Baseball Weekly Notebook
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THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC BASEBALL
PACIFIC AT CONCORDIA (ORE.) • NWC-CASCADE CHALLENGE
Game No. 4/Away Game No. 4
Fr., Feb. 22, 2 p.m., Hilken Community Stadium, Portland
Live Stats:
bit.ly/15pZePu
Live Video:
bit.ly/O8QrWY
PACIFIC VS. CORBAN • NWC-CASCADE CHALLENGE
Game No. 5/Neutral Site Game No. 1
Sat., Feb. 23, 11 a.m., Roy Helser Field, McMinnville, Ore.
PACIFIC AT LINFIELD • NWC-CASCADE CHALLENGE
Game No. 6/Away Game No. 5
Sat., Feb. 23, 11 a.m., Roy Helser Field, McMinnville, Ore.
PACIFIC AT GEORGE FOX • NWC-CASCADE CHALLENGE
Game No. 7/Away Game No. 6
Sun., Feb. 24, 2 p.m., Morse Field, Newberg, Ore.
Live Stats:
bit.ly/133VPSr
BOXERS PLAY FOUR IN THE VALLEY BEFORE NWC PLAY STARTS
The Pacific baseball team hopes that a weekend off will help set them on the right path as they prepare for three games at the NWC-Cascade Challenge. The Boxers will be challenged again as they face a pair of solid NAIA foes in Concordia (Ore.) on Friday and Corban on Saturday and NWC rival Linfield on Saturday night. They finish the tourney on Sunday with a non-conference game at George Fox.
BOXER BYTES
• Pacific opened the 2013 season by dropping all three of their games at Pomona-Pitzer. In the opener, Pacific could get little offense going against Sagehens' starter Jake Bruml, finishing with one run on two hits off the starter in a 3-1 loss.
• In the Feb. 9 opener, Pacific tied a 3-1 game with two runs in the eighth on
Logan Moen's sacrifice and
Justin Strayer's single, but the Sagehens scored the winning run in the home half of the eighth to steal the 4-3 victory.
• Pacific rallied with a four-run fifth inning in the nightcap fueled by singles from
Walker Olis and
Grant Gabriel, but Pomona-Pitzer tied the game in home half and went on to score four more runs to take the 8-4 victory and sweep the series.
•
Kyle Treadway put together a solid outing in the initial start to the season, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits in six innings in the Feb. 8 opener against the Sagehens.
Matt Delegato was also very effective starting Saturday's opener as he allowed one unearned run on four hits in four innings of work.
•
Logan Moen and
Michael Arakaki were the Boxers' leading hitters in the opening three games, with both players going .400 with four hits. Moen finished with one scored and a run batted in, while Arakaki finished with a double and a run scored.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
CONCORDIA (ORE.)
The NAIA Cavaliers enter the week with a 4-6 record after splitting four games over the weekend at the Lewis-Clark State Tournament in Lewiston, Idaho. Concordia opened the weekend on Friday with a 3-2 loss to College of Idaho. The Cavaliers split their games on Saturday, going extra innings to beat Division II Central Washington, 7-6, before taking a 13-2 loss to No. 8 (NAIA) ranked Lewis-Clark State in a game that saw Concordia commit seven errors. Concordia then earned a measure of revenge on College of Idaho on Sunday with a 4-3 victory, winning the game on Ryne Bailey's homer in the bottom of the ninth. Jimmy Sanchez is the Cavaliers' offensive leader, batting .353 in nine games with six hits and three runs scored. Carl Becket owns a .333 average with 10 hits, four doubles, three runs and six RBIs. Starter Jon Yearout leads the pitching staff with a .154 earned run average and 0-1 record, allowing nine runs, two earned, on 15 hits in 11.2 innings. Rob Vance, a 1987 graduate of Pacific, is in his 15th season as Concordia head coach.
