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WHAT’S BRUIN - Baseball Weekly News & Notes 4/8
Links: Quick Facts / Roster / Schedule & Results / Statistics / Press Releases
Multimedia: Live Stats / Video / KFOX Radio
Overall Record: 18-7 (Home 6-3, Road 3-4 Neutral 9-0)
NWC Record: 9-6, 3rd T (Home 4-3, Road 3-3, Neutral 2-0)
* HIGHLIGHTS:
* Coming Up: Bruins to Visit UPS for Three NWC Games, Host Corban
* Winterstein and Ranta HM for NWC Honors for 3rd Time Each
* Bruins Slide from 14th to 22nd in Latest D3baseball.com Poll
* NCAA Stats: Bruins Ranked 3rd Nationally in Hit by Pitches, Fielding
* NWC Team Stats: Bruins Lead League in Runs, Steals, Wins, Fielding
* NWC Batting Stats: Winterstein Leads League in Runs, Total At Bats
* NWC Pitching Stats: Ranta Leading League in Wins and Starts
* NWC Fielding Stats: Gantenbein NWC Leader in Chances, Runners Caught
* Coming Up: Bruins to Visit UPS for Three NWC Games, Host Corban
- Sat., Apr. 9, 12:00 pm - at University of Puget Sound (2), Tacoma, Wash.
- Sun., Apr. 10, 12:00 pm - at University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Wash.
- Wed., Apr. 13, 4:00 pm - vs. Corban University, Newberg, Ore.
NEWBERG, Ore. - Three games in the loss column behind both Linfield and Puget Sound, the George Fox Bruins hope to gain some ground on the league’s top two teams when they head for Tacoma, Wash., this weekend for a critical three-game Northwest Conference series against the surprising UPS Loggers.
Linfield seized control of the conference race by taking two of three from Puget Sound last week; the Wildcats are 12-3 in the confernce while the Loggers are 9-3. George Fox, which dropped two out of three to Whitworth last week, and Pacific are tied for third at 9-6.
The Bruins, ranked 22nd in the latest D3baseball.com poll, are 18-7 overall; the Loggers are 11-11. The two will play a doubleheader on Saturday and a single on Sunday, starting at 12:00 noon both days. Projected starting pitchers for the Bruins include Brian Ranta (7-1, 1.92, 49 K’s, 61.0 ip), RHP Clay Gartner (1-2, 2.65, 24 K’s, 37.1 ip), and RHP Joey Clancy (2-0, 5.40, 14 K’s, 26.2 ip).
The Loggers, who were picked to finish fifth in the conference pre-season poll, are likely to counter with Matt Robinson (5-1, 1.69, 41 K’s, 48.0 ip), Taylor Volz (1-2, 6.44, 7 K’s, 29.1 ip), and Nathan Aguiar (1-2, 2.93, 11 K’s, 27.2 ip). Matt Cox (.395-2-18) and Dakota Resnik (.286-0-18) are the offensive leaders for the Loggers and provide great speed on the bases with 13 and 15 steals respectively. In last year’s series in Newberg, the Bruins took the first and third games 6-5 and 5-4, while the Loggers captured the middle game 10-6.
George Fox will also play a non-conference game on Wednesday at home against the Corban Warriors (6-23) at 4:00 p.m. This will be a makeup game of a rainout back on March 9.
Multimedia: George Fox will provide live stats for the Corban game on Wednesday; a link to the live stats is available above.
BRUIN BITS:
* Winterstein and Ranta HM for NWC Honors for 3rd Time Each
Right fielder Dan Winterstein and right-hander Brian Ranta received honorable mention for Northwest Conference Offensive/Fielding and Pitching Student-Athletes of the Week for Mr. 28-Apr. for their efforts in the Bruins’ three-game series with Whitworth, the third honorable mention for each this season.
Winterstein, a senior from Eugene, Ore., batted .538 (7-13) with two doubles, a home run, a .923 slugging percentage, a .600 on base percentage, six runs scored and three RBIs. In a 13-3 win in the first game of a doubleheader on Apr. 2, he went 2-4 with a double, a home run, a walk, three runs and three RBIs. In a 6-5 10-inning loss in the second game, he was 1-4 with a walk and a run. In the finale on Apr. 3, an 8-6 setback, he was 4-5 with a double and two runs.
In conference statistics, Winterstein is 1st in runs (36), total at bats (126), 2nd in walks (14, T), 3rd in hits (37), stolen bases (12), 4th in at bats (105, T), sacrifice flies (3, T), 5th in triples (1, T), 6th in total bases (51), 7th in home runs (2, T). In NCAA national stats, he is 15th in runs (36) and 20th in runs per game (1.44).
