Feb. 24, 2009

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -

Complete Release in PDF Format

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -

THE SCHEDULE
Games 5-6

LMU Lions vs. Cal State Northridge Matadors
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. at Cal State Northridge's Matador Field

LMU Lions vs. Long Beach State 49ers
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. at LMU's Page Stadium

BRIEFLY…
After winning three of four games against Utah to start the season last weekend at home, LMU will hit the road for the first time in 2009 on Tuesday when it travels to Northridge, Calif. to take on Cal State Northridge at 2 p.m.  The Lions will then continue to compete against Big West Schools when it returns home to host Long Beach State at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

FOLLOWWW THE LIONS...
It’s easy to follow the Lions throughout the 2009 season!  Just log on to LMULions.com for all the latest Lion baseball coverage.  Tyler Geivett and a host of student radio broadcasters will bring fans the play-by-play for all LMU baseball games live online courtesy of the Lions Audio Network.  Fans can also follow the action online via Gametracker.  Just visit the Lion baseball page at www.LMULions.com, click on schedule, and click on the link located on the right side of the schedule for that particular game.

LION TRACKS…
LMU "walked-off" with its first victory of the season, an 8-7 decision in 11 innings, on Saturday in the continuation of Friday's contest against Utah.  Kyle Spraker singled down the left field line with the bases loaded to score Trevor Gee in the bottom of the 11th inning.  The win was Head Coach Jason Gill's first of his career.  The "walk-off" victory was the first for the Lions since Joe Vierra singled home Spraker on April 18, 2008 against Pepperdine.  LMU then dropped the first game of what was supposed to be a doubleheader on Saturday, 11-7.  The Lions and Utes attempted to play the second half of the double-dip following the loss, but could only manage to complete seven innings, once again postponing a game for the next morning.  Alex Gillingham and Ryan Wheeler had an outstanding game three for the Lions.  Gillingham dealt seven innings and allowed just three hits and one run while striking out 10 batters in his debut as a Lion.  He threw 104 pitches, 70 for strikes, and retired seven consecutive hitters on two occasions.  Wheeler provided much of the early offensive production, batting a perfect 3-for-3 with a double, a triple, a hit-by-pitch, a walk, three runs scored and two RBI.  He finished one home run shy of hitting for the cycle.  The Lions sealed the series victory with a 3-1 win on Sunday in the finale between the two teams.  LMU scored three runs in the bottom of the first, and needed no more offense, en route to the win.  Junior Angelo Songco blasted a three-run home run, his first of the season, in the first inning, and senior Lee Roberts tossed a gem on the hill to guide LMU to the win.  Roberts dealt seven and a third innings en route to his first victory in his first start of the season. The right-hander allowed just one run on eight hits and a walk while striking out six batters.

TEAM LMU THIS WEEK…
Thursday and Saturday’s men’s basketball games are this week’s “Team LMU” events.  “Team LMU” was created to generate awareness and excitement for LMU sporting events on game days.  Staff and students are encouraged to wear LMU gear on designated “Team LMU” days and to attend the games.

“CARREON” THE SUCCESS…
Right-hander Ramiro Carreon will make his first start of the season and his career when LMU takes on Cal State Northridge on Tuesday afternoon.  Carreon earned the start after tossing three and two-thirds of scoreless relief on February 20 vs. Utah.  The freshman was outstanding as the first reliever out of the bullpen in 2009, surrendering just one hit and one walk while punching-out three batters over the three and two-thirds innings.

WEARING IT FOR THE TEAM…
LMU was hit by 12 pitches in the series against Utah, including six in game one of the doubleheader on Saturday, and five in game one of the series on Friday.  The six hit batsmen were the most since LMU was hit six times in a game versus New Mexico State on February 21, 2004.  Junior Ryan Wheeler leads all players in the category, being hit by a pitch on three occasions.  Trevor Gee, Jonathan Johnson and Angelo Songco have each been hit twice, while Ollie Enos, Kyle Spraker and Brad Bauer have each earned one free pass via hit-by-pitch.

