Bearcats will Battle Bruins this Weekend for Early Northwest Conference Lead

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

SALEM, ORE. -- It's only three games into the Northwest Conference schedule and already there's a big match-up this weekend, as the Willamette University Bearcats will take on the George Fox University Bruins in a series at Morse Field in Newberg. Ore. Both teams are 3-0 and tied for first place.

The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m. (PST), before completing the series with one game on Sunday, March 1 at 12 p.m. Willamette heads into the series with a 10-0 overall record, while George Fox is 5-5 on the season.

Willamette's top hitter is Gordie Clary (Jr., UT, Vacaville, CA/Vacaville HS) with a .406 batting average. He leads the Bearcats with 13 hits, five doubles and a .625 slugging percentage. Troy Conway (Fr., INF, Moorpark, CA/Moorpark HS) is batting .348 and is tied for first on the team with 10 runs scored.

Tiras Koon (Sr., 1B, Honolulu, HI/Iolani School) is hitting .344 (11 of 32) with four doubles and nine RBIs. Hunter Gallant (Sr., 3B/SS, Rescue, CA/Ponderosa HS) has compiled a .316 batting average. He ranks first for WU with 13 RBIs and is tied with Conway for the team lead with 10 runs scored.

The Bearcats have received a .300 batting average from Rolenn Himuro (Sr., OF, Honolulu, HI/Punahou School), who has scored eight runs and registered five RBIs. Brad Breier (Sr., C, Torrance, CA/South HS) is hitting .296 with four runs and six RBIs.

As a team, Willamette owns a .275 batting average with 33 extra-base hits on 27 doubles, five triples and one home run. The Bearcats have limited their opponents to a .228 batting average and just 16 extra-base hits.

The Willamette pitching staff has achieved a solid 2.42 team earned run average, while recording 74 strikeouts in 93 innings pitched.

Starters Jackson Watt (Jr., RHP, Rocklin, CA/Whitney HS) and Connor Loar (Fr., RHP, Danville, CA/San Ramon Valley HS), as well as reliever Andrew Koumelis (Jr., LHP, Roseville, CA/Jesuit HS/Sacramento City College), are 2-0 on the season. Watt owns a 1.21 ERA and has struck out 21 batters in 22 1/3 innings pitched.

Loar owns a 2.25 ERA in three appearances. He has amassed nine strikeouts in 16 innings of work. Koumelis has pitched in three games for a total of nine innings. He has registered seven strikeouts, while holding hitters to a .129 batting average.

Peter Hoffman (Sr., RHP, Hayden, ID/Lake City HS) has started three games and is 1-0 on the season with a 1.89 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 19 innings. Lucas Still (Fr., RHP, Sacramento, CA/Christian Brothers HS) has picked up two saves in 6 2/3 innings. He has a 0.00 ERA with two strikeouts and just one walk.

Last weekend, the Bearcats swept a three-game series from Whitman College. The Bearcats won the first game 3-2 in 10 innings, took the second game 15-2 and prevailed in the third game 4-3 in 11 innings.

In the first game, Himuro scored the winning run on a single by Shea Harrison (Jr., RHP/OF, El Cerrito, CA/El Cerrito HS). In the third game, Brier recorded the winning run on a single by Cameron Igarashi (Fr., OF, Honolulu, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute).

George Fox swept Pacific University in its most recent series. The Bruins won 5-1, 12-1 and 4-0 in Forest Grove, Ore. GFU will be playing its first home games this weekend, after competing in six road games and four neutral-site games to begin the season. GFU is batting .261, while holding opponents to a .255 average.

Ansel Webster (So., C) provides the Bruins with a .400 batting average (8 for 20). Kyle Esquerra (Fr., SS/2B) is next on the offensive chart with a .333 batting average, while Zach Repacz (Sr., OF) is hitting .333.

Repacz is the only George Fox player to start all 10 games. He leads the team with 13 hits, eight runs scored and eight RBIs. He also ranks first for the Bruins with three doubles and two homers, and is tied for first with six walks.

Two players -- Jake Thran (Jr., 1B) and Jacob Woehler (Jr., 1B) -- are both hitting .300 this year. Thran has walked five times, while Woehler has driven in five runs. Brandon Wileman (So. OF) is batting .294 with four runs scored. He is second on the team with 10 hits.

For the GFU pitching staff, Sean Eberhardt (Sr., RHP) has a 0.73 ERA and a 1-0 record in 12 1/3 innings. He has achieved 15 strikeouts to lead the Bruins. Michael Hirko (Sr., RHP), also 1-0, owns a 1.69 ERA with nine strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings.

Other throwers with 10 or more innings pitched are Taylor Dunn (Sr., RHP), Ian Buckles (Sr. RHP) and Tom Zarosinski (Sr., RHP). Dunn has recorded a 3.14 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings. Buckles is 2-1 on the season with a 3.43 ERA and 13 strikeouts in a team-high 21 innings. Zarosinski has an 8.44 ERA, but has struck out nine batters in 10 2/3 innings.

In the series at Pacific, the Boxers started Buckles in the first game, Eberhardt in the second game and Dunn in the third game.