Bearcats and Lutes to Battle in Baseball at John Lewis Field

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University and Pacific Lutheran University will meet in a key Northwest Conference baseball series this weekend at John Lewis Field. The Bearcats will take on the Lutes in a doubleheader on Saturday, March 7 at 11 a.m. (PST). The teams will finish the series with one game on Sunday, March 8 at 12 p.m. (PDT).

The Bearcats are 12-1 overall and hold first place in the NWC standings at 5-1 after winning two of three games at George Fox last weekend. Pacific Lutheran, George Fox and University of Puget Sound are all tied at 4-2, while Whitworth University is 2-1.

Willamette is hitting .278 as a team and has scored 95 runs in 13 games for an average of 7.3 runs per game. The Bearcats have pounded out 41 extra-base hits, including 30 doubles and six home runs.

Tiras Koon (Sr., 1B, Honolulu, HI/Iolani School) tops the WU batting chart with a .395 average. He was named NWC Baseball Position Student-Athlete of the Week after hitting .545 with three home runs against GFU. Koon leads the Bearcats with 17 hits, 16 RBIs and 11 walks. He also ranks first with a .698 slugging percentage and is second with 12 runs scored.

Brad Breier (Sr., C, Torrance, CA/South HS) is hitting .325 for Willamette, while Troy Conway (Fr., INF, Moorpark, CA/Moorpark HS) is batting .314. Breier has recorded 77 putouts behind the plate with eight assists and no errors. Conway has scored 10 runs to go with along with three doubles.

Also hitting above .300 for the Bearcats are Gordie Clary (Jr., UT, Vacaville, CA/Vacaville HS) at .310 and Rolenn Himuro (Sr., OF, Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) at .302. Both have achieved eight RBIs. Glary leads the team with five doubles. Himuro has scored nine runs.

Hunter Gallant (Sr., 3B/SS, Rescue, CA/Ponderosa HS) is batting .283 and is Willamette's top scorer with 14 runs. He ranks second on the roster with 16 RBIs.

The Willamette pitching staff has attained a 2.27 team earned run average with 99 strikeouts in 119 innings. Opponents have been limited to a .234 batting average.

Three of WU's pitchers have each started four games. Peter Hoffman (Sr., RHP, Hayden, ID/Lake City HS) has achieved a 1.33 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 27 innings. Connor Loar (Fr., RHP, Danville, CA/San Ramon Valley HS) has pitched 23 inning, and possesses a 1.57 ERA. Jackson Watt (Jr., RHP, Rocklin, CA/Whitney HS) has registered a 1.91 ERA with a team-high 30 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings.

Loar is 3-0 on the season. Hoffman and Watt each sport a 2-0 record.

Andrew Koumelis (Jr., LHP, Roseville, CA/Jesuit HS/Sacramento City College) also is 2-0 in four relief appearances. He has been credited with one save and has produced a 0.90 ERA with nine strikeouts in 10 innings.

Lucas Still (Fr., RHP, Sacramento, CA/Christian Brothers HS) owns a 2.08 ERA with two saves in 8 2/3 innings. Tyler Olson (Sr., RHP, Yuba City, CA/Yuba City HS) is 1-0 with 12 strikeouts in nine innings pitched.

Pacific Lutheran is hitting .291 as a team with 43 extra-base hits. Among regular batters, Collin Nilson Sr., OF) ranks first with a .391 batting average and eight doubles. He is tied for the team lead with 12 RBIs. Jacob Clements (So., OF) owns a .362 batting average and has scored a team-high 11 runs.

Tyler Thompson (Jr., INF) is hitting .327 and is tied with Nilson for the Lutes' RBI lead with 12. Ben Welch (So., INF) has batted .326 with eight runs and is 4 for 4 on stolen bases.

Drew Oord (Jr., INF) and Landon Packard (So., INF) are both batting .325 this season. Packard has scored nine runs, while earning five doubles and six RBIs.

PLU's pitchers have recorded a 2.83 team earned run average and have struck out 89 batters in 121 innings. The Lutes have held opponents to a .237 batting average.

AJ Konopaski (Sr., RHP) has a 0.00 ERA with three saves in four innings pitched. He has registered three strikeouts and allowed two walks. Ty Donahou (Jr., LHP) is 1-0 with a 0.79 ERA in six appearances over 11 1/3 innings.

Over the past two weekends of NWC action, Chris Bishop (Sr., RhP), Kurt Skoda (So., RHP) and Kyle Rossman (So., RHP) each started two games. Rossman was named NCBWA National Division III Pitcher of the Week after tossing a complete game in a 14-0 win over Pacific University on March 1.

Rossman leads the starters with a 1.73 ERA. He has amassed 18 strikeouts in 26 innings, while limiting batters to a .188 average. Bishop leads PLU with 20 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings and has a 3.42 ERA. Skoda has a 4.02 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings. Reliever Cory Nelson (Jr. LHP) has a 3-1 record.