Marquee Opponents Await Waves In ’12…

Pepperdine has unveiled its 2012 college baseball schedule. The Waves open the new season with a nine game home stand that begins February 17-19 with a three game series against Oklahoma.

After a pair of midweek games with Virginia Commonwealth, Pepperdine hosts a three game set vs. Fresno State and then closes the home stand with a game against USC. The Trojans also host the Waves in April.

The Waves hit the road for the first time when they play three games at Louisville March 2-4 and then return to Malibu, CA for three games against Rhode Island and a single game at UCLA. The Bruins also visit Pepperdine later in the season.

Head coach Steve Rodriguez‘s team welcomes 2011 NCAA Regional team Kent State for a March 16-18 series. 2011 College Word Series team Texas A&M visits with three games the following weekend.

Pepperdine opens West Coast Conference play with three game at Gonzaga March 30-April 1. Other conference road series are at St. Mary’s, Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount. The Waves host WCC series with Portland, San Francisco, San Diego, and WCC newcomer BYU.

Pepperdine plays a home and home series with Cal State Fullerton.

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The best part is, when you click on one of the red links to Dugouthats.com you will save 20% on your order when you enter the coupon code CB360!

Toreros Claim 3rd WCC Title In Four Years

USD is the 2nd team to earn an NCAA bid in 2010 (San Diego photo)

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The 17th-ranked University of San Diego baseball tam has officially clinched a share of the West Coast Conference Championship, and earned the WCC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Regionals.

The Toreros have a bye this weekend as the team prepares for final exams, but with a perfect 15-0 record in WCC games, combined with a pair of Portland losses (to San Francisco) this weekend, San Diego has clinched at least a share of the WCC crown, which will make three conference championships in the past four seasons for the Toreros. USD will win the title outright should Portland lose its final game of the weekend against San Francisco on Sunday, or if USD wins at least one of its final remaining six conference games.

The Toreros already own the tie-breaker with Portland after sweeping their three game series last weekend in the Rose City.  The WCC does not play a post season tournament, so the regular season champion earns the league’s automatic NCAA bid.

San Diego is the second team  to earn a 2010 NCAA Tournament bid.  Dartmouth earned the first berth last weekend by claiming the Ivy League Championship.

USD will return to action on Friday May 21st as they head to Malibu to take on the Waves of Pepperdine University in a 3 p.m. game.

(Courtesy San Diego Sports Information)

Toreros Control Their Destiny In The WCC

San Diego

Gonzaga Looks For WCC Repeat After Winning First Crown

Reigning WCC Player of the Year James Meador of San Diego

Student-Athletes: Four WCC players were named to the ESPN the Magazine/CoSida Academic All-District VIII First Team, the most by any conference in the district.  Evan Wells of Gonzaga, Ryan Wheeler of Loyola Marymount, Bryant Kraus Portland, and Drew Johnson of San Francisco all made the team.

The West Coast Conference looks to rebound from a down year in 2008.  After sending three teams to the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and two in 2008, only Gonzaga made it in 2009.  The Bulldogs go after their second straight WCC crown after capturing their first ever conference title last year.  However, several contenders are ready to make a run this year led by San Diego and Pepperdine.

Gonzaga

2009 Season: (36-18, 14-7)

Nickname: Bulldogs

Head Coach: Mark Machtolf

Location: Spokane, WA

Vitals: .299 BA, 39 HR, .390 OPB, .971 Fld%…4.44 ERA, 11 SVs, 422 K, 180 BB, .284 Opp. BA

Outfield Strength: CF Drew Heid (.355 BA, 8 triples) and LF Matt Castellitto (.278 BA, team high 9 HR) returns to lead the Bulldog offense.

Tough to Replace: The Bulldogs must fill the holes left by C Tyson Van Winkle, who led the team with a .362 BA, 27 doubles, and a .543 Slg%, and WCC Pitcher of the Year Matt Fields, who posted an 8-1 record with a 3.47 ERA and 74 Ks.

Strong Like Bull(dog): A challenging non-conference schedule awaits Gonzaga.  Included are matchups against Missouri, Kansas, Texas Tech, Notre Dame and UC-Irvine.

