Feb. 12, 2008

BASEBALL: Lutes Open 2008 Season with Four Days in California

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran at Whittier, Thursday, 2:30 p.m.; PLU at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Friday, 2:30 p.m.; PLU at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (doubleheader), Saturday, 11:00 a.m.; PLU at Redlands, Sunday, noon.

PLU RANKED 12TH NATIONALLY: Pacific Lutheran, which won its first-ever Northwest Conference baseball title in 2007, is ranked No. 12 in the Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division III Preseason Poll. The Lutes compiled a total of 225 points in a closely bunched field. Wooster (Ohio) is ranked No. 1 with 259 points, followed by Cortland State (N.Y.) with 257 points and defending national champion Kean (N.J) with 254 points. PLU is also ranked No. 12 in the inaugural NCBWA-D3baseball.com Division III preseason poll.

LUTES PICKED THIRD IN NWC: While two NCAA Division III preseason national polls have picked Pacific Lutheran as the No. 12 team in the country, Northwest Conference coaches know that the Lutes must replace six position starters and two starting pitchers from the 2007 conference championship team. As a result, PLU has been picked to finish third in the NWC coaches preseason poll. The Lutes received one first-place vote and a total of 61 points. Linfield College, under the guidance of former major leaguer and first-year head coach Scott Brosious, received eight of the nine first-place votes and a total of 88 points in the poll. George Fox was picked second with 71 total points, followed PLU, Whitworth (56 points), Willamette (35), Pacific (30), Lewis & Clark (24) and Whitman (11). While the Lutes

Brandon Sales

lose a plethora of key players, including two-time Pitcher of the Year Joe DiPietro, they do return a trio of first team all-conference selections in senior pitcher Brett Brunner, junior pitcher Hunter Simpson, junior first baseman Jordan Post and junior catcher Brandon Sales.

SALES NAMED ALL-AMERICAN: Pacific Lutheran junior catcher Brandon Sales has been named to the honorable mention list of the D3baseball.com Preseason All-America team. Sales earned D3baseball.com second team All-America honors last year after helping the 2007 Lutes to a school-record 35-9 overall record and to within one game of the NCAA Division III College World Series. Sales led the Lutes with a .412 batting average while collecting nine doubles, two triples, four homers and 32 runs batted in.

- PLU -