2007 Baseball Season Review
BARKSDALE
LEADS THREE ALL-NWC PICKS: Kyle Barksdale came to Pacific in 2005
to catch, but the sophomore made his mark in 2007 as a closer. Barksdale
led three Pacific selections to the All-Northwest Conference Baseball Team
with a second team pick as a relief pitcher.
Barksdale made 19 appearances for the Boxers in late inning relief, finishing 18 of those. He finished with a 2-1 record, four saves and a team leading 1.82 earned run average, allowing just six earned runs while striking out 15 in 29.2 innings. Barksdale led the NWC in saves and his .257 opponent's batting average was tops for Pacific pitchers with 10 or more appearances.
While developing into an effective closer, Barksdale never gave up his catching duties. Seeing more time behind the plate due to senior Matt Hendryx's season-ending injury early in the year, Barksdale played 23 games at catcher and started 31 games at either catcher or designated hitter. It was not unusual for Barksdale to catch, disappear into the dugout, drop the catcher's gear and then come out to the mound to finish the game.
BAILEY, HANER ARE HONORABLE MENTION SELECTIONS: Versatile infielder Ryan Bailey and fifth-year starting pitcher Derek Haner were both named to the Honorable Mention All-NWC Team.
Bailey, a transfer from Blue Mountain Community College, was named as a utility player. Bailey provide quite versatile for a young Pacific infield, playing games at first base, third base and catcher. Bailey started 37 of the team's 40 games and led the team with a .326 batting average including 44 hits, nine doubles and three triples.
Haner, a five-year member of the Pacific baseball program, earned his first All-NWC Team selection as a senior. The Boxers' No. 1 starting pitcher, Haner registered a 2-4 record and a 4.63 earned run average in nine starts. His best performances came early in the season, including a six-inning outing where Haner limited Whitworth to three hits in an eventual 22-2 victory.
A
REBUILDING SEASON: With the loss of 11 seniors off of the 2006
squad, the Pacific coaching staff knew that the 2007 season would be one
of rebuilding with 14 freshmen and a total of 18 newcomers to the program.
Nobody expected the season to be as rocky as it was, however. Pacific finished up with a 14-26 record, the least wins for the Boxers since the 2000 campaign. The Boxers finished Northwest Conference play with a 7-17 record and an eighth place finish, two games behind Lewis & Clark and Whitworth.
The season started, however, with great expectations after the Boxers went 4-2 in their first two series. Pacific took two of three games from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on their season opening California road trip and then took two of three from Whitworth in the team's first conference series of the year. The string included a 22-2 rout of the Pirates where Pacific hitting lit up Whitworth for 24 hits.
From that point, however, Pacific's hitting suffered as the team dropped to an eventual .264 season batting average. The Boxers went on to lose their next 10 NWC contests, seeing the string broken by single non-conference victories over Corban and Lewis & Clark and two wins at Menlo. The Boxers snapped the string with an 8-5 victory at Lewis & Clark, 34 days after beating Whitworth on Mar. 3.
Pacific wrapped up April with six wins, including two of three in the season ending series with Whitman. The Boxers needed extra innings to take their season finale, using a squeeze bunt in the bottom of the 11th inning for a 5-4 victory.
SOLID PITCHING: When Pacific was successful, the team depended on a solid pitching staff that combined experience with energetic new talent. The Boxers finished with a 4.99 earned run average, good enough for fourth best in the NWC. The team's regular starting of rotation of Derek Haner, Blaine Knuth and Brandon Larson finished with a 4.51 earned run average, allowing 81 earned runs over 161.2 innings. A total of seven Pacific hurlers, including all three regular starters and closer Kyle Barksdale, finished with ERAs under 5.00.
STRONGER FIELDING: Despite a young infield with inexperienced players at every position, the Boxers proved to be one of the best fielding teams in the conference. The Boxers' .965 fielding percentage was third best in the NWC as the team committed just 52 errors in 40 games. Pacific was second in catching runners stealing with 25 runners thrown out in 69 total attempts. In addition, the Boxers' six passed balls were least in the conference.
LAGGING HITTING: While the pitching brought it, the Boxers didn't seem to have much punch at the plate. The team's .264 average ranked sixth in the NWC, finishing well behind George Fox's league leading .351 average. The Boxers had 11 games where they finished with five hits or less. Hitting seemed to lag even further with runners on the bases. Pacific hit .279 with runners on base and .275 with runners in scoring position. In all, Pacific left 337 runners on base.
