This Week In Warrior Athletics

April 30, 2007

EVENTS: 

Baseball: vs. University of British Columbia, 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 1 and Wednesday, May 2. noon on Thursday, May 3, at  LCSC’s Harris Field; vs. Linfield College, 2 p.m., Saturday, May 5 and noon, Sunday, May 6, at LCSC’s Harris Field.

Men’s and women’s golf – Second round of Region I Tournament, Tuesday, May 1, Christian Lake, British Columbia.

Men’s basketball – Pig roast, Sunday May 6, 4:30 p.m., concession walkway at Harris Field.

Men’s and women’s tennis – Annual team barbecue, Sunday, May 6, 5 p.m., lawn next to LCSC Tennis Center. 

Baseball: 

Already owning the program-best record after 47 games, the Warrior baseball team looks to end the home portion of its regular-season on a strong note with five games in six days.

The Warriors, 44-3 overall and ranked No. 1 in the NAIA, complete action against Region I teams with a three-game series against the University of British Columbia on Tuesday-Thursday at Harris Field. UBC owns a 5-3 win over the Warriors in their only meeting thus far this season. The remaining two games at Vancouver, B.C. were rained out.

UBC, 18-15 overall,  is currently in a battle for Albertson for the right to host the Region I tournament and a three-game series between the two teams this weekend in Vancouver will decide the issue. The top finisher in the Region I standings of the two teams will be the host because LCSC is forbidden from being the host. The Warriors, the defending national champions, will play host the Avista NAIA World Series on May 25-June 1 and receives an automatic berth into the tournament.

LCSC, UBC and Albertson will be joined by Concordia for the four-team Region I tournament, which will be held next Thursday-Saturday. Concordia will be the No. 4 seed in the tournament.

LCSC will wrap up the regular season at home this weekend with single games against Linfield on Saturday and Sunday. The two games will be the final ones for Linfield coach Scott Carnahan, who has a 562-375-2 record in his 24 years at the helm.

The Warriors then wrap up the regular season next Tuesday against Washington State University in Pullman.

LCSC brings a 16-game win streak into the UBC series and has been tearing up the NAIA, either standing first or second in 13 team categories. The Warriors lead the NAIA in the following per game categories – doubles, at bats, runs, chances, putouts, innings pitched, and batters struck out. LCSC pitchers are striking out an average of 8.5 batters per game, while the offense is averaging better than 10 runs a contest.

The Warriors also are second in earned run average, runs allowed per game, opponent’s batting average, fielding percentage, hits per game, and RBI per game.

As a team, LCSC is hitting .340 a game, while holding opponents to a .221 average. The pitching staff has a 2.42 ERA, combined for seven shutouts, and has struck out 402, compared to allowing just 115 walks.

Beau Mills is chasing two single-season records (see below), while Mark Thompson has 31 stolen bases, the fifth-highest on LCSC’s single-season list. With another steal, he will tie Pook Bernstine (1981) for fourth, just two behind Mandy Simmons, who is third with 34 (1980).

UBC hurt itself by dropping three of four games to Oregon Tech in Region I play last weekend. UBC has lost four of its last five contests, allowing 43 runs in the four losses. UBC has struggled on the road this season with a 7-14 record.

Linfield is 22-14 on the season.

Beau Mills update – LCSC’s junior third baseman is one of the frontrunners for the NAIA’s Player of Year. He leads the NAIA in home runs (27) and RBI (91).

In the NAIA’s per-game statistics, he ranks first in home runs (0.587), runs scored (1.652), RBI (1.978), and total bases (3.978). He is second in slugging percentage (1.005), third in hits per game (1.826), and 10th in batting average (.462).

In six games last week, Mills went 7-for-21 with 11 RBI and seven runs scored. He also hit four home runs.

Mills had a 24-game hitting streak snapped last week, which ranks as the fifth-best in program history.

His home run total is second on the LCSC single-season list, trailing only Jim O’Dell’s 30 home runs in 1983. His RBI total is third-best, behind only Montie Phillips (115, 1987), and O'Dell (136, 1983).

Here is what Kevin Goldstein, who is with Baseball Prospectus, had to say about Mills last week. 

 “To say that this year's college hitting class is disappointing would be kind. There are few elite prospects, and even fewer with plus power. But there is Mills, whose exploits have already been covered in the Ten Pack from two weeks ago. On Saturday, the pitching staff of Albertson College employed a different strategy by pitching around him, understandable because in the other two games of the series he went 4-for-9 with a pair of home runs and six RBI. As if Mills' numbers weren't ridiculous in the past, he's been on another tear since the last mention, now sitting at .478/.565/1.012 in 40 games with 80 runs driven in. Yes, it's NAIA, but scouts think his bat is for real. Mills has firmly placed himself in the first half of the first round six weeks from now.” 

Golf: 

Both the LCSC men’s and women’s golf teams are looking to finish strong in the final 18 holes of the Region I Tournament, which will be played Tuesday at Christian Lake, British Columbia.

The first 36 holes were held Monday.

The men’s and women’s team champions and the men’s and women’s individual winners from the region tournament earn automatic berths to the national tournament. After the 13 regional and individual champions are determined, at-large berths will be awarded based on the final top 25 poll, which will come out after the regional tournaments. There is a limit of 144 golfers in each national tournament.

LCSC will need a strong showing in the Regional tournament because of the current NAIA rankings.

On the men’s side, the University of British Columbia, ranked No. 5 in the NAIA, is the favorite, while the University of Victoria is ranked No. 16. LCSC received votes in the top 25 poll and is at No. 34.

Five Region I women’s teams are ranked, led by UBC at No. 5. Concordia is No. 9 in the country, LCSC is No. 12, Rocky Mountain is No. 16, and Victoria is No. 21. 

Men’s basketball: 

The men’s basketball team will have a free pig roast Sunday at 4:30 p.m. near the concession stand and behind the first base bleachers at Harris Field.

This event will honor both the 2006-07 LCSC men’s basketball team, which went 26-7 and won both the Frontier Conference regular season and tournament titles, and the Round Ball Club members. Player awards will be announced and members of the Round Ball Club will be recognized.

All food and beverages will be provided. Lindy Hinkelman is donating the pig for the roast.

For more information, contact Melissa Hartwig in the LCSC Athletic Department at 792-2275. 

Tennis:

The Warrior men’s and women’s tennis teams will hold their annual barbecue at 5 p.m. on the lawn near the LCSC Tennis Center. If it rains, the event will move inside to the Tennis Center.

The event honors the 2007 teams and serves as a farewell to the team’s six seniors – Maria Resende, Ari Zaslow, Borja Molan, Ara Sarkissian, Andy Hunt, and Dustin Forsyth.

The barbecue features hamburgers, grilled chicken and hot dogs. People who plan on coming are encouraged to bring side dishes or desserts.

Dinner starts at 5 p.m., followed by senior speeches at 5:30 p.m. A slide show featuring pictures of the team will follow.

For more information on the event, contact the LCSC Tennis Center at 792-2309.

The Warriors also will take part in a couple of exhibition matches at home on Friday against Skagit Valley Community College. The men’s match starts at 10 a.m., followed by the women’s match at 2 p.m.