April 29, 2010
Games 44-46
Santa Clara (15-23, 1-10 WCC)
vs.
Gonzaga (14-28-1, 2-6-1 WCC)
Patterson Baseball Complex and Washington Trust Field
Friday - 6:35 p.m., Saturday - 1 p.m., Sunday - 1 p.m.
GAMETRACKER AVAILABLE - RADIO: 1510 KGA
Games Notes in PDF Format 
THIS WEEKEND: Gonzaga University welcomes Santa Clara University for a three-game West Coast Conference series at the Patterson Baseball Complex and Washington Trust Field this weekend. The Zags and Broncos open the series 6:35 p.m. Friday with the game being broadcasted on SWX-TV. Game times for Saturday and Sunday are set for 1 p.m.
ON DECK: Following the weekend series with Santa Clara University, Gonzaga University will take 11 days off due to finals and graduation before heading to the bay area May 13 to finish out its suspended game at the University of San Francisco. The game was suspended due to darkness and rain with the score tied at 2-2 prior to the start of the 13th inning. The Bulldogs will then head to Moraga, Calif. for a West Coast Conference series with Saint Mary's College May 13-15.
EARLIER THIS WEEK AGAINST WASHINGTON: Gonzaga University split its two game series at the University of Washington this past Tuesday and Wednesday. The Zags used homers from Mark Castellitto, Sean Wilson and a pinch-hit grand slam from Clayton Eslick to post an 11-1 win in game one. The Huskies came back in Wednesday's game two, hitting five home runs to hand the Bulldogs a 12-4 defeat. UW took four of the five meetings with the Zags this season.
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS LIVE: All Gonzaga University home games and selected away games will be available via Gametracker on the internet at http://www.gozags.com. All Gonzaga home games will be video streamed and also available on the radio at 1510 AM with Tom Hudson and former Gonzaga head coach Steve Hertz calling the action.
FIVE GONZAGA HOME GAMES TO BE TELEVISED ON SWX: Five Gonzaga University home games will be televised on SWX-TV this season. The five home games to be shown live on SWX will be: Tuesday, Apr. 6 vs. the University of Washington at 6:30 p.m.; Friday, Apr. 16 vs. Pepperdine University at 6:30 p.m.; Friday, Apr. 30 vs. Santa Clara University at 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday, May 25 vs. Washington State University at 6:30 p.m. (Tentative); Friday, May 28 vs. University of Portland at 6:30 p.m. SWX, Sports and Weather Right Now, airing local and regional sports and weather can be seen free over-the-air in the Spokane viewing area on digital channel 6.2 or on Comcast Cable 115. Time Warner customers in North Idaho can get SWX on Time Warner channel 306 and Cable One customers in Lewiston can find SWX on Cable One channel 466. SWX is also available free over-the-air in the Tri-Cities on digital channel 25.3 or in Yakima on digital channel 23.3 and SWX is offered on Charter Cable on channel 287 in both Tri-Cities and Yakima.
LAST WEEKEND: Gonzaga University lost all three games in its West Coast Conference series at the University of San Diego this past weekend. The Toreros posted victories of 9-4, 18-5 and 17-7 to keep a perfect 9-0 record in conference play. In the series, Drew Heid picked up his fourth triple of the season and 13th of his career to move into a tie for third on Gonzaga all-time career triples top-10 list.
HOME ATTENDANCE MARK FALLS: A Patterson Baseball Complex and Washington Trust Field record crowd of 1,917 fans were on hand to see Gonzaga University receive their 2009 West Coast Conference championship rings prior and post a 16-3 win over Pepperdine University Apr. 16. The previous top mark was 1,514, set back on the official dedication of Patterson Baseball Complex and Washington Trust Field Apr. 20, 2007.
ABOUT THE SANTA CLARA BRONCOS: Santa Clara University comes into the weekend with 15-23 overall record and a 1-10 mark in West Coast Conference play. The Broncos posted a 9-3 win over No. 18 ranked Stanford University on Monday and dropped a 12-7 decision to the University of The Pacific on Wednesday. SCU leads the all-time series with Gonzaga University 34-32 despite the Zags sweeping the three-game series in Santa Clara last season. Curtis Wagner paces the club with a .404 batting average while Tommy Medica leads the team with eight homers and 42 RBI. Head coach Mark O'Brien is in his ninth season at SCU and owns a 233-247 overall record at the school.
