March 29, 2007

BASEBALL: Lutes Turn Attention to NWC Leader George Fox

THIS WEEKEND: Pacific Lutheran hosts George Fox (DH), Saturday, noon; PLU hosts George Fox, noon

LUTES HOST CONFERENCE LEADER: Pacific Lutheran hosts George Fox, the defending Northwest Conference champion and current conference leader, in a three-game series this weekend. The teams square off in a doubleheader on Saturday with the first pitch scheduled for noon. On Sunday, the series concludes with a single game also beginning at noon. George Fox currently leads the Northwest Conference with an 11-1 record and is coming off a three-game home sweep of Puget Sound, which had gone into the series tied with the Bruins atop the NWC at 8-1. The Bruins are halfway through their conference slate. The Lutes, on the other hand, got the first-week NWC bye and currently hold down second place in the conference with a 7-2 record. The conference lead is at stake this weekend, but there is still plenty of NWC action ahead for both teams.

MORE ABOUT GEORGE FOX: The Bruins are ranked No. 5 in this week’s American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division III national poll. They deserve the ranking having won 19 of the 20 games they’ve played this year. Their offensive, defensive and pitching numbers are staggering. On offense, the Bruins are hitting .366 as a team and average 10 runs per game. Senior Brian Donohue is hitting an amazing .508, and both Dan Wentzell (.432) and Pat Bailey (.400) are in the .400 range. All of the nine GFU position starters are hitting at least .314. Wentzell has launched 10 doubles, five home runs and has driven in an incredible 35 runs already this season. Bo Thunell, who is hitting “only” .349, has three homers and 31 runs batted in. The Bruins are also a patient team at the plate with a total of 99 walks, including 19 by Donohue and 18 by Wentzell. When Drew Johnson and Josh Burch get on base, expect them to run. Johnson has 15 steals in 17 attempts, while Burch is a perfect 13-of-13 in stolen bases. On defense, the Bruins have a .981 fielding percentage in support of an outstanding pitching staff that gives up less than 3.5 runs per game. Preston Langliers has a 5-0 record and a 1.60 earned run average, and Nick Bratney has a 5-0 record and a 1.66 earned run average. The strikeout pitcher on the team is Chris Albrecht, who has fanned 39 batters in 38 1/3 innings. Albrecht, by the way, has a 6-1 record and a 3.29 earned run average. Burch, the aforementioned speedster, has nailed down a team-best three saves for George Fox this season. The Bruins’ pitching staff has a miniscule 2.54 earned run average. George Fox’s head coach is Pat Bailey, named the 2004 National Coach of the Year for leading George Fox to the NCAA Division III World Series title. Bailey is an eight-time Northwest Conference Coach of the Year and has compiled a 12-year record of 342-148. Under Bailey’s direction and since joining the conference in the 1996 season, George Fox has won outright or shared eight NWC titles.

LUTES ON A ROLL: Pacific Lutheran comes into the series with an 18-6 overall record, including wins in eight of its last nine games. The only loss during that streak came against Saint Martin’s on Tuesday when head coach Geoff Loomis started a mostly reserve lineup because the Lutes were playing their fourth game in three days. After dropping two-of-three to Linfield in the first conference series of the year, PLU has swept both Pacific and Lewis & Clark. George Fox, however, will provide a much sterner test. For the sake of comparison to the Bruins, PLU is hitting .293 as a team, has a .971 field percentage and a 3.64 team earned run average. The leading hitter among the regulars is Jordan Post, who has a .329 average. Catcher Brandon Sales, who has 10 starts, has a .400 average, and designated hitter Kris Hanson, with 13 starts, has a .341 average. The pitching leader is 2006 Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Year Joe DiPietro, who has a 6-1 record and a 1.73 earnd run average. Brett Brunner is 3-2 with a 1.41 earned run average.

THE COACH: PLU head coach Geoff Loomis is in his fifth year and has a 101-79 overall record. Loomis, by the way, cut his college coaching teeth at George Fox, where from 1996-2000 he was one of Pat Bailey’s assistant coaches.

LUTES MAKE IT 3-FOR-3 AGAINST UPS: Kael Fisher struck out nine batters in six innings to lead Pacific Lutheran to a 10-0 whitewash of the Puget Sound Loggers in a non-conference baseball game played Wednesday afternoon at the PLU field. The win was the third for the Lutes in as many games this season against the Loggers. Fisher, a senior from Everett who had pitched only 3 2/3 innings over four appearances this season, dominated the Loggers with a sharp-breaking slider. He allowed only three hits and walked none, though he did hit three UPS batters. Fisher didn’t allow a base runner to get as far as third base, and he struck out the side in the sixth inning, his last of the game. Trey Watt and Jeff Danforth finished up for the Lutes with Watt going two innings and Danforth working a perfect ninth. PLU scored a pair of runs in the first on Justin Whitehall’s two-out, two-run single. The Lutes added single runs in the second and fifth innings, then broke the game open in the sixth inning, scoring six runs – all of them coming with two outs – on just two hits. The Lutes loaded the bases on two walks and a single by Roger Guzman. The first run of the inning scored on a walk, and the next three scored when UPS pitchers hit three straight PLU batters. Kris Hansen finished the rally with a two-run single through the right side of the infield. For the game, six Puget Sound pitchers combined to walk six batters and hit five more. Guzman and Hansen both had a pair of hits for the Lutes, who also got three RBI from Whitehall.

OTHER RECENT GAMES: Pacific Lutheran swept three games from Lewis & Clark in Portland, Ore. The Lutes won by 7-1 and 7-2 scores on Sunday, that doubleheader delayed one day by rain. Joe DiPietro was the winning pitcher in the first game and Hunter Simpson pitched 8 1/3 innings of four-hit relief to get the win in the second game. Brandon Sales had a grand slam homer in the second contest. On Monday, the Lutes wrapped up the series with a 10-5 win over the Pioneers. Brett Brunner pitched 7 2/3 innings to earn the win and Sales supported his work with three hits and three RBI. Jordan Post added a solo homer in the winning cause. On Tuesday, the Lutes played a non-conference game at Saint Martin’s and came out on the short end of a 9-7 score. As mentioned earlier, most of the regulars were given part of the day off, generally entering the game in the later innings. Reserve outfielder Matt Wolford had a pair of hits for PLU.

LUTES RANKED IN REGION: Pacific Lutheran is ranked seventh in the West Region in the first American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball poll of the spring. The Lutes received votes in the preseason national poll conducted during the fall. By the way, George Fox is ranked second in the region behind Chapman, which is ranked No. 2 in the ABCA national poll.

- PLU -