Bulldogs Face Cougars To Open 2000 Baseball Campaign

Feb. 7, 2000

SPOKANE, Wash. -

BULLDOGS FACE COUGARS TO OPEN 2000 BASEBALL CAMPAIGN

GONZAGA (0-0)
vs.
WASHINGTON STATE (2-2)

February 11-13 @ Pasco, Wa
(Posse Stadium)

Series Record: (WSU leads 157-70-1)

SEASON-OPENERS: The Bulldogs open their 21st season under head coach Steve Hertz. Gonzaga looks to build upon last year's success in which the Bulldogs posted their first winning season since 1995. Gonzaga is 5-5 in season openers since 1990, but the Zags have dropped their last two season openers.

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS

                GONZAGA                            WASHINGTON STATE2/11 (2 p.m.)   RHP - Steve Bennett (6-1, 2.95)       LHP - Todd Meldahl (1-0, 2.08)2/12 (1 p.m.)   LHP - Barry Matthews (3-5, 7.38)      RHP - Reggie Rivard (0-1, 16.62)2/13 (1 p.m.)   RHP - David Hixson (J.C. in 1999)     RHP - Tyson Thompson (0-1, 15.00)        (1999 GU Stats for Pitchers)          (2000 WSU Stats for Pitchers)

VS. THE COUGS: The Bulldogs and the Cougars split their annual series 3-3 during the 1999 season. The Cougars won the opening series in Pasco, two games to one. The Bulldogs then won two of the three remaining games over the course of the season. The series was evenly matched throughout the year with GU outscoring WSU 54-47 in the six games. Each team scored a one run victory at their home stadium and each team also posted a blow out win over the other. A 17-5 Gonzaga victory being the largest winning margin of the six games. The Cougars lead the all-time series between the two schools 157-70-1, which includes 14 seasons when Gonzaga competed as a member of the PAC-10 North Conference.

SCOUTING WSU: The Cougars come into this series with four games already under their belt for the 2000 season. WSU is currently 2-2 with the two wins coming against nationally ranked Texas A&M. The two set-backs for the Cougs have come at the hands of defending NAIA National Champion, Lewis-Clark State, and a two run loss to Kansas State. Washington State finished 24-31 last season winning only four games in the PAC-10. This season the Cougs are predicted to finish eighth in the PAC-10 conference. WSU is currently missing the services of All-American candidate Jason Grove, who hit .393 with 61 RBI during the 1999 season despite being side-lined for a month with a broken thumb. He is questionable for this weekend's series with an injured wrist. In the dugout head coach Steve Farrington enters his 7th season at WSU.

POWER PACK: A year after smashing several school and WCC records for offensive output, the Bulldogs return the nucleus of a power hitting line-up that finished in the top twenty in the nation in home runs and runs scored. The Zags 3, 4, and 5 hitters return in Jason Bay (20 HR, 74 RBI), Adam Stokey (15 HR, 67 RBI), and Barry Matthews (12 HR, 46 RBI). The trio combined for over fifty percent of Gonzaga's home run total and over forty-five percent of the Zags RBI total. Combined with the other returning Bulldogs, Gonzaga has seventy-five percent of its power offense back to make a run at the WCC title this season.

PRE-SEASON PREDICTIONS: Based on several pre-season publications Gonzaga is predicted to finish fifth in the overall West Coast Conference race. The Zags are ranked #83 in the country in the Baseball America pre-season publication listing the top 100 teams in the nation. That ranking places the Bulldogs fifth in the overall West Coast Conference picture and third in the Coast Division race. In the WCC Coaches Pre-Season poll, the Zags are tabbed to finish fifth overall and third in the Coast Division. In national rankings the West Coast Conference is picked #9 out of 30 Division I baseball conferences with Coast Division favorite Loyola Marymount ranked #17.

Baseball America Pre-SeasonConference Rankings
1.  Pacific 10 Conference2.  Southeastern Conference3.  Atlantic Coast Conference4.  Big 12 Conference5.  Conference USA6.  Big Ten Conference7.  Big East Conference8.  Colonial Athletic Conference9.   West Coast Conference10. Missouri Valley Conference

HERTZ STARTS THIRD DECADE: Steve Hertz begins his third decade of coaching at Gonzaga as he enters his 21st season as head coach of the Bulldogs. An All-Conference pitcher at Gonzaga in the early 1970's, Hertz guided the Bulldogs to an NCAA Regional Final in his first season as head coach in 1978. Following a two-year stint as head coach at UC-Irvine, Hertz returned to his alma mater in 1981 and has guided the Bulldogs through three different conferences. In his 20 years at Gonzaga, Hertz has compiled a 525-524-5 mark while his 22-year career record stands at 584-586-5.