MEET THE MATADORS…
Cal State Northridge enters the midweek game with LMU toting a 1-2 record after dropping two decisions on a Pepperdine “walk-off” home run.  The Matadors lost what proved to be a home run derby on Friday in Malibu, falling 4-3 when Pepperdine hit two solo home runs in the bottom of the ninth to earn the victory.  Richard Cates had homered in the top of the inning to put CSUN on top, 3-2, before Pepperdine’s Nate Simon hit his second homer of the day to precede Denny Duron’s game-winner.  All runs scored by both teams were earned via the long-ball on Friday.  A three-run fifth inning would provide all the necessary runs for sophomore pitcher Ryan Juarez as the Matadors avenged Friday’s loss by defeating the Waves, 6-2, in their inaugural home game of the 2009 season on Saturday.  In his six-inning stint on the mound, Juarez only allowed seven hits and two runs to pick up the first CSUN victory of the season.  Simon once again did damage against CSUN on Sunday, belting a game-winning home run to opposite field to hand Pepperdine another walk-off win, 3-2.  The home run was his third of the series.  Ryan Pineda leads the Matadors in batting average, posting a .444 mark (4-for-9) through the first three games of the season.  He has teamed that mark with four runs scored, two doubles, a home run and three RBI.  Todd Eskelin is second on the team in terms of average, batting 2-for-5 (.400) with a RBI.  Catcher John Parhmam is also off to a solid start, batting .364 (4-for-11) with two runs scored and a RBI.  Bryan Harper, Ryan McCarney and Juarez each dealt strong games against the Waves.  Harper owns a 1.69 ERA (tops for starters) after tossing five and a third innings and allowing one run on five hits and three walks.  Billy Ott pitched three scoreless innings in CSUN’s victory on Saturday, earning his first save of the season and maintaining a perfect ERA.  Head Coach Steve Rousey is in his seventh season at the helm of the program.

LONG BEACH SHORT HOPS…
Long Beach State, a perennial powerhouse from the Big West Conference, enters the Wednesday game against LMU toting a 1-2 record after dropping the first two games of the season to USC and rebounding for a 5-4 victory on Sunday.  The Dirtbags dropped a 5-3 decision to USC on Friday before being shutout, 4-0, on Saturday in their home-opener at Blair Field.  USC’s Brad Boxberger pitched six innings and allowed just one hit, but did walk six batters, while striking out 11 hitters en route to the victory on Friday.  Playing in front of a packed house, sophomore Jake Thompson and outstanding defense kept the Dirtbags in a tight matchup against USC on Saturday, but the Trojans scored four runs in the eighth to spoil the Long Beach State home opener, 4-0.  Thompson was outstanding for Long Beach State, throwing seven scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and striking out five. However, USC’s Kevin Couture, who also went seven while allowing two hits and striking out 10, matched him effectively.  Andrew Gagnon pitched five strong innings in his collegiate debut, allowing only one earned run, while Derek Legg was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a RBI as Long Beach State defeated USC on the road Sunday, 5-4.  Legg is batting .400 (4-for-10) with two runs scored and a RBI so far this season.  Taylor Krick also carries a .400 batting average, batting 4-for-10 with two runs scored, a home run and three RBI.  The Dirtbags plan to start left-hander Adam Wilk on Thursday at Page Stadium.  Wilk has thrown three innings, allowing three hits, two walks and two runs while striking out five batters to record a 6.00 ERA in 2009.  Head Coach Mike Weathers is in his eighth season at the helm of the program.

WE’RE GOING STREAKING…
Junior Angelo Songco is currently riding a 14-game hitting streak, which started on May 2, 2008 and has continued into the beginning of the 2009 campaign.  So far this year, Songco has hit safely in all four games, batting .375 (6-for-15) with five runs scored, two doubles, a home run, 11 total bases and a team-best seven RBI.  He is slugging .688 and reaching base at a .474 clip.  The native of Granada Hills, Calif. finished the 2008 campaign by batting .500 (19-for-38) with 13 runs scored, 17 RBI, six doubles and seven home runs over the 10-game hitting streak.  In total, he is batting 25-for-53 (.472) with 18 runs scored, 24 RBI, eight doubles and eight home runs over the streak.  Fellow junior, Ryan Wheeler, is proving himself worthy of his preseason accolades as he has batted safely in each of the first four games of the season.  The Torrance, Calif. native is batting a team-high tying .500 (6-for-12) with a team-best seven runs scored, two doubles, a triple, 10 total bases and three RBI.  He was a home run short of the cycle on February 21 vs. Utah.  Freshman Trevor Gee is also off to a hot start, hitting safely in each of his four first games as a Lion.  Gee is batting .400 (6-for-15) with five runs scored and three RBI.

