Baseball Weekly Notebook
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THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC BASEBALL
CONCORDIA AT PACIFIC
Game No. 31/Home Game No. 11
Wed., Apr. 17, 6 p.m., Chuck Bafaro Stadium, Forest Grove
Live Stats:
GoBoxers.com/livestats
Live Video:
GoBoxers.com/webcasts
PACIFIC AT PUGET SOUND (DOUBLEHEADER)
Games No. 32 & 33/Away Games No. 20 & 21
Sat., Apr. 20, Noon, Logger Baseball Field, Tacoma, Wash.
PACIFIC AT PUGET SOUND
Game No. 34/Away Game No. 22
Sun., Apr. 21, Noon, Logger Baseball Field, Tacoma, Wash.
DON'T LOOK NOW, BUT PACIFIC IS TIED FOR THIRD PLACE
After opening the season with an 11-game losing skid, the Pacific baseball team finds itself tied for third place in the Northwest Conference standings after a three-game sweep of their series with co-defending champion Whitworth. The Boxers will open the week with a non-conference make-up game with Concordia (Ore.) on Wednesday before traveling north for a three-game NWC series with Puget Sound.
BOXER BYTES
•
Charlie Gaff's two-out triple scored the winning run and allowed
Rob Dittrick his third win of the season as the Boxers won their opener of their three-game series with Whitworth on Saturday 2-1. Gaff went 2 for 2 and
Nick Tasaka finished 2 for 4.
•
Donnie Bradley,
Nick Tasaka and
Walker Olis all went 3 for 5 and freshman pitcher
Nick Morton threw seven shutout innings as the Boxers rolled to an 8-1 victory. The Boxers scored five runs in their final two innings.
• After giving up seven hits in the first three innings,
Matt Delegato allowed just three more hits the rest of the way and struck out seven in the final four innings as he won his sixth straight start and led the Boxers to a 6-3 victory over Whitworth on Sunday.
Donnie Bradley led the way offensively by going 3 for 5 with three RBIs.
•
Charlie Gaff led the Boxers offensively in the three-game Whitworth series, going 5 for 9 to hit .556 with a triple, two runs and three RBIs.
Nick Tasaka hit .500, going 6 for 12 in the series with three RBIs and
Donnie Bradley went 6 for 14 with five RBIs.
•
Walker Olis was ranked in five NCAA Division III statistical categories through games of Apr. 7, including ranking 16th with his five home runs. He was also ranked in the top-100 in home runs per game (0.19, 39th), slugging percentage (.671, 44th), Total bases (57, 68th) and triples (2, 85th).
• Pacific enters the week as one of the top teams in giving themselves up. The Boxers ranked 8th in Division III (through Apr. 7) with 32 sacrifice bunts and have 34 through Sunday.
Dan Jaffe was ranked third nationally with nine sacrifice bunts.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
CONCORDIA (ORE.)
The Cavaliers, a NAIA member of the Cascade Conference, enter the week with a 20-23 overall record. Over the weekend, Concordia split a four-game NAIA Region 1 series with Menlo. In Friday's opener, Eddie Crowe allowed the Oaks just two hits and Concordia scored the winning run on a wild pitch in a 1-0 victory. In Saturday's opener, the Cavaliers scored one in the sixth to tie the game and scored the winning run in the 10th on a single by Jared Young for a 4-3 victory. Cole Shidaki went 3 for 5 for the Cavaliers. Menlo took the nightcap by a 4-1 score after the Oaks scored four runs in the second inning and allowed the Cavaliers one run in the seventh. Cole Buruse went 3 for 4 to lead the Cavaliers. The Oaks then took another close 2-1 win from the Cavaliers on Sunday, taking the lead with single runs in the third and seventh and holding a Concordia rally to one run in the bottom of the seventh. Blake Drake leads the Concordia offense, batting .349 in 41 games with 58 hits, 26 runs, eight doubles and 17 RBIs. Jon Yearout leads the starting pitching staff with a 3-4 record and 2.26 earned run average, allowing 23 runs, 14 earned, in 55.2 innings. As a team, Concordia is hitting .259 and owns a 4.13 earned run average. Rob Vance, a former Pacific baseball player under legendary coach Chuck Bafaro, is in his 15th season as Concordia head coach. Wednesday's game is the first of two games being made up for the Boxers and Cavaliers after a Feb. 23 game was rained out and an Apr. 2 matchup was postponed.