PRE-SEASON HONORS: Four Bulldogs players were recognized by Baseball America as pre-season All-West Coast Conference selections. Senior outfielder Jason Bay, senior pitcher Steve Bennett, junior first baseman Adam Stokey and junior pitcher / designated hitter Barry Matthews were the four players honored. Bay was a first team All-WCC pick in 1999 following a record setting season in which he hit .360 with 20 home runs and 74 runs batted in. Bennett and Stokey were second team All-WCC selections, while Matthews was an honorable mention pick.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Several Bulldogs will continue to move up in the Gonzaga record book during the 2000 season. Junior Adam Stokey currently stands at seventh on the career home runs list with 24, while ranking eleventh on the career list for doubles and runs batted in. Stokey also currently stands at seventh on the career batting average list. Following an outstanding junior season, senior Jason Bay looks to continue his assault on the Zags record book. Bay ranks tenth on the career home run list and with another solid run producing year should vault into the career top ten for RBI's. On the pitching front seniors Steve Bennett and Matt Siwek should wind up their careers in several top ten pitching categories. Both pitchers are on the verge of breaking into the career top ten in strikeouts. Siwek also needs just seven appearances this season to become the Bulldogs all-time leader in appearances.

Career Home Runs
1.  Jeff Hainline    54 (1984-88)2.  Jerrod Wong  33 (1993-96)3.  Dan R. Murphy    31 (1982-85)4.  Carter Masterson 27 (1992-95)4.  Mac Gebbers  27 (1978-82)6.  Bo Hart          26 (1998-99)7.    Adam Stokey    24 (1998-present)8.  Clete Wise   22 (1985-88)8.  Scott Burkhardt  22 (1983-86)10.   Jason Bay    20 (1999-present)10. Donnie Murrell   20 (1995-98)10. Jim Carnell  20 (1980-83)

DRAFT DODGERS: Two current Bulldogs players declined the opportunity at a professional career following the 1999 season as they opted to return to the college ranks for the 2000 season. Senior Steve Bennett was a 28th round selection of the New York Mets after posting a 6-1 record with a 2.95 earned run average in 1999. Bennett looks to improve his draft stock this year with another impressive campaign. Gonzaga newcomer Phil Banta was a 49th round selection of the Toronto Blue Jays after pitching at Bellevue Community College last year. Banta is being looked at for the Zags closer during the 2000 season.

A SMASHING SEASON: Last season the Zags smashed several school records and tied one WCC record on the way to their best season since joining the West Coast Conference baseball ranks in 1996. The Zags tied the WCC single season record for home runs as they belted 82 round-trippers on the season. That number also smashed the Gonzaga school record which had been 64 home runs set in 1986. The Bulldogs also set new school marks in runs, runs per game, hits per game, total bases and runs batted in. Moving into a power hitting team the Bulldogs also established a new record for strike outs as Gonzaga hitters went down 361 times for the season.

Record Setting Year(1999 Records Set)
Home Runs    82Runs Scored  455Runs Per Game    8.75Hits Per Game    10.75Runs Batted In   425Total Bases  1037Strike Outs  361

JUNIOR COLLEGE CONNECTION: The Bulldogs have once again jumped into the junior college ranks to fill-in gaps in their line-up. Last season Gonzaga found success with the addition of Jason Bay and Barry Matthews as Bay became a first-team All-WCC selection and Matthews finished as a honorable mention All-WCC member. Several players expected to make an immediate impact this season are: third baseman Gary Moraes (Lethbridge C.C.), starting pitcher David Hixson (Spokane Falls C.C.), starting pitcher and outfielder Scott Stencil (Bellevue C.C.), closer Phil Banta (Bellevue C.C.), and the catching duo of Sam Hess (College of Southern Idaho) and Brian Munhall (Columbia Basin C.C.).

ROAD WARRIORS: Gonzaga baseball will once again become accustomed to life on the road this season as the Bulldogs will spend two-thirds of their season away from the friendly confines of August / A.R.T. Stadium. The Zags open the season this weekend by going south to the Tri-Cities area to battle Washington State. Gonzaga then travels to Moraga, California, and Seattle the following two weekends before entertaining Pepperdine in the Bulldogs home opener March 3-4. The longest road trip of the season for Gonzaga will be the annual spring break trip in which the Bulldogs will compete for a week at the Pepsi / Johnny Quik Classic in Fresno, California, (March 6-11) followed by a double-header at Santa Clara on March 12.

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Bulldogs Face Cougars To Open 2000 Baseball Campaign

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