AGAINST BRADLEY: Concordia leads 15-14
LAST MEETING: Concordia won 5-4 at Portland, Ore., on Feb. 26, 2012
CORBAN
The NAIA Warriors enter the week with a perfect 6-0 record and all of their wins have come against Northwest Conference competiton. Corban has gone 4-0 at the Swing Into Spring Baseball Classic in Pasco, Wash., with their fifth game coming up on Monday. They opened up on Friday with a 13-4 rout of Puget Sound and followed that up with a 13-7 win over Lewis & Clark. The Warriors faced a rematch with Puget Sound on Saturday and came through with a 16-0 shutout of the Loggers. Corban played defending NWC co-champion Whitworth on Sunday, posting a 5-2 victory. Corban led the entire way, scoring three runs in the first on RBI single by Lance Foster and two more on a Whitworth error. Foster leads the Corban offense with a .474 batting average, including nine hits and nine RBIs. Peter Martin is hitting .440 with 11 hits, seven runs and six RBIs. Justin White leads the Corban starting pitching staff with a 1.50 earned run average and a 2-0 record, allowing two runs on 10 hits in 12 innings. As a team, Corban owns a .332 batting average and 2.67 earned run average. Jeff McKay is in his second year as Corban head coach.
AGAINST BRADLEY: Pacific leads 13-8
LAST MEETING: Corban won 7-2 at Forest Grove on Apr. 17, 2012
LINFIELD
The Wildcats enters the week with a 3-1 record as they look forward to a string of eight home games, four of which will be against the Boxers. Linfield has not competed since Feb. 10, when they scored an 8-1 victory over Concordia (Texas) in a game played in Surprise, Ariz. Linfield opened the season by taking a 6-0 loss to La Verne on Feb. 7, but followed that up with a 15-3 win over Redlands on Feb. 8 and a 7-0 shutout of Texas-Dallas on Feb. 9. Kramer Lindell leads the team offense with a .643 batting average in the four games with nine hits, three doubles and five RBIs. Starter Aaron Thomassen leads the pitching staff, winning his lone start in six innings with seven strikeouts. After the NWC-Cascade Challenge, Linfield will nost the Boxers for both team's NWC opening series on Mar. 2-3. Scott Brosius, the former Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees standout, is in his sixth year as Linfield head coach.
AGAINST BRADLEY: Linfield leads 37-10
LAST MEETING: Pacific won 7-6 in Forest Grove on Mar. 4, 2012
GEORGE FOX
The Bruins enter the week with a 5-3 record. After starting the season 5-0 against quality Division III competition, George Fox has lost their last three. They opened the weekend with an 11-8 win at Cal Lutheran on Friday, but dropped both ends of Saturday's doubleheader by scores of 8-7 and 14-13. In the second game, George Fox saw a four-run lead evaporate in the bottom of the ninth as the Kingsmen scored nine runs off the Bruins in the final two innings. George Fox closed the weekend with a 6-3 loss at Whittier as the Poets jumped out to a 6-1 lead and never looked back. Timothy Williams leads the George Fox offense with a .533 batting average in eight games, including 16 hits, 13 runs, seven doubles, three triples, a home run and 14 RBIs. Josh Rapacz is batting .406 with 13 hits, eight runs, four doubles and nine RBIs. Reliever Connor Harris leads the pitching staff with a 2.45 earned run average and a 1-0 record, allowing five runs, three earned, in 11 innings and four appearances. Starter Eric Kittelson is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in 10 innings. As a team, the Bruins are hitting .330 and own a 4.78 ERA. The Bruins were picked to finish fourth in the NWC Preseason Coaches Poll after finishing tied for fourth with Linfield in 2012. Marty Hunter is in his sixth season as George Fox head coach.
AGAINST BRADLEY: George Fox leads 38-15
LAST MEETING: Pacific won 3-0 at Forest Grove on Mar. 11, 2012
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
A GOOD START IN A NEW ROLE: Kyle Treadway (So., Phoenix, Ore.) had the honor of starting the 2013 season opener for the Boxers against Pomona-Pitzer, and the sophomore showed that he has what it takes to excel in the new role. Treadway took the loss on Feb. 8, but performed well in allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits with a walk and two strikeouts in six innings. He gave up the game's first run in the first on a hit batter and a double and saw the second run plate in third after the leadoff batter reached on an error. Treadway is a candidate for a spot in the starting rotation after working as a reliever in his freshman year. He made eight appearances, compiling a 1-2 record and a 4.30 earned run average. He earned his one run in relief on Apr. 7 against Whitman, allowing one run on three hits with five strikeouts in 2.1 innings. Pacific won the game 6-5.