QUICK HITS
- Drew Heid had a 11-game hitting streak snapped on Wednesday but has hit safely in 18 of the last 20
- Mark Castellitto is riding a 10-game hitting streak and has 11 RBI during that span
- Six Zags have recorded double-digits in doubles this season, only three players reached that mark in 2009
- Lefthanded pitcher Liam Baron has appeared in 22 of the 43 games this season
- Clayton Eslick's first career home run came this past Tuesday on a pinch-hit grand slam
- Mark Castellitto leads the team with a .415 (22-for-53) batting average with runners in scoring position
- Head coach Mark Machtolf is six wins away from reaching the 200-win milestone
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: A couple members of the 2010 Gonzaga University Bulldogs are nearing milestones, led by seventh year head coach Mark Machtolf. The reigning West Coast Conference Coach of the Year is closing in on the 200 career wins milestone, needing just six more to reach the mark. Machtolf has recorded all 194 career victories with Gonzaga. Mark Castellitto moved into sole possession of eighth place on Gonzaga's top-10 career home run list with his 28th career homer and 10th of the season at the University of Washington Apr. 28. Fellow senior Drew Heid has posted four triples this season to currently sit tied for third in the GU top-10 list for career triples with 13.
SENIORS LEADING THE WAY: Gonzaga University seniors Mark Castellitto and Drew Heid have put together two very impressive senior seasons. Castellitto posted a career month in March earning West Coast Conference Player of the Month honors and picked up a National Player of the Week honor along the way. He enters the weekend riding a 10-game hitting streak and owning team-highs of 10 homers and 41 RBI. The preseason All-WCC selection Heid comes into the weekend leading the WCC with 72 hits and 43 runs scored while leading the team in batting average (.379). He has recorded a team-best 25 multi-hit games and has stolen a team-high eight bases.
RACKING THEM UP: Although Gonzaga University ace Cody Martin doesn't own the record that he and the team would like but the junior right-hander has been everything you could as for out of an ace of the pitching staff, eating up a lot of innings and racking up the strikeouts. Martin comes into the weekend among the leaders in the West Coast Conference with 71 strikeouts and tenth in innings pitched (62.1). The Dos Palos, Calif. native and Gonzaga's all-time leader in saves (15) has posted four games with at least nine strikeouts, striking out nine in a season-opening win over University of Missouri Feb. 19, posting a career-high 13 strikeouts against Sacramento State University Feb. 26, again recording nine at Centenary College Mar. 5 and posting 10 strikeouts against the University of Hawai'i Apr. 2.
THEIR TIME TO SHINE: Two players for Gonzaga University who have emerged as a couple of offensive threats are sophomores Royce Bolinger and Andy Hunter. Both played sparingly on last season's veteran team but each have taken advantage of playing everyday this season. Bolinger made just 16 starts last season but has made 36 starts this season, posting a .277 average with 10 doubles, six home runs and 23 RBI. Hunter meanwhile has shown adjusted well on the fly to putting down the glove and sticking with the bat. The 6'6" designated hitter had Tommy John surgery this past summer and made the decision to step off the mound and into the batter's box this season. The results have been impressive, as the Tucson, Ariz. native comes into the week with a .307 batting average, six homers, a team-best 14 doubles and among the leaders in the West Coast Conference with 38 RBI. He posted a team-best 10-game hitting streak earlier this season and leads the team with 11 multi-RBI games.
EVERYDAY AUSTRALIAN LEFTY MAKING HIS MARK: Gonzaga University left-hander Liam Baron not only stands out on the Gonzaga roster because of his Perth, Western Australia hometown listing but also has been getting noticed because of the numbers he is putting up. Baron currently leads the West Coast Conference in appearances with 22 and although the conference record of 40 appearances in a season seems out of reach, the school record of 27 appearances might be in jeopardy. Baron has given the bullpen big time relief in his eight starts this season, going 7.2 innings in three of his seven starts including taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning in the Mar. 10 halted game at the University of San Francisco.
NEWCOMERS MAKING IMPACTS: Gonzaga University's 2010 roster owns 14 newcomers as the eight freshmen and six transfers will look to play huge roles in the Zags defense of their West Coast Conference crown. A couple freshmen who have made impacts with solid first seasons are starting second baseman Clayton Eslick and left-handed pitcher Billy Moon. Eslick has started 40 games, produced a .272 batting average, recorded 10 doubles, one triple one home run and driven in 29 runs. His pinch-hit grand slam in the 11-1 win at the University of Washington this past Tuesday was his first career homer. Moon earned his first career win with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief in the win over New Mexico State University Feb. 20. and has since moved into the closer role, posting four saves this season. Cameron Edman has also emerged as a nice offensive weapon after transferring to GU and redshirting last season for the Zags. The junior utility man was the team's opening day catcher and has also played first and third base all while registering 13 doubles, two triples, three homers and 18 RBI.
CASTELLITTO NAMED NCBWA NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Gonzaga University's Mark Castellitto was named the Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Mar. 30. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season. Castellitto was also named the West Coast Conference Rawlings Player of the Week. The Poway, Calif. native posted a .588 batting average (10-for-17) with four home runs, two doubles, 11 runs scored and 13 RBI while slugging 1.412 and recording a .667 on-base percentage in the Zags four games. In the series-opening 23-12 win at Utah Valley University on Mar. 25, Castellitto had a career night going 5-for-7 with three home runs, seven RBI and five runs scored, all career-highs. He followed that with a four-hit game on Mar. 25, scoring four runs and driving in two before he closed out the weekend with a four-RBI game highlighted by three-run long ball to put the game out of reach in the eighth inning of the Mar. 26 8-3 win. The Zags leftfielder upped his average 54 points with the hot week.
