May 11, 2010

Five Lutes Earn First Team All-NWC Baseball Honors

Pacific Lutheran senior pitcher Trey Watt (Tualatin, Ore. / Tualatin HS) earned first team All-Northwest Conference baseball honors for the third time, and a total of 14 PLU players earned either first team, second team or honorable mention recognition in a vote of the league's coaches.

Watt finished the conference season with a 6-1 record and a 3.20 earned run average, striking out 42 in 56 1/3 innings. Watt's teammates joining him on the All-NWC first team were outfielders Josh Takayoshi (Puyallup, Wash. / Emerald Ridge HS) and Ryan Aratani (Issaquah, Wash. / Issaquah HS), second baseman Corey Moore (University Place, Wash. / Curtis HS) and relief pitcher Ryan Frost (Olympia, Wash. / Tumwater HS).

Both Takayoshi, a senior, and Aratani, a junior, earned first team honors for the second time. Takayoshi, a first team choice in 2009 and a honorable mention pick in 2008, finished the conference season with a .404 batting average, five home runs and 28 runs batted in. He also tied Aratani and fellow outfielder Dan Johansen for the team lead with 35 runs scored in 24 conference contests. Aratani, a second team pick last year and a first team choice as a freshman in 2008, hit .402 in conference play with one homer and 24 runs batted in. Both Takayoshi and Aratani did not commit an error in conference play.

Both Moore and Frost earned first team all-conference recognition for the initial time.

Moore moved into the lineup at the start of the NWC season when starter Carl Benton went down with an injury, and the left-handed hitting sophomore made the most of the opportunity. Moore hit .430 in conference games, best among the PLU regulars, led the Lutes with 11 doubles, tied for the team lead with 32 runs batted in, and compiled a .975 fielding percentage.

Frost, a sophomore, was 2-0 with a 2.79 earned run average in nine relief appearances. He struck out 15 batters in 19 1/3 innings and opponents hit just .164 against him.

PLU players named to the all-conference second team were first baseman Brock Gates (Federal Way, Wash. / Decatur HS), shortstop Sammy Davis (Renton, Wash. / Liberty HS), outfielder Dan Johansen (Woodinville, Wash. / Woodinville HS), and pitchers Scott Wall (Yakima, Wash. / La Salle HS) and Robert Bleecker (Blaine, Wash. / Blaine HS).

The All-NWC baseball honorable mention list included catcher Ethan Ottemiller (North Bend, Ore. / North Bend HS), pitcher Paul DiPietro (Yakima, Wash. / Eisenhower HS), designated hitter Jaron Iwakami (Renton, Wash. / Liberty HS) and third baseman Ben Shively (Everett, Wash. / Archbishop Murphy HS).

Gates, a sophomore, hit .425 in conference play with two homes and 31 RBI, while Davis finished the conference season with a .318 average and 31 runs scored. Johansen, who like fellow outfielders Takayoshi and Aratani did not commit an error, hit .384 with 35 runs scored and 26 runs driven in during the NWC season. Wall was 4-1 with a 4.89 earned run average and Bleecker finished 4-2 with a 5.47 earned run average.

Davis earned second team recognition for the second time, Wall was an honorable mention pick in 2009, and Bleecker was a first team choice in both 2008 and 2009. Gates and Johansen, both transfers, were honored for the initial time.

Ottemiller hit .309 with one homer and 21 RBI, DiPietro was 1-0 with a 0.96 earned run average in six appearances, Iwakami hit .338 with three triples, and Shively hit .388 with two homers and 32 runs batted in. Of the group, Shively was the only previously honored Lute, having earned first team honors last season.

Pacific Lutheran finished the conference season with an 18-6 record and a second-place NWC finish. The Lutes, 30-10 during the regular season, are holding out hope of receiving an at-large bid to NCAA Division III postseason play, which begins on May 19 at eight locations around the country.

- PLU -