April 22, 2008
This Week: vs. Cal State Monterey Bay (Fri.-noon, Sat.-noon)
Last Week: Defeated Northwest Nazarene 3 times (10-7, 2-0, 10-3), lost once (2-1)
Record: 30-14 (18-6 GNAC)
Coach: Jeremiah Robbins, third year (98-49 record overall)
League leaders: Western Oregon stretched its lead in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference to 2.5 games over the weekend by taking three of four games at home against Northwest Nazarene. The Wolves are now 30-14 on the season and 18-6 in the GNAC.
Otters to visit: The Wolves will take one final step outside of conference play this weekend, hosting Cal State Monterey Bay for a four-game series that will run Friday and Saturday, with noon starts on doubleheaders both days (no game on Sunday like previously scheduled). After that, two final GNAC series remain for the Wolves: on May 3-4 at Saint Martin's and May 9-10 at home versus Montana State Billings.
Region reward: The long-awaited "official" NCAA Division II west region poll came out last week, with the Wolves listed in sixth place. The top six teams in the final poll (May 11), which must include the CCAA (California Collegiate Athletic Association) and RMAC (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) tournament champions, will qualify for post-season play. Here is how last week's poll looked. (1) UC San Diego, (2) Sonoma State, (3) Metro State, (4) Cal State Stanislaus, (5) Chico State, (6) Western Oregon, (7) Mesa State, (8) Central Washington.
More polling: This week's National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association west region poll (unofficial) looks like this: (1) Sonoma State 37-7, (2) UC San Diego 36-11, (3) Metro State 36-9, (4) Chico State 32-12, (5) Mesa State 32-15, (6) Western Oregon 30-14, (7) Cal State Stanislaus 30-16, (8) Central Washington 22-14, (9) Cal State LA 22-20, (10) Hawaii Pacific 26-15.
National notice: Western Oregon is back in the national rankings this week as well, listing 25th in the PingBaseball ranking, and they are 28th in the Collegiate Baseball rating. Mount Olive (NC) is the top-ranked team in both polls, with Sonoma State (6th in both) and UC San Diego (7th in both) representing the west in the top 10 of both polls.
Moore awards for Mike and Tyler: Wolves second baseman Tyler Moore and pitcher Mike Ward were named the GNAC Player and Pitcher of the Week respectively on Monday. Moore, a senior second baseman from Portland (David Douglas HS) went 6-for-12 and drove in four runs against Northwest Nazarene. In Friday's 2-0 win, in drove in WOU's first run and then scored its other run. Ward earned his second GNAC Pitcher of the Week honor, this time by shutting down the Crusaders in that same 2-0 win. He fanned seven in the seven inning contest, did not walk a batter and gave up just four hits. It was his second shutout this season and the sophomore from South Eugene High School improved to 6-1 on the year.
Near sweep: The Wolves nearly made it a four-game sweep against the Crusaders, but NNU salvaged a victory with a marathon, 11-inning 2-1 win in Saturday's final game. WOU pitching was tough in the series, sporting a 2.83 ERA as Ward (see above) and Greg Bobnick (4.1 IP) and Jared Neyens (3.2 IP) did not give up a run. Dylan Bruck stole five bases in the four games to give him 29 on the season, five short of the GNAC record. He went 3-for-3 with two stolen bases and a triple in the opening game of the series.
Home cooking: The Wolves, who are 14-4 at home this year, play eight of their final 12 games of the season at the WOU Baseball Field.
Small ball: The 2008 Wolves are known for their ability to play "small ball". The Wolves lead the GNAC in stolen bases (87), sacrifice bunts (35) and hit by pitch (73). WOU's pitching staff also leads the league in ERA at 3.90.
National numbers: The WOU pitching staff ranks seventh in the country in fewest walks per nine innings (2.82), and the defense lists 12th in fielding percentage (.968). Dylan Bruck is among national leaders in stolen bases per game (0.67) at 13th.
