Baseball Weekly Notebook
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THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC BASEBALL
PACIFIC LUTHERAN AT PACIFIC (DOUBLEHEADER)
Games No. 36 & 37/Home Games No. 12 & 13
Sat., Apr. 27, Noon, Chuck Bafaro Stadium, Forest Grove
Live Stats:
GoBoxers.com/livestats
Live Video:
GoBoxers.com/webcasts
PACIFIC LUTHERAN AT PACIFIC
Game No. 38/Home Game No. 14
Sun., Apr. 28, Noon, Chuck Bafaro Stadium, Forest Grove
Live Stats:
GoBoxers.com/livestats
Live Video:
GoBoxers.com/webcasts
BOXERS WRAP UP NWC SCHEDULE WITH PLU SERIES
After dropping three of their four games last week, including two in Tacoma, Wash., in a three game series with Puget Sound, the Pacific baseball team has rebounded to win two straight with their 3-1 win at Concordia (Ore.). The Boxers will wrap up their Northwest Conference schedule this weekend, hosting Pacific Lutheran in a three-game series with a chance to finish as high as third in the NWC standings.
BOXER BYTES
• Pacific used 28 players, including seven pitchers, in the first of two rain make-up games with Concordia last Tuesday. The Cavaliers put the game away with a six-run ninth inning to take a 10-1 victory. Eight different Pacific players had the Boxers' hits.
•
Rob Dittrick opened Saturday's doubleheader with Puget Sound by allowing just one earned run on six hits in his third complete game effort, but Pacific managed just five hits and left 10 men on base as the Loggers took the 2-0 victory.
Michael Arakaki went 2 for 3 to lead Pacific at the plate.
• Pacific used a two-run seventh inning to give pitcher
Nick Morton some backing, but the Boxers gave up single runs in the seventh and eighth to allow the Loggers a 4-3 win and a doubleheader sweep. Morton allowed three runs, two earned, on seven hits in 6.2 innings while
Kyle Treadway allowed one unearned run to take the hard luck loss.
Michael Arakaki once again led the Boxers offensively, going 3 for 4.
•
Matt Delegato threw a four-hit shutout in his fourth complete game of the season on Sunday, winning his seventh straight game to lead the Boxers to a 10-0 win in the series finale. Delegato retired the first 10 batters he faced and allowed just two runners past first base. Five Pacific players had multi-hit games, led by a 3 for 6 afternoon from
Charlie Gaff.
• In their last game against a non-conference opponent, Pacific turned to it's bullpen to throw a one-hitter against Concordia (Ore.) Tuesday, winning 3-1.
Jimmy Brakebush allowed just one run on one hit in six innings to earn the win while
Levi Peterson,
Topher Mood and
Craig Nesselhuf combined for three no-hit innings to close the game.
•
Michael Arakaki put together his best offensive week of the season, batting .615 in the four games with two runs scored. He went 7 for 12 in the three-game Puget Sound series and raised his season batting average to .321.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
PACIFIC LUTHERAN
The Lutes enter the week with a 21-13 overall record, but are just 11-10 in the NWC and are tied for third in the NWC with Willamette. After going 2-4 against the league's top-two teams in their last two weekends, the Lutes closed their home schedule with a sweep of Lewis & Clark. PLU won Saturday's opener 14-1 behind an eighth-inning, four-hit performance by pitcher Max Beatty and three-hit efforts from Alec Beal, Drew Oord and Carson McCord. PLU then had to post a five-run comeback in the bottom of the ninth to win the nightcap 6-5. McCord provided the winning run with his single to left center. Oord and Markus McClurkin led the Lutes with three hits. On Sunday, the Lutes completed the sweep with a 6-4 victory. PLU spread out the offense, with five runners coming up with two of the Lutes' 12 hits. Oord leads the PLU offense with a .386 average, including 44 hits, 21 runs and 11 RBIs. Dominick Courcy is hitting .357 and Beal is hitting .330. Trevor Lubking leads the starting pitching staff with an 8-2 record and 2.05 earned run average. As a team, PLU is batting .267 and owns a 3.58 earned run average. Geoff Loomis is in 11th year as PLU head coach.
