Loyola Lion Sluggers Hit Jackpot, Sweep Reno

Offense sagging? Need runs? Bet on a trip to Reno.

West Coast Athletic Conference teams take offense easily in Reno, where the university’s pitchers have proved more profitable for opposing lineups than a good night at the slot machines.

Loyola Marymount’s assault on Nevada-Reno’s pitching in a double-header last weekend--they won by 25-5 and 18-9--set several school records, including most runs in one game and most in a double-header. The twin-bill total of 43 runs was one short of the WCAC record set last season by Santa Clara in Reno.

Loyola racked up 44 hits in dismantling the Wolf Pack. Since double-header games last only seven innings, the Lions averaged three runs an inning for 14 innings. They got things rolling with an eight-run first inning in the first game, sending 12 men to the plate. They hit five home runs in the double-header.

Some of the highlights: Carl Fraticelli going 6-for-8 with 5 runs scored; Don Sparks going 5-for-7 with 3 runs batted in; Kirk Mears clouting an RBI triple and two-run double, all in the first inning of the first game; Robert Cannon and Enoch Simmons, who shared right field, hitting a combined 5-for-5 with 5 RBI in the first game; Miah Bradbury going 4-for-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI in the second game; and Brian Turang going 1-for-3 on the day with 4 runs scored. His hit was a three-run homer. He was walked the three times he batted in the first game and scored each time.

Reno helped matters by walking 15 batters and making 5 errors. The Pack had committed 128 errors in 49 games going into this week.

Scoring, of course, is nothing new for Loyola, which has the closest thing to a fast-break offense in baseball. In forging a 15-1 record in the conference, the sixth-ranked Lions (42-11 overall) are batting .420 in WCAC games and .349 for the season. Sparks is batting .396 and Travis Tarchione is right behind at .390. In conference action only, Bradbury leads the WCAC at .523, Fraticelli is hitting .474, Turang .455 and Sparks .437.

Turang, who was walked three times Sunday by Reno, has 10 home runs and 57 runs batted in and is in a spirited three-way battle for the team lead in RBI with Sparks (56) and Tarchione (54). Outfielder Rick Allen, whose stats would lead many college teams, is almost overlooked at .333 with 40 RBI.

Pepperdine’s baseball team appears to be warming up for its season-ending showdown series with Loyola. The teams meet for four games May 6, 7 and 8 at Loyola and will probably decide the West Coast Athletic Conference title. Going into this weekend’s action, Pepperdine is 13-2-1 in the WCAC, just behind Loyola (15-1). The only other team providing a challenge is third-place Santa Clara, 11-3-1, which plays host to Loyola for four games this weekend.

The Waves began the season with a slumping attack and an injury-plagued pitching staff. But in the last month they have hiked their team batting average from below .250 to .292. That improves to .338 in WCAC games, with first baseman Scott Shockey hitting .415 and leading the WCAC with 26 RBI in conference games. The pitchers have a 3.21 earned-run average in conference games. Senior left-hander Doug Simons has a 1.32 ERA in the WCAC.

After a long dry spell, hits are finally falling for the Cal State Dominguez Hills baseball team. The Toros, who lost nine straight California Collegiate Athletic Assn. games and fell into the basement, defeated Cal State Northridge, 6-5, last week to break the streak. Better news was that freshman pitcher Sonny Griffin won his first start, allowing only two earned runs in eight innings.

Several Toro hitters have been hot lately. Outfielder Joe Jones had 6 hits in his last 16 at-bats to raise his average to .283, infielder Ruben Jauregui continues to lead the CCAA in hitting at .390--the closest competition is Cal Poly Pomona’s Dave Hajek at .366--and outfielder Lenny Hokanson is batting .400 in the last five games. Infielder Damon Neidlinger knocked in the game-winning run against Northridge on a sacrifice fly. Neidlinger has four game-winning runs batted in.

Visitors to Loyola’s Gersten Pavilion can now see the Basketball Hall of Fame’s induction display of Pete Newell. The tall, wood-framed, stained-glass ornament is on loan from the Hall of Fame and stands in the doorway of the pavilion lobby. It was given to Loyola when new displays were made for the Hall of Famers in Springfield, Mass.

Newell, a star at Loyola before going on to coaching fame in the college and pro ranks--leading UC Berkeley to the NCAA title in 1959 and runner-up spot in 1960--is now a consultant to several teams and national federations and is considered something of a guru in the coaching profession.

College Notes

Enoch Simmons is enhancing his status as the best all-around athlete at Loyola Marymount. One of the key players on the basketball team, the junior Simmons picked up several hits for the baseball team over the weekend and is now 6-for-7 for the season, an .857 average. . . . Darryl Scott has set a school season record for saves. The Loyola Marymount reliever chalked up his 12th against Nevada-Reno, striking out 7 of 10 batters. . . . Outfielder Lenny Hokanson hit his eighth triple last week to tie Jon Beuder’s school record at Cal State Dominguez Hills. His total leads the CCAA. . . . Dominguez Hills softball pitcher Denise Biller defeated Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 7-0 last week, her fourth shutout of the season. . . . The Toros golf team closed out the season with a championship at the Cal Lutheran Invitational. Rick Chartrand tied for medalist honors at Los Robles golf course with rounds of 72 and 73, and Mike Perryman set a school record with a single-round 67. . . . At the Mt. San Antonio College Relays last weekend, Darryl Gilliams of Cal State Los Angeles ran lifetime bests in 110-meter high hurdles (14.22 wind-aided) and 100 meters (10.65). He’s a transfer from El Camino College. . . . Anna Marie Ralph of Cal State L.A. won the Pomona-Bakersfield track meet the previous weekend with a long jump of 18-1. It was a lifetime best for the Redondo High graduate. . . . Sophomore Debbie Higa, who plays tennis for Cal State L.A., received all-CCAA honors for the second straight year playing No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles for the fourth-ranked Eagles.