AGAINST BRADLEY: Concordia leads 15-14
LAST MEETING: Concordia won 5-4 in Portland on Feb. 26, 2012
PUGET SOUND
The Loggers enter the week tied for fifth in the NWC at 8-10 and are 13-19 overall. Puget Sound finished the weekend by taking two of three games from Lewis & Clark in Portland. The Loggers lost Saturday's opener 2-1. The Pioneers scored two runs off Matt Robinson in the first before the Loggers rallied to score one in the ninth. Puget Sound rebounded to rout the Pioneers 15-4 in the nightcap thanks to a 10-run sixth inning on nine hits and two L&C errors. JB Eary led the Loggers by going 3 for 5 with two runs and a RBI while five other players had two hits apiece. Puget Sound went on to win the Sunday single game 8-1. The Loggers strung together three-run innings in the third and fifth. Connor Savage went 2 for 4 with two RBIs to lead the Loggers. Lucas Stone leads the Loggers offensively with a .364 batting average, including 43 hits, 14 runs, 12 doubles and 14 RBIs. Starting pitcher Matt Robinson leads the Puget Sound staff with a 5-5 record and 1.68 earned run average, allowing 28 runs, 13 earned, in 69.2 innings. As a team, the Loggers are hitting .270 and own a 4.31 earned run average.
Brian Billings is in his 11th season as Puget Sound head coach.
AGAINST BRADLEY: Pacific leads 35-19
LAST MEETING: Pacific won 5-2 in Forest Grove on Apr. 22, 2012
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
STEPPING IN AND STEPPING UP: Making his third start in as many weeks for the Boxers,
Nick Morton (Fr., Burbank, Calif.) is showing signs of being the type of pitcher that has been the Boxers' benchmark the last two seasons. Morton threw seven shutout innings in Saturday's second game win over Whitworth, allowing just six hits while striking out four. With the win, Morton improved his record to 2-1 on the season and lowered his earned run average to 3.21. Morton has found himself as a freshman slotted in as the No. 2 starter for the Boxers. The lefty came to Pacific from Burbank's Crespi Carmelite High School, where he was a two-time All-Mission League selection on the hill. He was named the 2011 Mission League Player of the Year after compiling a 1.98 earned run average with 58 strikeouts.
DELEGATO CONTINUES TO IMPRESS: For the sixth straight weekend,
Matt Delegato (Sr., Hillsboro, Ore.) has started a game and left it with a victory in hand. Delegato turned in his third complete game of the season to beat Whitworth 6-3 on Sunday. It looked at first as if Whitworth would get the best of the senior, scoring three runs on seven hits in the first three innings. Delegato went on to allow just three more hits the rest of the way and struck out seven in the final four innings as the Boxers won 6-3. Delegato, who earned his first regular full-time starting job for the Boxers this season, has flourished. He enters the week with a 6-1 record and a team-leading 2.02 earned run average. Delegato enters the week tied for fourth in the NWC with his three complete games, fifth with his six wins and eighth with his 2.02 earned run average. In the Apr. 7 NCAA Division III statistics report, Delegato was ranked 39th with his then five wins and 70th with his then two complete games.
BEST OUTING YET FOR DITTRICK: In a struggle of a season for
Rob Dittrick (Sr., Mililani, Hawaii), the senior seems to be finding his best stuff for late in the season. Dittrick put together his best outing thus far on Saturday, allowing one run on 10 hits and struck out four in his second complete game of the year. He needed some late support from the offense to pull out the win as the Boxers scored one run in the bottom of the eighth to pull out the 2-1 victory. The win allowed Dittrick to improve to a 3-3 record and 2.56 earned run average. Dittrick enters the week tied for fifth in the NWC with two complete games and ranks sixth with 63.1 innings pitched. In the Apr. 7 NCAA Division III statistics report, Dittrick ranked 41st in walks allowed per nine innings at 0.99 and 75th in strikeout to walk ratio at 5.17.
UNCLE CHARLIE'S NOT FOOLING CHARLIE: Charlie Gaff (Fr., Stockton, Calif.) led what turned into a decent offensive weekend for the Boxers in the three-game Whitworth series. Gaff hit .556 for the series, going 5 for 9 with a triple, two runs and three RBIs. He had the game-winning hit in Sautrday's opener, using a two-out triple in the eighth to score
Anson Arakaki (Sr., Hilo, Hawaii) for the 2-1 victory. He went 2 for 4 with two RBIs in the 8-1 win in Saturday's nightcap and added a hit and two runs scored in the 6-3 win on Sunday. Gaff has inherited the starting center field job from the graduated
Kevin Schwartz, starting 26 of the Boxers' 30 games in the position. He enters the week ranked third for the Boxers with a .271 batting average and is tied for second for the Boxers with 26 hits.