AGAINST BRADLEY: Pacific Lutheran leads 32-22
LAST MEETING: Pacific won 9-5 in Tacoma, Wash., on Apr. 29, 2012
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
A SEASON FOR THE AGES: Matt Delegato's (Sr., Hillsboro, Ore.) outstanding season has been far from a fluke. In fact, it is shaping up to be one of the best seasons for a Pacific pitcher ever. Delegato won his seventh straight game to improve to 7-1 on the season with his 10-0 shutout of Puget Sound on Sunday. In his fourth complete game of the year, Delegato allowed just four hits, walked no one and struck out six. He retired the first 10 batters he faced and allowed just two runners past first base. The effort earned the senior selection as the NWC Baseball Pitcher Student-Athlete of the Week and selection to the D3Baseball.com Team of the Week. Delegato's numbers in his seven wins (six against NWC opponents) are simply outstanding, allowing just 10 runs, eight earned, striking out 39 while walking just 10 and allowing just five extra base hits (all doubles). During that stretch, he has allowed a .238 opponent's batting average.
Delegato enters the week ranked fifth in the NWC with his 1.75 earned run average. He is tied for fourth with his seven wins, tied for third with his three complete games and is ninth in the league with 67 innings pitched. In the Apr. 23 NCAA Division III statistics report (for games played through Apr. 21), the senior ranked 13th in wins, 43rd in complete games and 81st in earned run average.
ARAKAKI'S BIG WEEK: In a year where offense has been hard to come by for the Boxers,
Michael Arakaki (Sr., Mililani, Hawaii) provided steady bat for the Boxers in last week's four games. The senior posted his best week of the season, hitting .615 in the four games as he went 8 for 13 with two runs scored. He amassed a .615 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage. After going 1 for 1 in a short starting appearance in Pacific's loss to Concordia (Ore.) on Tuesday, Arakaki went 7 for 12 in the three-game Puget Sound series. He had multiple hits in each game, led by a 3 for 4 performance in Saturday's nightcap that included a run scored. The senior enters the week with a .321 batting average, second best for the Boxers. He has 18 runs on 34 hits, five doubles and seven runs batted in. Arakaki is tied for eighth with seven times hit by pitch and is also tied for eighth with his 89 defensive assists.
SOMETIMES THE STATS TRUMP THE RECORD: Rob Dittrick's (Sr., Mililani, Hawaii) win-loss record is certainly not where he would like it to be, the senior is still turning in a strong season with statistical numbers that make him among the top pitchers in the NWC. Dittrick took a tough complete game loss in Saturday's opener at Puget Sound, dropping to 3-4 on the season. He allowed two runs, one earned, on just six hits with two strikeouts while throwing an estimated 80 pitches. While the win-loss record may prevent Dittrick from realizing his third First Team All-NWC selection, his statistical numbers show is worthy of being in the conversation. He owns a 2.40 earned run average, second best for the Boxers and ninth in the NWC. In a team-leading 71.1 innings of work, Dittrick has allowed 28 runs, 19 earned, and allowed just six walks while striking out 37. Dittrick also enters the week tied for fifth in the NWC with his three complete games and fifth in innings pitched.
A COMBINED ONE HIT EFFORT: Pacific saved their starters for the upcoming weekend in Tuesday's non-conference game at Concordia (Ore.), which allowed four bullpen guys to step up big with a combined one-hitter to beat the Cavaliers 3-1.
Jimmy Brakebush (Fr., Portland, Ore.) led the way with an outstanding performance in his second collegiate start, allowing just one run on one hits, walking three and striking out four in six innings.
Levi Peterson (So., Denver, Colo.),
Topher Mood (Jr., St. Helens, Ore.) and
Craig Nesselhuf (Fr., Littleton, Colo.) followed to keep the Cavaliers hitless over the final three innings, with Nesselhuf earning his second save of the season.