DELEGATO MAKING HIS BID AS WELL: After three years of minding the bullpen as a reliever,
Matt Delegato (Sr., Hillsboro, Ore.) is making a strong case for a starting role in his final season. Delegato did not get a decision in the Boxers' doubleheader opener against Pomona-Pitzer on Feb. 9. He went four innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits with two walks and a strikeout in the 4-3 loss. Delegato showed great improvement as a junior and, according to Head Coach
Greg Bradley, made even more improvement during the fall. In 2012, Delegato made six relief appearances for the Boxers and finished with a 3.97 earned run average. He allowed seven runs, five earned, in 11.1 innings.
THE START OF A BIG SEASON: Exepctations are high for
Rob Dittrick (Sr., Mililani, Hawaii) in his senior season, entering 2013 as one of the top pitchers in the west. Dittrick took a rough start to the season at Pomona-Pitzer on Feb. 9, allowing four runs on seven hits with one strikeout in five innings of work. The outing is no reason for alarm. Dittrick lost his first decision in 2012, giving up seven runs, five earned, on eight hits in five innings in a 10-6 loss to Hawaii Pacific. He went on to finish with an 8-2 record and 2.87 earned run average. The two-time First Team All-NWC starting pitcher selection and 2012 D3Baseball.com All-West Region selection spent the summer with the Corvallis Knights of the West Coast League, a wood bat league for college-eligible prospects. Dittrick was elected to both the league's all-star game and postseason all-star team and led the league in earned run average.
PROVIDING THE OFFENSE AGAIN: The ability to hit will be key for any Pacific players in 2013 who hope to be regular players and
Michael Arakaki (Sr., Mililani, Hawaii) is picking up where he left off last season. The Boxers' regular starting shortstop in 2012 has reprised his role again in 2013 and was one of two players to lead the Boxers with a 4 for 10 performance in the three games against Pomona-Pitzer. the first day of three-game series was his best as Arakaki went 2 for 4 with a double in the 5-4 loss to the Sagehens. Arakaki, an Honorable Mention All-NWC selection in 2012, finished the season with a .305 average in 30 games. He was also one of the league's best defensive infielders, committing just seven errors at shortstop in 118 chances.
MOEN ON UP: Logan Moen (Sr., Brier, Wash.) is expected to be a key player for the Boxers both in the infield and at the plate. Moen also finished the Pomona-Pitzer series by going 4 for 10 with a run and a run batted in. Moen's best game was the Feb. 9 opener where he went 2 for 4 with a run batted in while starting as the Boxers' designated hitter. Moen also saw action during the series at first base and third base. Moen is looking for an enhanced role for the Boxers in his senior season. He played in 22 games and made 16 starts as a junior, mostly at third base, and hit .250 for the season.
GIVING THE NEWCOMERS A SHOT: Pacific used the three-game series at Pomona-Pitzer as a chance to give their new players a look in real game situations. A total of 10 Boxers' newcomers saw the field during the three-game set.
Charlie Gaff (Fr., Stockton, Calif.) saw the most action, starting all three games at center field. Junior transfer
Dan Jaffe (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev.) made two starts at catcher.
Ben Duerr (Fr., Lebanon, Ore.) played in two games, starting one at catcher while
Justin Strayer (Fr., Ventura, Calif.) saw action in two games as a substitute.
THE MARCH TO 300 WINS: Head Coach
Greg Bradley enters the weekend in the quest to become only the second coach in Pacific history to amass 300 wins. Bradley enters the week with a 298-342-2 record. Bradley took over as Pacific head coach in 1996 after serving four seasons as an assistant coach under the legendary Chuck Bafaro and one season under Jerry Hand.
SEASON PREVIEW: The complete 2012 Pacific baseball season preview can be found at
bit.ly/WItPD6.
PACIFIC PICKED FIFTH IN PRESEASON POLL: Just as they were before their 2012, Pacific is picked to finish fifth according to a poll of the league's coaches conducted in January. Pacific received 40 of a possible 80 votes, landing one point behind George Fox and 11 points behind Linfield. Whitworth, to co-NWC champion that also won the NCAA Division III West Region, was chosen to repeat with a total of 68 points, including six first place votes, Pacific Lutheran was picked second with 59 points, including three first place votes. Puget Sound and Willamette tied for sixth with 25 points while Lewis & Clark and Whitman were picked to tie for eighth with 12 points apiece.