WOU numbers: Senior outfielder Dylan Bruck paces the Wolves with a .423 batting average, and also leads the squad with 18 doubles, four triples, 44 runs scored and 29 stolen bases. He ranks first in the GNAC in three categories (doubles, hits, stolen bases) and he is second in batting average. Cesar Lopez (Jr., Walla Walla, Wash.) is hitting .344 with 31 RBI, while clean-up hitter Drew Humphrey (Jr., Pleasant Hill/Lane CC) is hitting .340 with a team-best 34 RBI (his RBI total is tied for fourth in the GNAC). Tyler Moore (Sr., Portland/David Douglas/Mt. Hood CC) is hitting .285 but has an on-base percentage of .405 with 12 walks and 17 hit-by-pitches. The Wolves have stolen 87 bases in 111 attempts, an average of two steals a game.
Tyler and the Wolves are Moore better on defense: Second basemen Tyler Moore has just two errors in 139 chances (.986). As a team, the Wolves have just 52 errors in 44 games and have a fielding percentage of .967.
Pitching progress: Junior Mike Eisenhauer (West Linn) has a 4.03 ERA and a 7-3 record, and has won seven games in a row. Fellow starter Mike Cusick (West Salem HS) is 4-4 with a 3.60 ERA, and has fanned 64 batters in 65 innings of work, best in the GNAC. He has also given up only 60 hits. Mike Ward (So., South Eugene HS) is 6-1 with a 3.65 ERA. Reliever Jared Neyens (Sr., Marysville, Wash./Edmonds CC) is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA and four saves. Fellow closer Ben Shivers (Sr., Silverton) is 4-3 with a 4.67 ERA and four saves, and he leads the team in appearances with 18. The Wolves have a team ERA of 3.90.
Otter ink: The Cal State Monterey Bay Otters will make a first-ever appearance in Monmouth this weekend for a four-game series. A member of the CCAA, the Otters are 12-34 on the season and 7-25 in conference action. They are coming off a successful series in Phoenix, having taken three of four games from Grand Canyon. Matt DeJesus leads a potent offense with a .346 batting average, 11 doubles, six home runs and 32 RBI. CSUMB's bugaboo has been its pitching, competing in the hitting-heavy CCAA. The Otter's team ERA is 9.57. Best CCAA results this season came when they took three of four games from San Francisco State, and they also garnered a split with Cal State Dominguez Hills. This will be only the second time that the programs have ever met. First meeting was last spring, when WOU took a 4-2 win over the Otters in Seaside, Calif.
Coaches say: Western Oregon is picked to win its eighth consecutive conference title this spring, by the Great Northwest Athletic Conference coaches. Here is how the vote went.
(1) Western Oregon 28, (2) Central Washington 20, (3) Montana State Billings 13, (4) Northwest Nazarene 10, (5) Saint Martin's 9.
Last year: Western Oregon finished the 2007 regular season by going 28-19 overall and 18-6 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, easily winning the conference title. Central Washington finished in second place, seven games back.
Banner(s): Western Oregon has won every GNAC title since the conference was formed in 2002, making the 2007 banner WOU's sixth straight. The Wolves also won the Cascade Conference in 2001, their last year of playing at the NAIA level, giving them seven straight league championships. WOU's all-time record for baseball in the GNAC is now 133-35 (.792).
Winning ways: The Wolves, who at one point last season were 6-12, finished 2007 with a winning record for the 15th consecutive season.
Robbins resume: Entering into his third season as the head baseball coach at WOU is Jeremiah Robbins. In 2006, he earned Great Northwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and region coach of the year honors. He was the GNAC Coach of the year in 2007. Robbins, who was an all-conference catcher for WOU in 1998, was the head coach at Douglas High School in 2003 and 2004. The Trojans won back-to-back Far West League titles during his leadership, and his 2003 team reached the 3A state semi-finals. A two-time Far West League Coach of the Year, Robbins was honored as the 3A Coach of the Year in 2004. Douglas went 24-2 and reached the state quarterfinals. In 2006, he was named the Oregon AAA Legion coach of the year while leading Richey's Market of Corvallis. The Douglas native spent the 2002 season as the head assistant coach at Lane CC, and was the leader of the Southwestern Oregon CC program in 2000 and 2001. In 2001, he was named the south region coach of the year in the NWAACC. He now has a career record at WOU of 98-49.