TAKING FULL BLAINE: Limited pitching action in his freshman year did not seem to affect Blaine Knuth too badly. The sophomore blossomed to become the top-performing pitcher of the starting rotation. Knuth went 2-3 in eight appearances, all starts, and his 3.98 earned run average ranked ninth among NWC hurlers. In 43 innings, Knuth allowed just 19 earned runs and 12 extra base hits and had 16 strikeouts.
Knuth's best performances came early on. Against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Feb. 17, Knuth allowed just two runs on seven hits in seven innings to lead Pacific to a 14-3 victory. Against Whitworth on Mar. 3, Knuth allowed one run on two hits and one walk in eight innings of work as the Boxers went on to a 3-2 victory.
THE STAFF ACE: Derek Haner relished his role as the Boxers' No. 1 pitcher and the senior filled it well with a solid effort in his final year. Haner finished 2-4 with a 4.63 earned run average and nine starts. Haner went at least five innings in eight of his appearances, but finished with five no decisions. Haner earned his first win of the season by limiting Whitworth to three hits and a pair of walks in the Boxers' 22-2 rout on Mar. 3. His last victory came in his last games, allowing Whitman three runs, two earned, on six hits in six innings en route to a 12-3 victory. In all, Haner leaves Pacific with 12 wins in five years with the team.
MR.
VERSATILE: In a young lineup, junior transfer Ryan Bailey provided
a sense of stability while seeing action at a variety of different positions.
Bailey spent 21 games at his primary position, third base, but also played
13 games at first base and five games behind the dish, and was one of five
players to start in 35 or more games.
With as solid as he was in the field, Bailey proved just as solid at the plate. The junior's .326 batting average led the Boxers and he was second in hits (44), runs scored (26), doubles (9) and triples (3). Bailey hit .342 with runners on base and was .347 with runners in scoring position. Bailey's three doubles ties him for No. 4 on the Boxers' single season list. His 23 walks tie him for 10th on the single season list.
POWER POTENTIAL: While the 2007 season will not be remembered for its power hitting, sophomore Nick McNeely showed his potential to swing for the fences and be a scoring threat over the next two years. McNealy hit .298 as the team's starting first baseman and finished with 20 extra base hits in 39 games. McNeely's 13 doubles, many of those ground rule doubles at Hillsboro Stadium, tied McNeely for fourth in the NWC and ties him for fourth on the Pacific single season list. McNeely also led the Boxers with five home runs, capped with a game-winning grand slam that gave the Boxers a 7-3 victory over Corban on Mar. 13.
A BAD BREAK: Senior Matt Hendryx was supposed to be the Boxers' on-field leader as one of five returning seniors and a third-year starter at catcher. The season for the Seaside native, however, ended before it could really begin. Hendryx was involved in a collision at the plate in the ninth inning of Pacific's season opening game at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, which resulted in a high ankle sprain. The slow healing injury kept Hendryx out of the lineup for the rest of the season.
The silver lining is that Hendryx could return for the 2008 campaign. Hendryx has applied for a medical hardship and has added a major in economics, despite being on track to graduate in 2007 with a major in business management. "We have a lot of guys coming back and we have a chance to start on a good note next year," Hendryx said of a potential return.
VISITORS
IN THEIR HOME PARK: Thanks to reconstruction of Bond Field as
part of Lincoln Park's renovation, Pacific spent the 2007 season playing
their home games at Hillsboro Stadium. The facility, located 20 minutes
east of the Pacific campus, gave the team some interesting challenges to
work with in terms of practice time and scheduling.
At game time, the Boxers also found themselves adjusting to the cavernous surroundings of the 7,600-seat facility, built for football with the majority of bleachers located in center and right field, and the Astroturf surface. Pacific picked up just under half of their wins at their home away from home, going 5-13 at the stadium.
Pacific returns to a relocated Bond Field in Spring 2008. The new field will be just north of the old Bond Field in Lincoln Park. The site of the former Bond Field is the site of a new soccer field and track facility. With the new field will come a new, 500-seat permanent grandstand that will be named after legendary former Pacific head baseball coach Chuck Bafaro.
BOXER SHORTS: Of Pacific's 14 victories, four were decided by one run and three were decided by eight or more runs...A total of 17 games were decided by two runs or less, with the Boxers going 4-13 in those tilts...Pacific batters were .398 when hitting as the leadoff batter, but were only .223 with two outs...Jeff Johnston was the only Pacific player to start all 40 games after starting just 10 games in 2006...Zach Gantenbein and Nick McNeely started in 38 games while Ryan Bailey started in 37...Johnston also led the Boxers with 16 stolen bases, while Gantenbein finished with 14...Pacific averaged 95 fans per game at Hillsboro Stadium...The team averaged 114 fans per game at the old Bond Field.