With All Eyes on Basketball, Loyola Nine Starts League Play

There’s been so much excitement around Loyola’s basketball team that the baseball team has quietly moved into the national top 10 and quietly moved back out without fanfare.

The second season--the opening of West Coast Athletic Conference play and a shot at the NCAA playoffs--begins at home today with a four-game series against the University of San Francisco (9-10-1), and the Lions enter giving off mixed signals.

The four-game weekend series will be the backbone of the WCAC schedule, putting a premium on pitching.

Loyola’s pitching is improved from last year, but the usually lustily hitting Lions have had injury problems and have had trouble posting runs lately.

Even Coach Dave Snow is curious to see how his team will respond to conference play. The Lions take a 20-7 record into conference play, but lost four out of six games last week.

“We’ve been struggling. We’re not scoring. We’re in a little rut offensively,” Snow said. “I’m somewhat disappointed in our play as of late. Ever since we came back from Hawaii (the last week of February), we haven’t been sharp. We haven’t played hungry. I don’t think I can put my finger on anything at this point. Hopefully, the conference will provide us with motivation and emotion that we need at this point.”

Loyola’s recent slump can be partly attributed to several serious injuries. Center fielder Brian Turang (.277, 4 homers, 24 runs batted in) returned over the weekend after missing a week with a sprained ankle. Both regular catchers, Miah Bradbury and Mark Grafitti, have been injured and out of the lineup. Shortstop Carl Fraticelli has had shoulder problems that have sometimes forced him to shift positions with second baseman Bobby DeJardin.

However, Snow sees a silver lining in the current problems. Kirk Mears, who started the season as the designated hitter, has filled in capably at catcher and is hitting .299.

“We really haven’t been at full strength except in Hawaii,” he said. “Hopefully, maybe this will provide us with some more depth and experience.”

And with Loyola’s talent, slump is a relative term. Though the hitting has fallen off, the Lions are still batting .311 as a team. Outfielder Travis Tarchione is hitting .387 with 8 doubles and 26 runs batted in. Third baseman Don Sparks has a .356 average and 22 RBI. Infielder Rick Allen, expected to be a backup player, is batting .373 with 22 RBI.

The starting pitching, featuring sophomore Steve Surico, senior Mike Jones, senior Scott Neill and freshman Mike McNary--Surico is the only left-handed starter--has kept the Lions in most games. “Nobody great, but it’s been consistent,” Snow noted.

Surico, a fireballer who battled injuries as a freshman, is 5-0 with 37 strikeouts in 36 innings. Jones is 2-1, Neill 2-2 and McNary 2-1.

Darryl Scott (3-2, 2.97 earned run average, 6 saves) has been the stopper out of the bullpen, and Brian Clancy (1-0, 1.08) has emerged in long relief. Another newcomer, Terry Seward, is 4-0 as a spot starter/reliever.

“I’m pleased our pitching has improved,” Snow said. The league is tough to predict because Snow hasn’t seen many of the teams, but he said he likes Pepperdine’s pitching depth, and Santa Clara has a solid all-around team. San Diego has not played well but has a potentially explosive offense.

“The pitchers will all be under the gun. Stamina and injuries will be critical,” Snow said.

Snow has few holdovers from the 1986 team that went to the College World Series, but several veterans from last year’s team that won 36 games but limped through the WCAC at 10-12-1.

“Experience means a lot,” Snow said. “Obviously we have to rely on the experiences we went through last year to make us a better team. We did some great things, then we did some terrible things. We saw both ends.”

Snow said the Lions haven’t hit the valleys this season but haven’t peaked either.

“When we’ve won, we’ve played well as a unit. When we’ve struggled, we’ve struggled as a unit. There haven’t been a lot of individual highlights. I think some people are trying to (carry the team) and it has taken away from us a little bit, trying to do too much. It’s probably as much mental as it is physical, or injuries.”

So the Lions go into the weekend looking to get revved up. Their outstanding record and high ratings don’t count for much today, Snow said. They’ve been rated as high as sixth this season but fell to 12th in one poll and 17th in the other this week.

“We’ve had the high national ranking--that doesn’t really concern me,” he said. “We’re here to win the league. I’m looking forward to it. I think it will be an emotional lift that will bring out quality performances. I’d just like to the hitting the ball a little bit better.”