Ranta, a junior from Clackamas, Ore., threw eight strong innings in the Bruins’ 13-3 win over the Pirates in the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday. He allowed eight hits and three runs while striking out two and walking one in improving his record to 7-1 on the season. He has been the NWC Pitcher of the Week three times and the Bruin Athletic Association Men’s Athlete of the Week twice this season.
In conference statistics, Ranta is 1st in wins (7), starts (8, T), 2nd in innings (61.0), strikeouts (49), 5th in ERA (1.92), opponents’ batting avg. (.224). In NCAA national stats, he is 3rd in wins (7), 12th in fewest walks per 9 innings (0.74), and 22nd in strikeouts (49).
* 2011 Honors
Josh Rapacz ---
- Bruin Athletic Association Men’s Athlete of the Week - Feb. 7-13
- Northwest Conference Offensive/Fielding Student-Athlete of the Week - Feb. 7-13
Andrew Snyder ---
- Northwest Conference Pitching Student-Athlete of the Week - Feb. 7-13 (HM)
Taylor Hunter ---
- Northwest Conference Offensive/Fielding Student-Athlete of the Week - Feb. 14-20
Brian Ranta ---
- Bruin Athletic Association Men’s Athlete of the Week - Feb. 14-20; Feb. 28-Mar. 6
- Northwest Conference Pitching Student-Athlete of the Week - Feb. 14-20; Feb. 21-27; Feb. 28-Mar. 6 (HM); Mar. 14-20; Mar. 21-27 (HM); Mar. 28-Apr. 3 (HM)
Dan Winterstein ---
- Northwest Conference Offensive/Fielding Student-Athlete of the Week - Feb. 21-27 (HM); Mar. 14-20 (HM); Mar. 28-Apr. 3 (HM)
Sam Stahl ---
- Northwest Conference Offensive/Fielding Student-Athlete of the Week - Feb. 28-Mar. 6 (HM)
Derek Aldrich ---
- Northwest Conference Offensive/Fielding Student-Athlete of the Week - Mar. 7-13 (HM)
Nate Hickok ---
- Bruin Athletic Association Men’s Athlete of the Week - Mar. 21-27
- Northwest Conference Offensive/Fielding Student-Athlete of the Week - Mar. 21-27 (HM)
* Bruins Slide from 14th to 22nd in Latest D3baseball.com Poll
After going 1-2 in a Northwest Conference series vs. Whitworth, the Bruins slipped to 18-7 on the season and from 14th to 22nd in the NCAA Division III D3baseball.com national poll of April 4, the sixth of the season. George Fox received 110 points in the voting, down from 210 the week before. ... Shenandoah (22-2) remained the No. 1 team in the nation.
D3baseball.com /NCBWA Poll: http://www.d3baseball.com/landing/index
* Records Set or Tied in 2011:
- Most Stolen Bases, Game, Player - 5 by Nate Hickok at Whitman, 3/26/11, 2nd game (broke record of 4 held by five others)
- Most At Bats, Game, Player - 7 by Sam Stahl at Whitman, 3/26/11, first game (tied record done by 13 players 15 times)
* NCAA Stats (4/3): Bruins Ranked 3rd Nationally in Hit by Pitches, Fielding
- Batting: George Fox is 3rd in hit by pitches (49), 4th in sacrifice bunts (38), 16th in sacrifice flies (16), 34th in stolen bases (49), 36th in doubles (51), 41st in hits (263), 42nd in runs (171),...
- Pitching: George Fox is 45th in fewest walks per 9 innings (3.05) ...
- Fielding: George Fox is 3rd in fielding avg. (.976), 44th in double plays (20) …
- SS Taylor Hunter is 11th in sacrifice bunts (7), 36th in hit by pitches per game (0.28), 41st in hit by pitches (8) ...
- LF Derek Aldrich is 26th in hit by pitches (9) ...
- 3B Sam Stahl is 7th in sacrifice files (5), 16th in RBIs (32) ...
- RF Dan Winterstein is 15th in runs (36), 20th in runs per game (1.44) ...
- CF Nate Hickok is 41st in hit by pitches (8) ...
- 1B John Mountz is 2nd in sacrifice bunts (9), 41st in hit by pitches (8) ... He would be 1st in sacrifice bunts per game (0.60) but has only played in 15 games, not enough to qualify for national stats ...
- RHP Brian Ranta is 3rd in wins (7), 12th in fewest walks per 9 innings (0.74), 22nd in strikeouts (49) ...