Loyola Marymount

2009 Season: (30-29, 13-8)

Nickname: Lions

Head Coach: Jason Gill

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Vitals: .297 BA, 42 HR, .380 OBP, .971 Fld%…5.65 ERA, 9 SVs, 404 K, 198 BB, .304 Opp. BA

Who’s Next: Loyola Marymount has to deal with the loss of their top two offensive threats due to the graduations of OF Angelo Songco and 1B Ryan Wheeler.  Songco (.360 BA, 15 HR, 63 RBI) led the Lions in nine offensive categories and was the only WCC player to be a semifinalist for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award given annually to nation’s top collegiate baseball player.  Wheeler finished the 2009 season with a .319 BA while pounding out 20 doubles, 9 HR and 48 RBI.

Feast or Famine: 2009 saw its ups and downs for the Lions.  After winning 8 of their first 10 games, LMU lost their next 10 only to win the next 8.  Wins included victories over 5^th-ranked UC-Irvine, 6^th-ranked Cal State Fullerton and a four-game sweep of defending national champion Fresno State.

Jump right in: The Lions open the 2010 season with a three game series against 8^th-ranked UC-Irvine.

Pepperdine

2009 Season: (31-23, 12-9)

Nickname: Waves

Head Coach: Steve Rodriguez

Location: Malibu, CA

Vitals: .284 BA, 43 HR, .361 OBP, .982 Fld %…4.52 ERA, 12 SVs, 477 K, 223 BB, .240 Opp. BA

Pepperdine's Denny Duron

Golden Gloves: Pepperdine led the WCC with a .982 fielding percentage, committing only 36 errors all season, 23 fewer than the second place team, Gonzaga.  INF Denny Duron earned WCC Defensive Player of the Year honors going 42 games while committing only 3 errors.

Big Arms: The Waves top two pitchers, Jr. LHP Matt Bywater (6-1, 3.57 ERA, 66 K, .217 Opp BA) and So. RHP Cole Cook (7-3, 3.69 ERA, 79 K, .195 Opp. BA, 1 SV) return to lead one the top pitching staffs in the WCC.

Nothing But the Best: A challenging non-conference slate features games against Cal State Fullerton, UC-Irvine, LSU, Stanford, and UCLA.

Portland

2009 Season: (25-26, 7-14)

Nickname: Pilots

Head Coach: Chris Sperry

Location: Portland, OR

Vitals: .290 BA, 50 HR, .361 OBP, .969 Fld %…5.32 ERA, 12 SVs, 295 K, 171 BB, .298 Opp. BA

Taking Flight: Portland’s 25 wins a year ago is the highest total in the 12 year tenure of head coach Chris Sperry.

Foundation for the Future: 20 of the 32 players on the 2010 roster are freshman or sophomores.

Key Returners: So. RHP Kyle Kraus (4-6, 4.00 ERA) and Jr. RHP Zach Varce (3-5, 2.69 ERA, 9 SVs) lead the young pitching staff, while Jr. INF Riley Hendricks (.344 BA, 31 RBI) and So. INF Kris Kauppila (.336  BA, 20 doubles, 8 SB) return to lead the Pilot offensive attack.

San Diego

2009 Season: (29-25, 11-10)

Nickname: Toreros

Head Coach: Rich Hill

Location: San Diego, CA

Vitals: .319 BA, 47 HR, .381 OBP, .961 Fld %…5.07 ERA, 12 SVs, 425 K, 190 BB, .274 Opp. BA

Big Hitters: San Diego was the top hitting team in the WCC in 2009 with a .319 team BA.  They were led by Jr. James Meador (.376 BA, 80 H, 45 RBI), who was named the WCC Player of the Year, and So. Zach Walters (.377 BA, 13 doubles, 4 triples).

Mound Marvel: Sr. RHP A.J. Griffin became a starter during conference play last year posting an 8-3 record with a 3.33 ERA and 3 SVs.  His 28 career saves are tied for most in WCC history.

Close to Home: The Toreros leave the state of California only three times this season.  The first is March 26-28 for a three game series against Coastal Carolina.  An early April trip to Tempe to play a pair against Arizona State, and a five game swing to Oregon to face Portland, Oregon and Oregon State in May complete the interstate road trips.

San Francisco

2009 Season: (28-28, 12-9)

Nickname: Dons

Head Coach: Nino Giarratano

Location: San Francisco, CA

Vitals: .296 BA, 41 HR, .375 OBP, .968 Fld. %…5.09 ERA, 9 SVs, 371 K, 194 BB, .278 Opp. BA

Fleet Feet: Sr. OF Zach Kim swiped 42 bases in 2009 breaking the single-season USF record.  For the year, the Dons stole 107 bases in 129 attempts, a staggering 83 % clip.

