Ranta Wins NWC Pitcher Honors for 2nd Straight Week; Williams HM for NWC Hitter

NEWBERG, Ore. – After throwing the fourth no-hitter in George Fox University history, ace right-hander Brian Ranta had another solid outing on Mar. 31 at Whitworth University to earn Northwest Conference Baseball Pitching Student-Athlete of the Week honors for Mar. 26-Apr. 1, his second straight week to win the award and third time this season.

Ranta, a senior from Clackamas, Ore., went the first eight innings of the series opener against the Pirates in Spokane, Wash., and raised his record to 4-1 with an 8-1 win.  He scattered six hits during his stint, striking out two and walking one.  The only run he allowed was unearned, giving him 17 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. 

Ranta was also cited by the College Baseball Hall of Fame by being named to their most recent “National All-Star Lineup”, which is chosen weekly and was announced on Wednesday, for his no-hitter on Mar. 24 in a 1-0 win over Whitman.  To see the complete lineup for the week, go to the College Baseball Hall of Fame website at http://web.collegebaseballhall.org/news/article.jsp?content_id=27901494.

In the latest conference statistics, Ranta ranks first in the league in strikeouts (42) and starts (8, T), second in wins (4, T), innings (59.0), and complete games (2, T), and sixth in earned run average (2.44).  In NCAA Division III national stats, he is 47th in strikeouts. 

George Fox right fielder Timothy Williams received honorable mention for NWC Baseball Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week for the second time this spring.  The junior from Oceanside, Calif., batted .500 (7-14) with three multi-hit games in the Whitworth series.  He went 2-5 with a double and a run in an 8-1 first-game win on Mar. 31, and was 3-5 with a double, a run, and an RBI in a 10-5 second-game win.  In the Bruins’ 4-1 loss on Apr. 1, he was 2-4 with a stolen base.  His slugging percentage for the series was .643.

NEXT: The Bruins return to action this weekend against the visiting University of Puget Sound Loggers with a doubleheader Friday at 12:00 noon and a single game Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Concordia’s beautiful new soccer/baseball complex, Hilken Community Stadium.  George Fox is 14-13 overall and 10-5 in the Northwest Conference, while Puget Sound is 4-21-1 overall and 1-11 in league play.  The Bruins are fourth in the NWC standings, the Loggers ninth.

For fans who cannot make it to the games in Portland, live stats will be provided for the three-game series on the internet at http://athletics.georgefox.edu/livestats/index.  KFOX radio is also planning to broadcast the two Friday games, with Chris Lumsden calling the play-by-play, and possibly the single game on Saturday, at http://www.georgefox.edu/offices/asc/kfoxradio/.