SENIOR STEPPING UP: What has been a quiet season offensively for
Nick Tasaka (Sr., Hawaii Kai, Hawaii) got a little more pop in his bat to help the Boxers sweep the Whitworth series. Tasaka batted .500 for the series, going 6 for 12 with a double, two runs and three RBIs. He went 2 for 4 in Saturday's opener and had the RBI to score Pacific's first run in the seventh inning. He then went 3 for 5 with a double, two runs and two RBIs in the nightcap and scored the first run of the game. Tasaka has continued to be a mainstay in the Boxers' outfield, starting 24 games in left field and three in right field. He enters the week with a .232 batting average and is ranked fifth in the NWC in hit by pitch with nine.
WHOA, WALKER: Walker Olis (Fr., Burlington, Wash.) outstanding freshman season continues. Olis found himself ranked in five different categories in last week's NCAA Division III statistics report for games played through Apr. 7. Olis was ranked 16th nationally with his five home runs. He ranked 39th with 0.19 home runs per game and 44th with his .671 slugging percentage. Olis was also ranked 68th with 57 total bases and 85th with two triples. Olis had a quiet week for the Boxers, going 3 for 13 in the three-game Whitworth series. He enters the week leading the Boxers and ranking 10th in the NWC with a .367 batting average. He is tied for second in the NWC with five home runs and is the only regular Pacific player to have a 1.000 fielding percentage.
GIVING IT UP: A regular part of Pacific's style of play for a number of years, the Boxers continue to be among the best for sacrifice hits and sacrifice flies. Pacific enters the week ranked first in the NWC with six sacrifice flies and third with 34 sacrifice hits. In the Apr. 9 NCAA Division III statistics report (though games played by Apr. 7), the Boxers ranked eighth as a team with 32 sacrifice bunts. Individually, catcher
Dan Jaffe (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev.) leads the NWC with nine sacrifice hits. He ranked third in last week's NCAA Division III report with nine sacrifice bunts and 10th with 0.36 sacrifice bunts per game.
PACIFIC IN DIVISION III RANKINGS: In other Pacific rankings in the latest NCAA Division III statistical report of Apr. 9 (for games played through Apr. 7), the Boxers ranked 29th in walks allowed per nine innings (2.65), 54th in hit by pitch (33), 76th in home runs (7), 89th in double players turned (18) and 95th in earned run average (3.72). The NCAA Division III statistical rankings are released weekly on Tuesdays and can be found at
http://bit.ly/hl0JH7.
GREG BRADLEY GETS WIN NO. 300: Pacific Head Coach
Greg Bradley reached a milestone on Sat., Mar. 16, becoming just the second coach in program history to amass 300 wins. The Boxers gave their skipper No. 300 in explosive style, beating Lewis & Clark in that day's opener 19-3. The winningest active coach in Northwest Conference baseball enters the week with a 308-347-2 record. Bradley is in his 18th season as Pacific head coach, taking over for the 1996 season. He began at Pacific in 1993 as an assistant coach under the winningest coach in program history, Pacific Hall of Famer Chuck Bafaro. In his tenure, Bradley has led the Boxers to 20-win seasons six times, topped by the 2012 NWC championship squad. In addition to his head coaching duties, Bradley also works as Pacific's athletic facilities manager.
OLIS EARNS NWC WEEKLY HONORS: Walker Olis' offensive performance in the Mar. 16-17 Lewis & Clark earned the freshman selection as the Northwest Conference's Baseball Student-Athlete of the Week. Olis led Pacific offensively in the series, going 6 for 10 with a pair of doubles, a home run, three runs scored six RBIs. Olis opened the series by going 2 for 2 with two RBIs and two runs in the Saturday 19-3 rout of the Pioneers. He had one hit in the rain-interrupted second game of the series and then punctuated his week by going 3 for 5 with four RBIs and a three-run homer in Sunday's 5-1 victory.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Chuck Bafaro Stadium continues to be kind to the Boxers. Pacific finished the weekend with as 30-11 record on their home field since 2010. Chuck Bafaro Stadium were indeed friendly confines for the Boxers in their 2012 championship season as they went 15-3 at home. It helped that Pacific played all of their March games at home, which included five games moved to Forest Grove due to unplayable field conditions. The home schedule will be much less fruitful for the Boxers in 2013 with just 14 games slated for Chuck Bafaro Stadium.
SELECT SCHEDULE OF WEB STREAMED GAMES ON TAP: For the first time, Pacific will provide a live video web stream 11 of the team's 13 home games. The video feed will provide a view of the field from the press box without audio commentary. Games could be added or removed from the schedule depending on weather cancellations or relocations. To view the live video webcasts, please visit
goboxers.com/webcasts.
SEASON PREVIEW: The complete 2013 Pacific baseball season preview can be found at
bit.ly/WItPD6.
