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Pioneer Baseball |
2004 NEWS
- THREE PIONEERS EARN ALL-REGION HONORS
- SIX PIONEERS NAMED TO ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
- PIONEERS TO TAKE ON HOUSTON BAPTIST WEDNESDAY
- PLANETA EARNS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
- YOUNG WINS SECOND PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONOR
- COACH BASS WINS #500
- PIONEERS #6 IN FIRST NAIA BASEBALL POLL
- TWO MORE PIONEERS NAMED SAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- PIONEERS NAMED SAC PLAYER AND PITCHER OF THE WEEK
THREE PIONEERS EARN ALL-REGION HONORS
Three members of the Wayland Baptist Pioneer baseball team have been named to the 2004 All-Region VI team. Sophomore catcher Israel Castillo, senior shortstop Calen Laos and senior relief pitcher Justin Voigt were honored at last weekend's NAIA Region VI Championship Tournament.
Castillo finished second on the Pioneer team in batting with a .424 average. He had 14 doubles and 41 RBIs in 54 games. The Phoenix, AZ native had a .970 fielding percentage and managed a pitching staff that produced a 4.60 earned run average, a new WBU season record.
Although he played shortstop throughout the 2004 spring for the Pioneers, Laos was selected as the All-Region team's utility player. He led the team in hitting (.429) stolen bases (33) and runs scored (62). His .401 career batting average set a new Pioneer mark, and his 65 career stolen bases moved him into second place in WBU history. Laos, who is from Glendale, AZ, also broke his own single season stolen base record which he established last year.
A right-hander from Bastrop, TX, Voigt finished the year at 5-3 with nine saves and a 3.98 ERA. He led the Pioneer pitching staff in appearances with 27 and recorded 47 strikeouts in 52 innings of work. Voigt is second in WBU career appearances with 73 and third in career saves with 10.
SIX PIONEERS NAMED TO ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Six members of the Wayland Baptist University Pioneer baseball team have been named to the All-Sooner Athletic Conference first team. Senior pitchers Bo Moore and Justin Voigt, shortstop Calen Laos, outfielder Mike Richardson, junior third baseman Robert Mendoza, and sophomore catcher Israel Castillo make up the largest group of WBU players ever named to the elite squad.
The ace of the Pioneer staff this season, Moore has set a new Pioneer record for most wins in a season with 12. He has appeared in 14 games this season, recording 62 strikeouts in 89 innings of work. The native of Arlington, TX who transferred to Wayland from Biola University has an earned run average of 3.44 and has lost only twice this season.
Voigt leads the Pioneers in saves and appearances in 2004. A four-year letterwinner from Bastrop, TX, he has eight saves in 25 appearances and a 5-2 record. He is second in career appearances (71) and third in career saves (9).
The starting centerfielder for WBU a year ago, Laos moved to shortstop this spring and was named to the All-SAC team as a utility infielder. He is the conference leader in stolen bases with 32 and is second in hitting (.442) and in on-base percentage (.524). The Glendale, AZ native is the Pioneer batting champion for the second straight year and also leads the team in runs scored.
The Pioneer right fielder, Richardson is hitting .356 with 13 doubles, three triples and 14 homers. He is third in the conference in RBIs with 58, and has a .701 slugging percentage. Richardson, from LaMarque, TX, transferred to WBU last year from Hill Junior College.
The only returning Pioneer to make the All-Conference team a year ago, Mendoza is hitting .403 with a team-leading 16 doubles and 70 runs batted in. He is also leading the SAC in triples with seven. The three-year letterman from El Paso is in the top five in several Pioneer career records including at bats, hits, RBIs and doubles.
Castillo, the vocal leader of the Pioneers, is second on the team in hitting with a .429 batting average. The Phoenix, AZ, native has 13 doubles, 24 runs scored and 41 runs batted in to go along with his .971 fielding percentage.
PIONEERS TO TAKE ON HOUSTON BAPTIST WEDNESDAY
Wayland Baptist University will play Houston Baptist in the first round of the Region VI Tournament at Oklahoma City University's Sutton Complex Wednesday, May 13 at 12:30 p.m.
WBU, 37-14 on the season, finished third in last week's Sooner Athletic Conference tournament. The Pioneers are the fifth seed in this week's regional tournament, while Houston Baptist, winner of the Red River Conference tournament, is the second seed.
Top-ranked Oklahoma City claimed the number one seed and will open with Lubbock Christian at 9:30 a.m. while #3 Oklahoma Baptist takes on #4 Bacone in the six-team tournament at 4:00 p.m.
If the Pioneers win, they will move on to Thursday's 12:30 p.m. game against the OBU-Bacone winner. A WBU loss would throw them into 4:00 p.m. game on Thursday against the loser of the OCU-LCU game.
The Pioneers did not meet Houston Baptist during the 2004 regular season. The Huskies are ranked 11th in the latest NAIA poll with a 38-13 record.
PLANETA EARNS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Dan Planeta, a senior outfielder for the Wayland Baptist Pioneers, has been selected as Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the week of April 19-24.
Planeta, who hails from Flagstaff, AZ, hit .727 in the Pioneer's four-game series last weekend against Northwestern Oklahoma State. He was eight for 11 at the plate, including two doubles, a triple and two homeruns. He also scored six runs and had six runs batted in.
YOUNG WINS SECOND PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Pioneer Terence Young has been named Sooner Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week for his work during the week of April 12-18.
The junior from Phoenix tossed a two-hit shut-out over St. Gregory's University, striking out nine batters against one walk. This is the second time Young has been honored this season.
COACH BASS WINS #500
When the Pioneers defeated Grand Canyon University 5-2 on Thursday, March 18 it represented a significant milestone to head coach Brad Bass. It was Coach Bass's 500th career win. His overall record is now 501-427.
PIONEERS #6 IN FIRST NAIA BASEBALL POLL
The 20-0 Pioneers are ranked #6 in this spring's first NAIA Baseball Ratings which was released March 17. That is the highest rating of a Pioneer baseball team in the history of the program.
TWO MORE PIONEERS RECEIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Pioneer third baseman Robert Mendoza was named Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the week of March 1-7, while shortstop Calen Laos earned the honors for the week of March 8-14. Mendoza hit .786, going 11 of 14 with a double, two triples and two home runs during the Pioneer four-game sweep over Panhandle State on March 5 and 6. The junior from El Paso knocked in 11 runs and scored nine.
Last weekend in the Pioneer's four-game sweep at conference rival Southern Nazarene, Laos hit .750 with seven runs scored and five RBIs batting from the leadoff position. The senior from Glendale, AZ, went nine of 12 with a double and a home run.
PIONEERS NAMED SAC PLAYER AND PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Pioneer outfielder Mike Richardson and pitcher Terence Young were recently named Sooner Athletic Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week. Richardson went five of nine with three doubles and two home runs in Pioneer wins over Central Methodist College and the University of Texas-Permian Basin. The senior from Lamarque knocked in nine runs and scored five others in WBU's home opening series.
A junior transfer from Phoenix, Young pitched a complete game five-hit shutout. He did not allow a walk and sturck out six during the Pioneer's 10-0 win over Central Methodist.