* NWC Team Stats (4/3): Bruins Lead League in Runs, Steals, Wins, Fielding
- Batting: George Fox is 1st in on base pct. (.391), runs (171, T), total at bats (1,054), hit by pitches (49), sacrifice bunts (38), stolen bases (49), 2nd in batting avg. (.304), hits (263), RBIs (148), sacrifice flies (16), 3rd in slugging pct. (.402), doubles (51), total bases (348), walks (85), 4th in home runs (10), at bats (866), 5th in strikeouts (148), 6th in triple (2, T) …
- Pitching: George Fox is 1st in wins (18, T), 2nd in innings (224.0), saves (7), opponents’ batting avg. (.269), pickoffs (7, T), 3rd in ERA (3.50), 4th in strikeouts (153), wild pitches (18), 5th in fewest walks (76), 8th in hit batters (17) ...
- Fielding: George Fox is 1st in fielding avg. (.976), assists (312), fewest errors (24), caught stealing (19), 2nd in chances (1,008), putouts (672), double plays (20), 9th in passed balls (2) …
* NWC Batting Stats (4/3): Winterstein Leads League in Runs, Total At Bats
- SS Taylor Hunter is 2nd in sacrifices (7), 4th in hits (36), hit by pitches (8, T), 6th in batting avg. (.367), total at bats (120), 8th in doubles (8, T), 9th in on base pct. (.442), RBIs (18, T), stolen bases (7, T), 10th in at bats (98, T) ...
- RF Dan Winterstein is 1st in runs (36), total at bats (126), 2nd in walks (14, T), 3rd in hits (37), stolen bases (12), 4th in at bats (105, T), sacrifice flies (3, T), 5th in triples (1, T), 6th in total bases (51), 7th in home runs (2, T) …
- CF Nate Hickok is 4th in on base pct. (.468), hit by pitches (8, T), 5th in stolen bases (9, T), runs (25, T), triples (1, T) ...
- C-1B Eric Gantenbein is 5th in hits (35), 7th in home runs (2, T), total bases (49, T), at bats (101), 8th in RBIs (19), doubles (8, T), 9th in total at bats (118) ...
- 3B Sam Stahl is 1st in hits (38, T), RBIs (32), sacrifice flies (5,T), 2nd in at bats (107, T), 4th in total at bats (122), 9th in total bases (48, T), stolen bases (7, T) …
- LF Derek Aldrich is 3rd in hit by pitches (9), 7th in home runs (2, T), 9th in sacrifice flies (2, T) …
- 1B John Mountz is 1st in sacrifices (9), 4th in hit by pitches (8, T) …
- DH Todd Nagamine is 8th in sacrifices (4, T) ...
- 2B Zac Israel is 9th in sacrifice flies (2, T) …
* NWC Pitching Stats (4/3): Ranta Leading League in Wins and Starts
- RHP Brian Ranta is 1st in wins (7), starts (8, T), 2nd in innings (61.0), strikeouts (49), 5th in ERA (1.92), opponents’ batting avg. (.224) …
- RHP Andrew Snyder is 5th in appearances (11, T) …
- RHP Brian Davis is 4th in wild pitches (6, T), 6th in hit batters (7, T), 9th in starts (7, T) …
- RHP Kyle Albertson is 8th in wins (3, T) …
- RHP Clay Gartner is 9th in ERA (2.65) …
- RHP Jacob Brown is 2nd in appearances (12, T), games finished (9), 5th in saves (2, T) …
- RHP Dan Winterstein is 5th in saves (2, T) ...
* NWC Fielding Stats (4/3): Gantenbein NWC Leader in Chances, Runners Caught
- 2B Zac Israel is 1st in fielding avg. (1.000, T) …
- LF Derek Aldrich is 1st in fielding avg. (1.000, T) …
- C-1B Eric Gantenbein is 1st in chances (231), caught stealing (15), 3rd in putouts (198) …
* Head Coach MARTY HUNTER
Marty Hunter (Linfield ’84) is 105-43 (.709, 45-16 home, 45-20 road, 15-7 neutral) to date in his 4th season as the George Fox head coach … He was the Northwest Conference Co-Coach of the Year in 2009 … He has guided the Bruins to two post-season appearances (2008, 2009) in his first three seasons … Against Puget Sound, he is 7-4 (4-3 home, 3-1 road) … Against Corban, he is 2-1 (1-0 home, 0-1 road, 1-0 neutral) ... He became the third coach in George Fox history to reach the 100-win plateau when his son Taylor hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Bruins a thrilling 5-4 win over the Willamette on March 20. The game was played in Salem, Ore., due to unplayable conditions at the Bruins’ Morse Field, but George Fox batted as the home team. He joined Pat Casey (171-113-1, 1988-94), now the head coach at Oregon State, and Pat Bailey (353-158, 1996-2007), an assistant at Oregon State, as George Fox baseball coaches with 100 wins. He reached the milestone faster than any other Bruin baseball coach, in his 141st game; Bailey got his 100th in his fourth season and 149th game. Hunter’s previous landmark wins include his first (18-2 at McMurry, 2/17/2008) and his 50th (21-2 vs. Whitman, 4/10/2009).
