Feb. 25, 2002

BRIEFLY...

Loyola Marymount University will take a break from its current stretch of road games and will host a one-game home date with San Diego State on Tuesday, Feb. 26. The Lions fresh off a trip to No. 17 Texas are 4-8 on the season and will face the Aztecs, who are 10-5. Mike Moat (RHP, So., 2-1, 1.10 ERA) will start for the Aztecs. Vincent Cordova (RHP, So., 0-0, 0.00) will start for the Lions.

SCOUTING THE AZTECS...

San Diego State has streaked out to a 10-5 record on the season, taking two of a three game series against Nevada last weekend. They have won five of their last six and are led by their pitching staff, who have an ERA of 2.64. Opponents are hitting a mere .212 on the season against the Aztecs. Rob Harrand is 2-0 on the season with a 0.00 ERA in 11 innings of work. He has 11 strikeouts and just one walk allowed this season. Royce Ring has developed into the Aztecs closer, earning three saves in six appearances. He has allowed just three hits in five innings of work, striking out 10 and walking one. On offense they are led by Carlo Cota, who leads the consistent starters with a .368 batting average. Chad Corona leads the team with four home runs, 11 RBI and a .691 slugging percentage.

STREAKING...

Senior Kris Zacuto was the Lions bright spot in their trip to Texas. He earned a hit in every game against the Longhorns, stretching his hitting streak to 12 games on the season. He finished the four games last week hitting .312 with two home runs and four RBI. He had a .750 slugging percentage and added a double to his career totals. He is tied for fifth all-time with 50 doubles, equalling Scott Walter and Jim McAnany.

FOLLOW-UP...

Sophomore Billy Lockin had a solid freshman campaign in 2001 and his follow-up season has started even better. The Thousand Oaks native leads the team with a .395 batting average and is tops with a .467 on-base percentage. He has 15 hits in 38 at-bats and is tied for the team lead with nine runs scored.

A QUICK BREATHER...

The Lions just concluded a three-game road trip to the 17th-ranked Texas Longhorns. The return to Page Stadium for the game against the Aztecs will be their first contest in the last four they haven't faced a team ranked in the polls. In fact the Lions' non-conference schedule is ranked first in the country and overall the Lions' strength of schedule is ranked 13th. It won't get any easier. LMU will head to Arizona State for a three-game series March 1-3, who is ranked as high as 8th by the Baseball Weekly Coaches Poll. They will return to Los Angeles but travel to UCLA for a game on March 5 and then head out for their third straight three-game series against a ranked opponent. The Lions will travel to Mississippi State on March 8-10. A trip to 10th-ranked Cal State Fullerton will conclude the road swing on March 13.

UNUSUAL THREE...

Senior Tommy Perez hit just his third triple of his career against the Longhorns. Perez, who is quickly climbing the all-time home run list with 33, had two triples as a junior while hitting 11 home runs. In his sophomore and freshman seasons combined, Perez had 19 home runs and no triples.