Strong Arm Returns: 1^st team All-WCC P Doug Murray returns to head the USF staff.  As a junior, Murray went 9-0 in 18 starts posting a 3.77 ERA while striking out 45.  Murray was the only WCC pitcher to finish the season undefeated.

Save the Dates: USF hosts Rikkyo University from Japan in a special exhibition game at Benedetti Stadium March 3^rd.  The Dons also take on St. Mary’s April 16^th at AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.

Santa Clara

2009 Season: (19-34, 6-15)

Nickname: Broncos

Head Coach: Mark O’Brien

Location: Santa Clara, CA

Vitals: .286 BA, 24 HR, .356 OBP, .966 Fld. %…6.31 ERA, 7 SVs, 399 K, 170 BB, .312 Opp. BA

Key Returners: Two of the three Santa Clara players that garnered 1^st team All-WCC honors last year return this year’s squad.  Sr. C Geoff Klein (.379 BA, 81 H, 56 RBI) led the WCC in batting average and hits in 2009 and anchors the everyday lineup this year.  Sr. RHP Nate Garcia (7-5, 4.33 ERA, 96 K, 3 CG) will lead one of the younger pitching staffs in the conference.

Youth is Served: The Broncos’ 2010 roster includes 20 first-year players and 14 true freshman.

Welcome back: RS JR. Tommy Medica played in just 9 games last year before a shoulder injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season.  He was leading the team with a .429 BA while scoring 9 runs and collecting 7 doubles at the time of his injury.  For his career, Medica is a .361 hitter, 3^rd best in SCU history, and the WCC batting champ his freshman year in 2007.

St. Mary’s

2009 Season: (28-27, 9-12)

Nickname: Gaels

Head Coach: Jedd Soto

Location: Moraga, CA

Troy Channing

Vitals: .288 BA, 50 HR, .374 OBP, .965 Fld. %…5.35 ERA, 9 SVs, 364 K, 180 BB, .295 Opp. BA

Young Gun: 3B Troy Channing earned WCC Freshman of the Year honors after winning the conference triple crown becoming just the third player in WCC history to accomplish that feat.  For the season, Channing hit .379, crushed 20 HR, and drove in 75.  Channing also was just one of two freshman to be a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy.

Tough Road to Hoe: Trips to UC-Irvine, Tulane, Southern Mississippi, and Stanford highlight a challenging non-conference road schedule.

Need a Staff: Three of the Gaels top pitchers from a season ago are gone.  Brian Justice, Scott Schneider and Nathan Gonzalez combined to earn 15 of the team’s 28 wins in 2009.  Sr. RHP Brandon Berl (2-2, 4.01 ERA, 6 SVs) and So. RHP Kyle Barraclough (4-5, 4.70 ERA) lead the staff.

West Coast Conference Predictions

2010 Champion: Pepperdine, with San Diego fighting with them down to the wire

2010 Player of the Year: James Meador—San Diego

2010 Pitcher of the Year: Matt Bywater—Pepperdine

(By Collegebaseball360.com contributor Shawn Lewallen)

Washington State And Gonzaga End NCAA Droughts

The state of Washington is not exactly synonymous with college baseball, but the Washington State Cougars and Gonzaga Bulldogs did their best to change that in 2009.  While Oregon State was giving that other state in the Pacific Northwest all the attention with a pair of National Championships in recent years, the Evergreen State was having trouble just getting a team to the NCAAs.

Prior to 2009 the last time the Cougars qualified for the NCAA Tournament was 1990 – the year after John Olerud finished his career in Pullman.  Meanwhile, future NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton was a freshman on the hardwoods the last time the Zags sniffed the NCAA diamond all the way back in 1981.  All that changed in 2009.

Washington State got off to just a 5-11 start thanks to a brutal non-conference schedule.  Donnie Marbut’s squad got off to just a 5-11 start, but seven of the losses were to teams that would eventually qualify for the NCAA field themselves.  The early season experience would prove invaluable once Pac 10 play began.

By the time the regular season was complete Wazzu stood at 31-23 overall, and tied a school record with the 1990 team’s 19 wins in Pac 10 play.  Here’s a look at some of the other notable milestones achieved by the 2009 Cougars:

• Broke a 13-game losing streak in Tempe, AZ to Arizona State with an Apr. 12 win over #1 ASU thanks to
  

  Michael Weber

  Michael Weber’s 8th inning home run.