TRUCKIN' THROUGH HIS SENIOR SEASON: As he looks ahead to the final two weeks of his Pacific career,
Trux French (Sr., Kennewick, Wash.) is finding his stroke at the plate. French went 4 for 7 in three games last week, which included a double, a run scored and a RBI. After going 1 for 1 in Tuesday's loss to Concordia (Ore.), French went 1 for 3 in Saturday's opener with Puget Sound and finished the weekend by going 2 for 3 in Sunday's series finale. The Sunday effort included a double, two sacrifice bunts, a RBI and a run scored. French is in position to finish off his senior season as one of Pacific's top hitters. He currently ranks third on the team with a .297 batting average, is tied for third for the Boxers with 14 RBIs and tied for third with four stolen bases. He has started 19 of the team's 34 games, all at first base.
FRESHMAN CONTINUE TO RISE UP: The Boxers continue to get solid production from two of their top freshman players.
Charlie Gaff (Fr., Stockton, Calif.) hit .357 in the four games last week while
Walker Olis (Fr., Burlington, Wash.) finished hitting .333 in four games. Gaff went 5 for 15 while starting all four games in center field with two RBIs and two runs. He led the Boxers offensively in Sunday's win over Puget Sound, going 3 for 6 with two RBIs and a run scored. Olis, meanwhile. Went 5 for 15 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs while starting all four games in right field. He went 2 for 4 with a double, a run and a RBI in Saturday's second game against Puget Sound and followed that up with a 2 for 5 performance on Sunday, which also included a run and a RBI.
Olis enters the week a team-leading .363 batting average, which ranks 11th in the NWC. He has started all two games for the Boxers in right. He enters the week sixth in the league with a .584 slugging percentage and eighth with a .459 on-base percentage. He is tied for second in the NWC with five home runs. In the Apr. 23 NCAA Division III statistics report, Olis ranked 43rd in home runs. Gaff enters the week with a .282 batting average while starting 30 of the Boxers' 34 games in center field.
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 second with 41 sacrifice hits. In the Apr. 23 NCAA Division III statistics report (though games played by Apr. 21), the Boxers ranked 10th as a team with 41 sacrifice bunts. Individually, catcher
Dan Jaffe (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev.) is tied for second in the NWC with nine sacrifice hits. He ranked 11th in last week's NCAA Division III report with nine sacrifice bunts and 15th with 0.31 sacrifice bunts per game.
PACIFIC IN DIVISION III RANKINGS: In other Pacific rankings in the latest NCAA Division III statistical report of Apr. 23 (for games played through Apr. 21), the Boxers ranked 12th in walks allowed per nine innings (2.37), 70th in earned run average (3.50), 78th in fielding percentage (.960) and 100th in strikeout to walk ratio (2.03). 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 19-3. The winningest active coach in Northwest Conference baseball enters the week with a 310-350-2 record. Bradley is in his 18th season as Pacific head coach, having taken over the program for the 1996 season. Prior to that, Bradley served two seasons as an assistant coached under the winningest coach in program history, Hall of Famer Chuck Bafaro. In his tenure, Bradley has led the Boxers to 20-win seasons six times, topped by his 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 friendly confines for Pacific baseball. Pacific enters the week with a 30-12 record on their home field since 2010 (a .714 win percentage) and is 5-6 at home in 2013. Chuck Bafaro Stadium indeed yielded a home field advantage in the 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 contests moved to Forest Grove due to unplayable field conditions. The schedule has been less bountiful for the Boxers with a total of 14 home games on the docket.
PACIFIC PICKED FIFTH IN PRESEASON POLL: Just as they were before their 2012 championship run, Pacific is picked to finish fifth in the NWC according to the annual poll of the league's coaches conducted in January. Pacific received 40 of a possible 80 votes, landing one points behind George Fox and 11 points behind Linfield (who clinched the NWC title last weekend). Whitworth, the co-NWC champion with Pacific that also won the NCAA West Region title, was picked to repeat with a total of 68 points, including six first place votes. Pacific Lutheran was picked second with 59 points, which included the other three first place votes. Puget Sound and Willamette were picked sixth with 25 points apiece while Whitman and Lewis & Clark were picked eighth with 15 points apiece.
