2012 SEASON PREVIEW Head Coach Jason Gill recorded his second 30-win season in three years at the helm of the LMU baseball program last year, but his goal of a West Coast Conference Championship and LMU’s first postseason berth since 2000 is still on the list of things to do as he enters his fourth season. With a handful of players that have been around since year one, and a Top-25 recruiting class, LMU looks poised to improve further on last year’s thirdplace finish and make a run for the WCC crown in 2012. 2011 SEASON LMU won four of its last five games of the season to finish the year with a 30-25 overall record and an 11-10 mark in the West Coast Conference – good for a share of third in the WCC. The 30-win season marked the second in three years under Gill. Furthermore, the .545 winning percentage was the best for LMU since going 32-22-1 (.591) in 2004. LMU’s strength proved to be on the mound, as the team posted a program-best 3.25 ERA, led by a pair of 2011 MLB draft picks in Jason Wheeler and Alex Gillingham. While the dynamic starting duo combined for 14 wins and seven complete games, Gill was equally impressed with the efforts of the bullpen. “You always want front-line starting pitching, but every Major League team talks about their bullpen when it is crunch time. The discussion is whether they can hold the seventh, hold the eight and get to the closer. Obviously Gillingham and Wheeler did great things, but the bullpen did outstanding and truly carried us.” Over the course of the 2011 season, the pen combined for a 2.41 ERA and an 8-6 record over 145.2 innings of work. Gillingham and Matt Koch highlighted LMU’s five baseball All-West Coast Conference selections last year, claiming first team honors. Lion juniors in 2012 Aaron Griffin and Matt Lowenstein, along with former Lion Joe Vierra, were named to the honorable mention team. The honors were the first of their careers for Gillingham, Griffin, Koch and Vierra. Lowenstein garnered WCC Freshman of the Year accolades in 2010 en route to an honorable mention selection that same year. LMU saw four players selected in the 2011 MLB Draft, but only three of the four elected to forfeit their final year of eligibility to enter the professional ranks. The Minnesota Twins took a pair of Lion players on June 7 as part of the second day of the 2011 Draft. The Twins selected lefthander Wheeler with the 268th overall pick in the eighth round before the Colorado Rockies made righty Gillingham their 11th-round pick with the 348th overall spot. After the two Lion hurlers went in the draft, the Twins decided to take their battery mate, Koch, with the 388th overall pick in the 12th round. Last year’s draft marked the first time since 2005 that the Lions had three players selected in the first 12 rounds. Current senior Ryan Hawthorne became the fourth Lion player selected in the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft on June 8, chosen by the Seattle Mariners with the 963rd overall pick in the 32nd round, but elected to return to LMU for his final campaign. ANOTHER FORMER TITAN ON STAFF After bringing in an entirely new coaching staff in 2011, Gill made one more change to his staff in 2012, luring long-time professional pitching coach Danny Ricabal to LMU to replace Ted Silva. Ricabal, who spent the last six years serving as a pitching coach at various levels in the Los Angeles
Angels of Anaheim organization, was teammates with Gill at Cal State Fullerton in 1994. Ricabal most recently guided the Inland Empire 66ers to the wild card round of the 2011 Class-A Advanced Southern Division playoffs. Including the 2011 playoff berth, Ricabal went to the postseason in five of the six years coaching in professional baseball. "We are lucky to be able to add an experienced pitching coach the caliber of Danny Ricabal to the organization," Gill said. "Danny has a proven track record of success as a pitching coach from Division I to professional baseball, and he has worked with some of the best pitchers in the game at all different levels of play. As a collegiate athlete, Danny pitched in Omaha and knows what it takes to get there. He has coached at the Division I level and has a clear understanding of how to get his pitchers to reach their full potential. There are few coaches in the college ranks that have the experience of pitching in Omaha, coaching Division I and coaching in professional baseball. He is the total package, and the LMU baseball program made big strides in our quest to be champions with the addition of Ricabal." THE NEWCOMERS The LMU baseball team recorded a Top-25 recruiting class according to Baseball America's annual evaluation of NCAA Division I baseball classes. The Lions came in at No. 23, marking the first Top-25 class under Gill. The class had previously been listed in the "Other Top Recruiting Classes" section of Collegiate Baseball's annual poll. "We are extremely pleased that we have been recognized as having a Top-25 recruiting class in the nation," Gill said. "I have seen my fair-share of quality recruiting classes in my coaching career, and this one is right up there toward the top of the list. Our Recruiting Coordinator, Bryant Ward, has done an exceptional job of compiling a group of players who we feel will make an immediate impact for us. This recognition further solidifies that the future is bright for the LMU baseball program." Although the 2011-12 class truly includes 13 players, only 12 were considered when the list was prepared because standout recruit Trevor Megill (RHP/INF – Bixby Charter School) graduated from high school early to attend LMU. Of the 12 players originally in the class, four are junior college transfers and eight are freshmen. Cullen Mahoney (South Mountain CC), Joey Boney (Cypress College), Scott Harkin (Diablo Valley College) and Justin Grijalva (Citrus College) all have experience playing at the collegiate level. Mahoney won the batting title in the Northwoods League with a .347 average, 33 runs scored, seven doubles, five triples, four home runs and 29 RBI playing for the Thunder Bay Border Cats alongside teammate and senior-leader Alex Guthrie last summer. In addition to the junior college transfers, the class also boasts a pair of 2011 Major League draft picks in freshmen Sean Buckle (LHP/OF - Long Beach Wilson HS) and Kyle Raubinger (INF - Arroyo Grande HS). Raubinger was taken by the Baltimore Orioles in the 28th round, while Buckle was selected by the New York Mets in the 49th round. In addition to Buckle and Raubinger, Colin Welmon (RHP/OF - Foothill HS), who is considered by many to be the most talented of all the players in the class, is another freshman that will be relied upon to play right away.
LMU BASEBALL MEDIA ALMANAC • 7