BETTER WITH TIME…
LMU has outscored opponents 14-2 in seventh innings or later this season.  Included in that total is a 7-0 advantage in the eighth and 1-0 mark in extra innings.  The Lions also hold the lead in the first (8-4), fourth (4-2), seventh (4-1) and ninth innings (2-1).  The second (2-1), third (4-2), fifth (5-2) and sixth (1-0) show a slight favor toward the opponents.

GET OFF ON THE RIGHT ‘PAW’…
Since 2001, LMU has been victorious in six of its nine games on Opening Day, earning an 8-7 “walk-off” victory in 11 innings over Utah this season, and falling last season to Sac State, 11-7, on February 22.  The Lions defeated Cal State Northridge, 7-3, in 2001’s opener at Page Stadium before defeating UC Santa Barbara on the road to start the 2002 campaign.  LMU failed to make it three-straight in 2003, dropping a one-run decision to Cal to open the year.  LMU was back to its winning ways in 2004, knocking-off UC Riverside, 5-4, and getting revenge against Cal with a one-run victory in 2005.  Starting the 2006 season on the road in Arizona, LMU dropped the first game of the year, 10-5, before rebounding in 2007 with a 9-5 victory over Sac State.

A DYNAMIC DUO…
Juniors Angelo Songco and Ryan Wheeler were named to the Rivals.com Preseason All-Conference team, it was announced on February 13.  Rivals.com named one player from each infield position, three outfielders, a designated hitter, three starting pitchers and one reliever to the team.  Wheeler was selected at first base, while Songco earned one of the three outfield spots.  Last year, Songco garnered All-WCC First Team honors after starting 51 of LMU’s 55 games.  The native of Granada Hills, Calif. finished the season batting .356 with 36 runs scored, 17 doubles, 15 home runs, 48 RBI, 130 total bases and a .681 slugging percentage.  Wheeler garnered All-WCC First Team honors last year after batting .345 and starting every game for the Lions as a sophomore.  The native of Torrance, Calif. finished the season with 36 runs scored, a conference-best 20 doubles, one triple, six home runs, 45 RBI and 110 total bases.  In addition, he slugged .542 and reached base at a .405 pace.

AND THE SURVEY SAYS…
Loyola Marymount was picked to finish sixth in the West Coast Conference in 2009 according to the preseason coaches poll.  University of San Diego and Pepperdine were picked as favorites to win this year’s WCC regular season title, while Gonzaga received the last remaining first place vote.  The Toreros and Waves both received 45 points, with the Toreros receiving four first place votes to three for the Waves. Santa Clara was picked to finish third with 35 points.  Gonzaga received 30 points to come in at fourth place, edging out San Francisco, which received 26 points, for fifth place.  Rounding out this year’s poll are LMU, with 20 points, Saint Mary’s, with 14 points, and Portland, with nine points.

WALLACE WATCHES WHEELER…
Junior Ryan Wheeler was named to the 2009 Brooks Wallace Award Preseason Watch List, it was announced on December 5.  Wheeler, a 2008 First Team All-West Coast Conference selection, earned a spot the prestigious list that will eventually determine the Player of the Year.  Joining Wheeler from the WCC are USD’s AJ Griffin, Kyle Blair and Sammy Solis, while Santa Clara’s Thain Simon was also placed among those on the watch list.  Saint Mary’s junior Kyle Jensen was also named, while Portland’s Riley Henricks and San Francisco’s Matt Lujan round out the players tabbed from the WCC.  The Wallace Award is presented to the nation’s top collegiate baseball player in conjunction with the College Baseball Hall of Fame’s annual induction festivities.  The 2009 award banquet will be held Thursday, July 2, in the United Spirit Arena on the campus of Texas Tech University.