April 10, 2007

DiPietro Pitcher of the Week Once Again; Thorne on the Verge of PLU History

As the weekly Northwest Conference honors were released early Monday, Pacific Lutheran pitcher Joe DiPietro appeared in a familiar place. For the third time in four weeks, he was named Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Week. In the first of three-game series against Willamette, he tossed a complete game shutout last Saturday, scattering four hits, while striking out seven and walking only three.

The right-handed senior out of Eisenhower High School in Yakima picked up his fifth conference win and remains unbeaten in conference. In 43 innings thrown in conference action he has a mere 0.63 earned run average, allowing four runs on 23 hits while walking just 10 and striking out 27 batters. On the season he is 8-1 with a 1.41 ERA in 70 innings pitched.

Ryan Thorne a senior center fielder from Kent, Wash. (Kentwood HS), is on the verge of breaking a 14-year-old record for stolen bases in a season. David Sandberg established the current record with 29 steals in the 1994 season. With nine games left to play during the regular season, Thorne has swiped 29 bases in 32 attempts. He is currently batting .303 with a .407 on-base percentage on the season. He earned second team all-conference honors in 2006.

- PLU -