• The losing streak in Tempe dated back to 2001 & the win put WSU above .500 in Pac 10 play for the first time since 1999.
• The Cougars won a series at USC to give them back-to-back series wins vs. the Trojans for the first time ever.
• WSU swept five series in 2009 (including three in Pac 10 action) all of the sweeps came on their home diamond, Bailey-Brayton Field, they had just three home sweeps in the previous 11 years combined.
• Their 3-game sweep of rival Washington to end the season was their first over the Huskies since 1984.
• Marbut’s Cougars also had 16 come from behind wins during the ’09 campaign.
• The Cougars also had a fourth straight winning season-something that hadn’t happened in Pullman since 1994
  

  WSU head coach Donnie Marbut

  when a 35-26 record capped a run 37 straight seasons above .500.

Marbu

Click play above to listen to Washington State head coach Donnie Marbut’s podcast interview with Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires.  The interview was recorded right after the Cougar’s selection to the NCAA field.

After all was said and done Washington State earned its first NCAA bid since 1990, and was was sent to the Norman, OK Regional as the #3 seed.  The Cougars lost 10-3 to eventual College World Series qualifier, Arkansas, in their opener.  Chad Arnold struckout 10 the next day in a 3-2 elimination game win over Wichita State, and then Wazzu bowed-out the next day with a 7-2 loss to the host Sooners.

The NCAA drought for Gonzaga, which is located less than two hours south of Washington State in Eastern Washington, was even longer.  1981 was the last time the Bulldogs had gone to the NCAA postseason, but that would change in Mark Machtolf’s sixth season in Spokane.

WCC Coach of the Year Mark Machtolf

Gonzaga got off to a 6-1 start, but then lost four straight (a streak that was started with an 8-4 setback to their Pac 10 neighbors to the north).  The Zags responded with eight straight wins after that though to propel themselves to a 33-16 regular season record.  Gonzaga and Washington State each won a game in head-to-head action.  A third scheduled game between the two was canceled due to weather.

Among the notable achievements for Gonzaga in 2009:

• The Zags won six of seven West Coast Conference series – including two sweeps.
• Gonzaga topped the 30 win mark for the third straight season – the first time that’s happened in more than 25 years.
• Machtolf was named WCC Coach of the Year – in six seasons his 180 wins are the third-most in school history.
• Matt Fields (8-1, 3.47 ERA) became the second Bulldog ever to win WCC Pitcher of the Year accolades.
• Five Zags earned All-WCC recognition.
• Senior firstbaseman Ryan Wiegand became Gonzaga’s all-time hits leader.
• The team also set a school record when five players- A.J. Proszek, Tyson Van Winkle, Steven Ames,
  

  WCC Pitcher of the Year Matt Fields

  Fields, and Wiegand - were taken in the June MlB draft.

The Bulldogs swept to games from Loyola Marymount in the WCC Championship Series to earn its first NCAA Tournament bid since the ’81 season.  They were sent to the Fullerton Regional as the #3 seed and out-slugged #2 Georgia Southern 19-10 in their opener.

Gonzaga exploded for seven first inning runs, knocking out Georgia Southern starter Chris Mederos (himself an MLB draftee) after only 2/3 of an inning.  Wiegand, Anthony Synegal and Mark Castellitto each homered for the Zags.  Gonzaga scored in all but one inning of the game, while every Zag scored a run and had at least one hit.

Things didn’t go as well the next two days as Gonzaga lost to eventual CWS qualifier Fullerton and Utah, but the opening round win gave Gonzaga the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory since 1980.

So now, after a combined 46-year NCAA drought for Gonzaga and Washington State, Mark Machtolf and Donnie Marbut each have a common goal for 2010:  Repeat.

Other Top Moments Of 2009

9.  Cal Poly Gets Its First NCAA Tournament Bid

10.  Kansas’ Field of Dreams: Kansas, Kansas State & Wichita State All Get NCAA Bids

11.  Stephen Strasburg Strikes out 17 in a no hitter

12.  Ohio State’s Alex Wimmers No-hits Michigan

13.  Kansas Sweeps #1 Texas

14.  Bryce Brentz Has An April To Remember

15.  Clemson’s Kyle Parker Does Double Duty

16.  #1 Arkansas Beats #1 Arizona State

17.  Rhode Island Beats Miami And Oklahoma State

18.  Kansas State’s A.J. Morris beats Arizona State’s Mike Leake

19.  North Carolina’s Mike Fox Wins His 1,000th Game

20.  Illinois Shocks #1 LSU In Baton Rouge

21.  Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Longballs

22.  Freshman Levi Michael Starts In North Carolina’s Season Opener

23.  LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

24.  Oregon Brings Back Baseball