ariz. last weekend. The Bulldogs rebounded from an opening day loss to the University of Nevada Friday by winning their final three games of the weekend, beating #10 University of Missouri twice and Nevada once. Tuesday's game at Washington State University was rained out.
ON DECK: Gonzaga University will head south for a mid-week matchup against in-state rival Washington State University Tuesday in Pullman, Wash. Next weekend, the Bulldogs will face Oklahoma State University, the University of California Riverside, Texas Tech University and the University of San Francisco in the Palm Springs Classic held in Palm Springs, Calif.
ABOUT NOTRE DAME: The University of Notre Dame enters the weekend with a 2-1 record after posting two wins over the University of Illinois and Purdue University at the Big East/Big Ten Challenge last weekend. Infielder Jeremy Barnes comes into the game against Gonzaga University hitting .333 with one home run and a team-best five RBI. Head coach Dave Schrage is in his third season for the Fighting Irish and owns a 63-50-1 career record at Notre Dame. This will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.
ABOUT CREIGHTON: Creighton University enters the weekend with an 0-4 record but has won the only meeting with Gonzaga University, 11-2 back in the 2000 season. Infielder Darin Ruf leads the team with a .538 batting average and seven RBI. Ed Servais is in his sixth season as head coach for the Blue Jays and owns a 196-103 career record at the school.
ABOUT DAYTON: The University of Dayton comes into the weekend with a 1-2 overall record on the season. Outfielder Max Navalinski leads the Flyers with four RBI after recording four hits and one home run in the opening weekend. Tony Vittorio is in his 10th year at the school and owns a 250-250 overall record. This will be the first ever meeting between the Flyers and Bulldogs.
PAIR OF ZAGS EARN WCC WEEKLY ACCOLADES: Gonzaga University junior catcher Tyson Van Winkle and sophomore pitcher Cody Martin have been named West Coast Conference Player and Co-Pitcher of the Week, respectively, announced by the Conference Monday. Van Winkle earned his first career WCC weekly accolade after going 9-for-18 (.500) with four doubles, one home run, nine RBI, five runs scored and a .889 slugging percentage in the Zags' four games over the weekend. Martin limited #10 Missouri to one earned run on three hits and struck out six over seven innings to earn the win. The Dos Palos, Calif. native held the Tiger offense in check throughout the day, retiring five of the seven lead-off batters of an inning he faced and not allowing a hit until the fourth inning. It is the second career WCC Player of the Week award for Martin.
ZAGS' SCHEDULE RANKED AMONG NATIONS TOUGHEST: According to the College Baseball Strength of Schedule Rankings by BoydsWorld.com, Gonzaga University owns the 23rd toughest schedule in the country. Entering the first week of the season, seven Bulldog opponents appeared in at least one of the four major college baseball national polls led by the University of San Diego and Oklahoma State University who both appear at #10 in at least one national poll. In addition to USD, West Coast Conference foe Pepperdine University also appears in at least one national preseason poll.
WIEGAND MAKING HIS MARK: In his final season for Gonzaga University, senior first baseman Ryan Wiegand finds himself within reach of a couple of school offensive records. The San Diego native continued his climb up the all-time doubles chart after hitting three doubles this past weekend to move into a tie with Jeff Hainline for sixth and needs just 11 more to pass Jerrod Wong's top mark of 59. Wiegand's four RBI over the weekend moved him into fifth on the Gonzaga all-time list, 30 away from Jeff Hainline's record of 186. Wiegand also moved into the school's top-10 career hit list after recording eight hits at the Grand Canyon Classic, putting himself into a tie for eighth place with 222 hits, 47 away from Eric Rodland's all-time mark of 269.
FRIDAY NIGHT FIELDS: Senior right-handed starting pitcher Matt Fields fired seven scoreless innings, allowed three hits and struck out eight in Gonzaga University's season-opener last Friday against the University of Nevada. He allowed just two Wolfpack baserunners over his final five innings of work and his eight strikeouts were two away from his career-high. The 2008 All-West Coast Conference honorable mention selection didn't get the win after a UNR rally against the Bulldog bullpen gave him the no-decision but after posting a team-best eight wins and a 3-1 record as the Friday starter last season, Fields has shown he can be the leader of the pitching staff.
QUITE A WEEKEND FOR VAN WINKLE: Gonzaga University junior catcher Tyson Van Winkle had a pretty impressive opening weekend going 9-for-18 (.500) with four doubles, one home run, nine RBI, five runs scored and a .889 slugging percentage in the Zags' four games over the weekend. The Vancouver, Wash. native recorded two three-hit games over the weekend, the first came in the 9-3 win over #10 University of Missouri and the second in the 14-2 win over the University of Nevada both on Saturday. Van Winkle also scored two runs, had a double and home run and also drove in a career-high five runs in the rout over Nevada. He closed out the weekend with two doubles and two RBI in the 13-9 win over #10 Missouri Sunday.
ANOTHER HOMECOMING FOR YOUNG BULLDOGS: The 2009 Gonzaga University baseball roster has six players that hail from the state of Arizona, five of which are freshmen. Starting shortstop Ernesto Ortiz and starting right fielder Royce Bolinger hail from Phoenix and Scottsdale, respectively while Sunday's starting pitcher, Ryan Carpenter is from Peoria, Ariz. All three players had solid opening-weekends in last week's Grand Canyon Classic played held at Grand Canyon University. Ortiz scored six runs, had three doubles, one triple and drove in five while Bolinger scored twice and finished the weekend with four RBI for the Zags. Maybe the most impressive collegiate debut came from Carpenter who struck out eight and allowed just two earned runs over 6.2 innings in Gonzaga's 14-2 win over the University of Nevada last Saturday.
MARTIN NAMED TO NCBWA PRESEASON STOPPER WATCH LIST: Gonzaga University sophomore pitcher Cody Martin has been named to the 2009 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List. Forty players have been named to the initial watch list for the fifth annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball. The initial list will be updated with a mid-season release the week of April 16, including the national saves leaders. At the conclusion of the regular season, the Division I national saves leader and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as finalists and released Wednesday, May 27, prior to start of NCAA regional tournament competition. The NCBWA's All-America Committee will then select the winner, with this year's recipient to be announced in early June.
ZAGS PLACED FOURTH IN WCC POLL; RECIEVE FIRST PLACE VOTE: Gonzaga University was picked to finish fourth in the West Coast Conference for the 2009 season according to a preseason vote of the league's head coaches. San Diego and Pepperdine were picked as favorites to win this year's WCC regular season title in the 2009 preseason baseball poll. San Diego and Pepperdine both received 45 points, with the Toreros receiving four first place votes to three for the Waves. Santa Clara, which has received votes in several preseason publications, was picked to finish third with 35 points. Gonzaga received the last remaining first place vote, and received 30 points, to come in at fourth place, edging out San Francisco, which received 26 points, for fifth place. Rounding out this year's poll is Loyola Marymount, with 20 points, Saint Mary's, with 14 points, and Portland, with nine points.