CASTELLITTO AND MARTIN GARNER WCC ACCOLADES: Gonzaga University's Mark Castellitto and Cody Martin each picked up a West Coast Conference Apr. 5. Castellitto was named the WCC's Co-Player of the Month while Martin earned Rawlings WCC Pitcher of the Week honors. Castellitto picks up his third award in the past two weeks after he put together one of the best performances at the plate in the country over the past month. In Gonzaga's 18 games during March, the senior leftfielder posted a .406 batting average (28-for-69) with seven doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 24 RBI. He also scored 21 runs, slugged .884, finished with a .506 on-base percentage and boosted his batting average 150 points during that span. Castellitto led the team with six multi-RBI games and finished with seven multi-hit games including two four-hit performances and one five-hit game. His best game came in the 23-12 win over Utah Valley University Mar. 25, going 5-for-7 with three homers, five runs scored and seven RBI, all career highs. He closed out the month earning NCBWA National Player of the Week and Rawlings WCC Player of the Month honors by recording a .588 batting average with four homers and 13 RBI in the Zags final four games of March. Castellitto shares the monthly honor with Tommy Medica of Santa Clara University. Martin picks up his first WCC Pitcher of the Week accolade of the 2010 season and fourth of his career. The junior right hander struck out 10, allowed three hits and surrendered just two unearned runs in his six-inning start at the University of Hawai'i this past Friday. Martin has recorded at-least nine strikeouts in four of his starts this season, highlighted by a 13-strikeout performance against Sacramento State Feb. 26.
MARTIN NAMED TO NCBWA PRESEASON STOPPER WATCH LIST: For the second consecutive season Gonzaga University pitcher Cody Martin has been named to the Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Forty players were named to the initial watch list for the sixth annual NCBWA award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball. Martin received the same recognition prior to last season and later appeared on the mid-season list before earning an invite to the Team USA National team trials this past June. In 23 appearances for the Zags last year the Dos Palos, Calif. native posted a team-best 3.07 ERA while going 5-4 with six saves and recording 68 strikeouts in 58.2 innings. In 2008, Martin set the school record for saves in a season with nine and later garnered Freshman All-America third team honors, All-West Coast Conference honorable mention and a spot on the All-WCC Freshmen team. The initial list will be updated with a mid-season release the week of April 19, 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, June 2, prior to start of NCAA regional tournament competition.
ZAGS PICKED TO FINISH FOURTH BY WCC COACHES: The West Coast Conference announced its 2010 preseason baseball poll Jan. 25 as defending WCC regular season and WCC Championship Series champion Gonzaga University received one first place vote and was picked to finish fourth by the conference's coaches. San Diego was picked as the favorite to win this year's WCC regular season title as the Toreros received six first place votes for a total of 48 points. Pepperdine was picked second with 38 points. San Francisco totaled 33 points for third, followed by Gonzaga who just edged out 2009 runner-up Loyola Marymount, which received 28 points for fifth. Rounding out this year's preseason poll are Santa Clara, which received the last first place vote with 20 points, Saint Mary's with 17 points, and Portland with 11 points.
CARPENTER AND HEID PRODUCE BIG SUMMERS: Gonzaga University's Ryan Carpenter and Drew Heid have been named by Baseball America as two of the top prospects out of the Alaskan Summer League.Carpenter, a sophomore left-handed pitcher, was ranked the second best prospect in the league while Heid, the Zags senior centerfielder was ranked as the 10th best prospect. Each player produced very impressive seasons for the Anchorage Glacier Pilots who earned a second place finish at the NBC World Series. Carpenter was named to the Alaskan All-League team after leading the league in strikeouts (54) and posting the league's second lowest earned run average (0.67). The Peoria, Ariz. native went 2-2 in his 10 appearances including nine starts and allowed just three earned runs in 40.1 innings pitched. Heid earned a number of honors this summer, taking home the Alaskan League's Most Valuable Player award, earning the league's Silver Slugger Award and was also named to the All-League team after posting league-highs in batting average (.427), hits (73) and doubles (18). In 44 games, the Touchet, Wash. native also scored 41 runs, hit four home runs, stole 11 bases and finished with 31 RBI. It is the second consecutive summer that Heid has earned MVP honors of a summer league after he took home the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League's MVP award last summer.
MARTIN INVITED TO USA BASEBALL NATIONAL TEAM TRIALS: Gonzaga University sophomore pitcher Cody Martin was invited to the Team USA National Team trials held at the National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. this past June. Players participated in daily practices and drills at the trials, as well as in modified intrasquad Blue vs. Red games. Martin was not included in the final Team USA National Team roster.
