Baseball | 4/29/2010 11:39:33 AM
What's happening…
The Western Oregon University baseball team will host Central Washington in its final home series of the 2010 season, May 1-2. However, due to weather Saturday's doubleheader has been moved to Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer, Ore. The games on Saturday will still begin at 1:00 p.m., and will be a $5 charge for adults and $4 for students. Sunday's doubleheader will be back at WOU Baseball Field and will be Senior Day for 15 Western Oregon student-athletes. Game time for Sunday's contests will be noon.
Dugout Club BBQ…
The Western Oregon baseball team will be hosting its annual Dugout Club barbeque Saturday, May 1 following the completion of the doubleheader. The BBQ will be held on the campus of Western Oregon University in the Wolves' indoor facility, which is commonly referred to as the Rubber Room. The Dugout Club BBQ is a way for the Wolves' baseball team to say thank you to those which have donated to the program and helped make the 2010 season a success. It is an opportunity for Wolves fans to meet the players and the coaches as well. Even if you are not a member of the Dugout Club you are welcome to attend the event for a nominal fee.
Regionally ranked…
The third official NCAA regional poll was released Wednesday, Apr. 28. The Wolves remained at No. 6 for the third straight week. The only changes were Chico State swapping spots with CSU San Bernardino to move into the No. 3 spot. Only four teams from the region will qualify for the playoffs, including the California Collegiate Athletic Association champion. The GNAC does not receive an automatic bid.
Overall Record In-Region Record
West Region
1. UC San Diego 41-6 39-5
2. Cal State Dominguez Hills 33-13 28-13
3. Cal State Chico 30-16 29-15
4. Cal State San Bernardino 28-14 27-14
5. Hawaii Pacific 34-10 30-9
6. Western Oregon 26-13 26-13
A look at the Western Oregon team…
The Wolves (27-14, 21-3 GNAC) are on a 16 game winning streak in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. They lead the GNAC standings by 4.5 games with eight left to play. WOU has also won 10 of 12 games at home this season.
WOU pitchers lead the GNAC in ERA (4.57), opponent batting average (.283), shutouts (five) and saves (eighth). Wolves' batters lead the conference in home runs (51), sacrifices (32), on-base percentage (.406) and slugging percentage (.509). Western Oregon also leads the league and ranks 17th in the country with 76 total hit by pitches. The Wolves also ranks among the national leaders in home runs per game (27th, 1.24), total home runs (35th, 51), fielding percentage (26th, .965), slugging percentage (43rd, .509) and earned run average (46th, 4.57).
Race for the record books…
Daniel Dillard is sitting on 14 home runs this season which is tied for the most in a single season in Western Oregon history. He is also currently three short of tying the GNAC record of 17 homers in a season, which is currently held by Brian Viafore of Central Washington (2003). Dillard's 14 home runs also have him ranked 23rd in the country in home runs per game (.34) and total home runs.
Dillard also has a chance to break the school's single season record for total bases which is 132. He currently has 104.
Blake Keitzman has thrown seven straight complete games to put himself in a position to break or tie the WOU single season record of nine which is held by Kevin Kuykendall (1986) and Gene Lanthorn (1972).
Moseby takes over GNAC batting race lead…
Jason Moseby went 8-for-16 in the Wolves' four-game series with Chico State. He raised his average 22 points to take over the top spot in the GNAC batting average race. Of his eight hits in the series five of them went for extra bases as he recorded four doubles and a home run. Three of those doubles came in a WOU win against Chico State's top starter. If Moseby holds on in the batting average race this would mark the second straight season a Wolf has led the GNAC in batting. Last season, it was
Thomas McCarthy who paced the league with a .461 average.
A look at Central Washington…
The Central Washington Wildcats have dropped 8 of their last 11 games to fall to 11-31 on the season and 5-19 in the GNAC. As a team, they are hitting .297 with a .381 on-base percentage. Their pitchers are giving up over eight runs per game (7.99 ERA) and have allowed the most hits in the league (515).
Ricky McKinney leads the team with a .356 batting average and a .525 slugging mark. Jake Hammons is the Wildcats' RBI leader with 30. Jake Millbauer and Bryce Hjellum have both made 10 starts for the Wildcats. Millbauer has an ERA of 6.90 and Hjellum has a 6.98 ERA.
The Wolves have won six straight games over the Wildcats, including sweeping them in Ellensburg, Apr. 3-4, to take a 69-35 lead in the all-time series.
