Zags Close Out Season With WCC Series Against Portland
5/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 27, 2010
Games 54-56
Portland (31-18, 11-7 WCC)
vs.
Gonzaga (20-33, 8-10 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 - TV (Friday): SWX-TV
THIS WEEKEND: Gonzaga University closes out the season hosting a three-game West Coast Conference series with University of Portland this weekend. Friday's opener will start at 6:35 p.m. and will be televised on SWX-TV while Saturday and Sunday's start times are slated for 1 p.m. Prior to Sunday's season-finale, Gonzaga seniors Brian Yardley, Drew Heid, Mark Castellitto, Jacob Hiatt, Liam Baron, Kyle LaHonta and Jeremy Stumetz will be recognized before playing their final games for the Zags.
THIS PAST TUESDAY: Gonzaga University had its five-game winning streak come to an end this past Tuesday as No. 20 Washington State scored a pair of runs in the seventh to hand the Zags a 2-0 defeat. The Bulldogs received an outstanding effort from starting pitcher Liam Baron who struck out six in 7.2 innings, allowing just the two runs to the Cougars.
LAST WEEKEND: Last weekend Gonzaga University used three impressive starting pitching performances to post a three-game sweep against Loyola Marymount University in Spokane. Cody Martin went 8.1 innings in Friday's 8-4 series-opening win. Ryan Carpenter led the way in game two, going six innings and benefitting from a three-hit day from Drew Heid as the Zags won game two 5-3. Jeremy Stumetz was the story in Sunday's series finale, firing a complete-game victory and allowing just one unearned run to lead the Bulldogs to a 6-1 win.
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 fifth and final game to be shown live on SWX this season will be this Friday's series-opener against the University of Portland beginning at 6:35 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.
ABOUT THE PORTLAND PILOTS: The University of Portland comes into the final weekend of the regular season with a 31-18 overall record, the most wins by a Pilot team since 1991 and a 11-7 record in the West Coast Conference, good for second in the standings. The Pilots dropped a 3-2 decision to Washington State University in Pullman this past Wednesday. Gonzaga leads the all-time series 100-62, taking two of three in Portland last season and winning the past nine meetings in Spokane. C.J. Cullen paces the Pilots with a .345 average while Beau Fraser leads the club with six homers and 44 RBI. Head coach Chris Sperry is in his 13th season at UP and owns a 252-424-1 career record.
QUICK HITS
- Drew Heid needs just three hits to break Larry Patterson's (1977) single-season record of 91
- Heid has hit safely in 49 of the Zags 53 games this season and owns a 10-game hitting streak
- Heid owns a team-best .387 batting average in WCC play and has registered hits in all 18 WCC contests
- Mark Castellitto has hit safely in 18 of his last 20 games
- Castellitto leads the team with a .377 (26-for-69) batting average with runners in scoring position
- Six Zags have recorded double-digits in doubles this season, three players reached that mark in 2009
- Liam Baron and Mark Phillips have each appeared in 25 of the 53 games this season
- Clayton Eslick's first career home run was a pinch-hit grand slam at Washington April 27
- Eslick leads the team with 20 two-out RBI
- Billy Moon has driven in 12 runs and recorded three 3-hit games in his last nine starts
MACHTOLF REACHES MILESTONE: Gonzaga University's 6-1 win over Loyola Marymount University last Sunday was win No. 200 for head coach Mark Machtolf. The Zags seventh year head coach and reigning West Coast Conference Coach of the Year has recorded all 200 wins with Gonzaga and currently sits third on the school's all-time wins list behind Steve Hertz (637) and Larry Koentopp (289). Machtolf's .532 career winning percentage is the second highest in school history.
HEID CLOSING IN ON HITS RECORD: Gonzaga University senior centerfielder Drew Heid needs just three hits to break Larry Patterson's single-season hits record of 91 set back in 1977. Heid comes into the final weekend of the regular season with 89 hits, registering hits in 49 of the 53 games this season including all 18 of the Zags West Coast Conference games. The left-handed hitting Heid has produced three different hitting streaks of 10-games or longer, highlighted by a 19-game streak earlier this season.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: A couple members of the Gonzaga University Bulldogs have climbed into a couple Gonzaga all-time top-10 lists. Mark Castellitto moved into a tie for seventh place on Gonzaga's top-10 career home run list with his 29th career homer and 11th of the season at Saint Mary's College May 15. 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 final seasons as Zags. 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 owning team-highs and career-highs of 11 homers and 49 RBI. His 12 multi-RBI games leads the team and is second with 20 multi-hit games. The preseason All-WCC selection Heid comes into the week leading the WCC with 89 hits and second in the conference with a .394 batting average. He has recorded a team-best 30 multi-hit games and stolen a team-high eight bases.
NEWCOMERS MAKING IMPACTS: A couple freshmen who have made impacts for Gonzaga University are starting second baseman Clayton Eslick and left-handed pitcher Billy Moon. Eslick has started 50 games, produced a .271 batting average, recorded 16 doubles, one triple, one home run and driven in 36 runs. His pinch-hit grand slam in the 11-1 win at the University of Washington April 6 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 five saves this season. He also has moved into the lineup, registering three three-hit games and 12 RBI in his last nine games. Cameron Edman has also emerged as a nice offensive weapon after transferring to GU and redshirting last season. The junior utility man was the team's opening day catcher and has also played first and third base all while registering 15 doubles, two triples, three homers and 20 RBI.
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.
THEIR TIME TO SHINE: Two players for Gonzaga University who have emerged as a couple of offensive threats this season are sophomores Royce Bolinger and Andy Hunter. Both played sparingly on last season's veteran heavy team but each have taken advantage of playing every day this season. Bolinger made just 16 starts last season but has made 44 starts this season, recorded seven home runs, 12 doubles and 25 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 .299 batting average, six homers, 15 doubles and among the leaders in the West Coast Conference with 40 RBI. He posted a 10-game hitting streak earlier this season and second on the team with 11 multi-RBI games.
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 strikeouts. Martin comes into the week with team-highs of 83 strikeouts and 79.2 innings. 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. He is coming off a season-best 8.1 inning start this last Friday, earning the win against Loyola Marymount University.
EVERYDAY RELIEVERS MAKING THEIR MARK: Gonzaga University relievers Liam Baron and Mark Phillips have each served huge roles for the Zags this season, eating up innings and appearing in nearly half the team's games. Baron and Phillips are both tied for third in the West Coast Conference with 25 appearances 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 nine starts this season, going 7.2 innings in four starts this season including a 7.2 inning effort this past Tuesday against No. 20 Washington State University where he struck out a career-high six. Earlier this season Baron took a no-hitter into the seventh inning at the University of San Francisco April 10. Phillips has made one start but has thrown 42.1 innings, earned two wins, saved three games including a pair of saves in the series sweep over Loyola Marymount University this last weekend.
CASTELLITTO AND MARTIN GARNER WCC ACCOLADES: Gonzaga University's Mark Castellitto and Cody Martin each picked up a West Coast Conference Accolade April 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, he 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 had 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 win over Utah Valley University March 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. Martin picks up his first WCC weekly accolade of the season and fourth of his career. Martin hander struck out 10, allowed three hits and two unearned runs in his six-inning start at the University of Hawai'i.
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 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.
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 STRAIGH 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.
