April 8, 2010
Games 29-31
Gonzaga (11-17, 0-0 WCC)
at
San Francisco (15-14, 0-0 WCC)
Friday - 3 p.m., Saturday - 1 p.m., Sunday - 1 p.m.
GAMETRACKER AVAILABLE
FREE ONLINE AUDIO/VIDEO COVERAGE: www.usfdons.com
Game 32
#22 Arizona
vs.
Gonzaga
Patterson Baseball Complex and Washington Trust Field
Monday - Noon
GAMETRACKER AVAILABLE - RADIO: KGA 1510 AM
Game Notes in PDF Format 
THIS WEEKEND: Gonzaga University begins defense of its West Coast Conference title this weekend, heading to the University of San Francisco for a three-game series to open WCC play. Friday's game will start at 3 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday's games scheduled for 1 p.m. starts.
ON DECK: Following its weekend series at the University of San Francisco, Gonzaga University will host No. 22 ranked University of Arizona for a single game Monday at Noon.
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. Selected 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.
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 nine more to reach the mark. Machtolf has recorded all 191 career victories with Gonzaga. Senior Mark Castellitto is one home run away from breaking into Gonzaga's top-10 list for career home runs (26) while fellow senior Drew Heid currently sits tied for fifth in the GU top-10 list for career triples (11).
LAST WEEKEND: Gonzaga University went 1-2 this past weekend against the University of Hawai'i, dropping Friday's game one 3-1 but coming back to take Saturday's game two 7-6 before the Rainbows scored five runs in the eighth inning to steal the final game of the series 6-5. In the opener both starting pitchers were dialed in as GU's Cody Martin allowed just three hits and two unearned runs while striking out 10 in six innings but UH starter Josh Slaats also struck out 10 and held the Zags to one hit in seven scoreless innings. In game two, Drew Heid's three hits, two runs, two RBI and stolen base paced the Bulldogs 12-hit attack to back Ryan Carpenter's seven strikeout performance and even the series with the 7-6 win. In the series finale it was the UH bats that got to the Bulldogs late, pushing five runs across in the eighth inning to take the rubber match and clinch the series against the Zags.
ABOUT THE SAN FRANCISCO DONS: The University of San Francisco enters the weekend series against Gonzaga University with 15-14 overall record and winners in three of their last four games. USF leads the all-time series with the Zags 31-28 but GU took two of three in San Francisco last season. Stephen Yarrow paces USF with nine home runs and 27 RBI while Friday's starting pitcher Doug Murray has posted two shutouts and owns a 4-3 record this season. Head coach Nino Giarratano is in his 12th season at USF and owns 323-331 career record at the school.
ABOUT THE ARIZONA WILDCATS: The University of Arizona will face the University of Washington in Seattle prior to facing Gonzaga University on Monday. The Wildcats enter the weekend with a 20-8 overall record including a 2-4 mark in the Pacific-10 Conference and ranked as high a No. 22 in the USA Today/ESPN national poll. Arizona leads the all-time series with the Zags 8-0 and took a 8-7 decision from the Bulldogs in Spokane last season. Jett Bandy comes into the weekend pacing the Wildcats with a .450 batting average, 12 doubles and five home runs. Head coach Andy Lopez is in his ninth season at Arizona.
THREE MORE GONZAGA HOME GAMES TO BE TELEVISED: Gonzaga University and SWX-TV have announced that three more home games will be televised this season. The three home games featured on SWX will be: Friday, Apr. 16 vs. Pepperdine University at 6:30 p.m.; Friday, Apr. 30 vs. Santa Clara University at 6:30 p.m. and 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.
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 eaten up a lot of innings and been racking up the strikeouts. Martin comes into the weekend leading the West Coast Conference in strikeouts (56) and tenth in innings pitched (42.2). The Dos Palos, Calif. native and Gonzaga's all-time leader in saves (15) has posted four games with nine strikeouts or more, 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 last Friday.
SENIORS LEADING THE WAY: Gonzaga University seniors Mark Castellitto and Drew Heid have put together two very impressive beginnings to their senior seasons. Castellitto is coming off a career month that saw him earn West Coast Conference Player of the Month honors and enters this weekend second in the WCC with eight homers and fifth with 27 RBI. He is also fifth in the WCC with a .651 slugging percentage and tied for third on the Zags with eight doubles. The preseason All-WCC selection Heid comes into the weekend leading the WCC with 51 hits and second in the conference in batting average (.411). He has recorded a team-best 18 multi-hit games and leads the team with eight stolen bases and 28 runs scored.
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 in last season's veteran team but each have taken advantage of playing everyday this season. Bolinger appeared in made just 16 starts last season but has appeared in all 28 games this season, posting a .277 average with eight doubles, four home runs and 15 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 weekend with a .313 batting average with nine doubles, six home runs and 30 RBI. He posted a team-best 10-game hitting streak earlier this season and leads the team with eight multi-RBI games.
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. Junior college transfer Sean Wilson has produced early on for the Zags, starting 25 games and has driven in 17 runs while another junior college transfer and Australian left-hander Liam Baron leads the WCC with 15 appearances including a pair of 7.2 inning midweek starts and also recorded two saves. A couple freshmen who have already made an impact are starting second baseman Clayton Eslick and left-handed pitcher Billy Moon. Eslick has started 27 games and has recorded eight doubles and driven in 16 runs. Moon earned his first career win with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief in the 9-3 win over New Mexico State University Feb. 20. and has moved into the closer role after posting three saves during a four-game stretch earlier this season.
CASTELLITTO AND MARTIN GARNER WCC ACCOLADES: Gonzaga University's Mark Castellitto and Cody Martin each picked up a West Coast Conference accolade Monday afternoon. 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 and enters this week leading the conference with 56 strikeouts.
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.
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 midseason 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.
LAST SEASON: Last season Gonzaga University claimed its inaugural West Coast Conference regular-season and WCC Championship Series titles, earning the program's eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1981. The Bulldogs finished the year with a 36-18 overall record, marking the third consecutive season that Gonzaga has finished with 30-plus wins. GU also finished the season ranked No. 22 by Baseball America.
THREE STRAIGHT 30-WIN SEASONS: Gonzaga University's 6-4 win over Saint Mary's College May 3, 2009 was its 30th win of the 2009 season, marking the Bulldogs third consecutive 30-win season. It is the first time Gonzaga has accomplished the feat since the 1980-82 teams each recorded at least 30 wins. The Zags finished with a 36-18 overall record last season, the most by a Gonzaga club since the 1990 team finished with 37 wins.
