2008 Baseball Season Review

Matt HendryxSECOND CHANCE AT A LAST CHANCE: After missing all but one game of what should have been his senior season in 2007 with an ankle injury, Matt Hendryx sure made the most of a rare second chance at his senior year.

The three-year starter at catcher put together a standout year, earning first team honors on both the All-Northwest Conference and ABCA/Rawlings All-West Region teams. Hendryx led the Boxers with a .393 batting average to go along with 55 hits, 10 home runs and 42 runs batted in. He finished ranked second in the NWC in batting average and fourth in slugging percentage (.657), on base percentage (.479) and runs batted in.

Hendryx's 55 hits tie him for fourth on the Boxers' single season list. His 42 runs batted in rank seventh and 10 home runs rank eighth. He turned in a total of 17 multi-hit games and, between Feb. 23 and Apr. 5, amassed a hitting streak of 24 consecutive games.

"Matt had a great year offensively and defensively," said Pacific Head Baseball Coach Greg Bradley. "He hit for power and average and shut down our opponents running the game as a catcher. He beat out some very good catchers to deservedly earn this honor."

Zach GantenbeinGANTENBEIN EARNS FIRST TEAM HONORS: Like Hendryx, Zach Gantenbein saved his best effort for the senior campaign, earning First Team All-Northwest Conference honors at third base. Gantenbein was in his second year as a regular starting infielder. He was the Boxers' starting shortstop in 2007 and spent the previous two years in the infield.

Gantenbein posted college career bests with a .348 batting average, 47 hits, 39 runs and five home runs and he struck out just 11 times in 135 at bats. He finished with 11 multi-hit games, including six games with three hits or more. His 40 runs batted in ranks eighth on the Boxers' single season best list and he ranked fifth in the NWC this season in that category. Gantenbein also ranked ninth in the league with a .464 on base percentage.

"Zach achieved all-conference at a new position for him this year," Bradley said. "To be the best third baseman in the Northwest Conference is a tribute to his work ethic, dedication and perseverance. He had a great year."

FIVE OTHERS MAKE ALL-NWC HONORS: In addition to Pacific's two first team selections, the Boxers saw five players named to the All-NWC Second Team and Honorable Mention squads. Kaeo Lau Hee was named to the second team as a designated hitter. Honorable mention selections included Jeff Johnston and Joey Pulito in the outfield and pitchers Sean Dickey and Blaine Knuth.

Jeff JohnstonGOLD GLOVER: Jeff Johnston's steady defensive presence in the outfield was rewarded this year with his selection for the ABCA/Rawlings West Region Gold Glove Award. While starting all 39 games for the Boxers in center field, Johnston went without an error in a total of 109 chances. He was one of three West Region Gold Glove winners to go without an error and was one of three outfielders selected.

Johnston went not only errorless the entire season, but has been without a miscue in two years of straight starts. In a string that has seen him start 78 straight games in center field, Johnston has been errorless in a total of 264 chances.

The effort capped Johnston's best season both offensively and defensively. At the plate, Johnston finished the season with a .329 batting average with 10 stolen bases. In his final at bat of his Pacific career, Johnston hit his 16th double of the season to surpass the former record of 15 set by Mike Studer in 1990.

BETTER THAN EXPECTATIONS: When the 2008 season started, conference coaches picked Pacific to finish seventh after suffering through a poor hitting year in 2007. Thankfully, the Boxers found their bats early to spark some early success on their way to a fourth place NWC finish and a 20-20 record, Pacific's fourth 20-win season in the last seven years.

After dropping two of three games of a season opening tripleheader at Pomona-Pitzer and three of four in their NWC opening series with George Fox, the Boxers went on a tear. Pacific took three of four games from defending champ Pacific Lutheran. After dropping the first two games of their next series with Whitworth, the Boxers took the last two games of the set to start a 10-game win streak, which included series sweeps of Whitman and Puget Sound. In those first 24 games, the Boxers hit 28 home runs after hitting just 10 the year before.

The power seemed to run out when eventual NWC champion Linfield came to town and swept Pacific in a four-game series at Chuck Bafaro Stadium. The Boxers won only five more games from that point on and hit just six home runs during the month of April. Pacific preserved the 20-win campaign and a winning conference season by taking two of four games from Willamette.

2008 Honors

ABCA/RAWLINGS ALL-WEST REGION
Matt Hendryx (C), First Team
ABCA/RAWLINGS WEST REGION GOLD GLOVE
Jeff Johnston (OF)
ALL-NORTHWEST CONFERENCE
Matt Hendryx (C), First Team
Zach Gantenbein (3B), First Team
Kaeo Lau Hee (DH), Second Team
Jeff Johnston (OF), Hon. Mention
Joey Pulito (OF), Hon. Mention
Sean Dickey (P), Hon. Mention
Blaine Knuth (P), Hon. Mention
NWC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Matt Hendryx, Player of the Week (Mar. 10)
Zach Gantenbein, Player of the Week (Mar. 24 & Mar. 31)
Blaien Knuth, Pitcher of the Week (Mar. 31)
PACIFIC TEAM AWARDS
Most Valuable: Jeff Johnston
Most Improved: Kaeo Lau Hee
Leon Meade (Most Inspirationl): Andy Tolbert
Cy Young (Top Pitcher): Blaine Knuth
Gold Glove: Jeff Johnston
Babe Ruth (Top Hitter): Matt Hendryx

WEEKLY HONORS: Three Pacific players earned Northwest Conference Player of the Week honors this season. Matt Hendryx warned the honors on Mar. 10 after going 8 for 16 in the Boxers' four-game series against Pacific Lutheran, which included three home runs, 10 runs batted in and four runs scored.

Zach Gantenbein, meanwhile, earned the league honor on both Mar. 24 and Mar. 31 after pacing the Boxers to series sweeps of Whitman and Puget Sound. Against the Missionaries, Gantenbein went 7 for 11 with four doubles, six runs batted in and nine runs scored. Against Puget Sound, Gantenbein went 9 for 16 with seven runs batted in and five runs scored.

Pitcher Blaine Knuth was the lone Pacific hurler this season to earn conference Pitcher of the Week laurels. The junior was honored on Mar. 31 after throwing a complete-game three-hitter against Puget Sound. He struck out nine and walked two in the effort and did not allow a runner past second base.

CONFERENCE WIN RECORD: Pacific's 17 conference victories set a new single season mark for the Boxers, surpassing the previous record of 13 wins set by the 1967 squad and equaled by the 1968, 2003 and 2006 squads. The record was helped by a chance in the conference series format, which moved to four-game sets for the first time in 2008. In previous seasons, conference teams played in three-game series.

HOME SWEET HOME: After playing the entire 2007 season in their temporary home of Hillsboro Stadium, Pacific returned home on Mar. 21 to the new Chuck Bafaro Stadium at Bond Field with a rare Friday doubleheader against Whitman. The new ballpark, a substantial improvement from the old Bond Field, has been hailed early on as one of the top small college baseball facilities on the West Coast.

The Boxer christened the new field in a fashion that would have made the late Pacific skipper proud, pounding Whitman for 32 runs and 36 hits in 23-0 and 9-3 victories. Sean Dickey earned the first victory in the new yard and Matt Hendryx had the field's first home run over the 375-foot power alley in left field. The facility was officially dedicated with ceremonies involving the Bafaro family on Mar. 22.

Kaeo Lau HeeJUST SHORT OF THE CYCLE: A much improved season for first baseman/designated hitter Kaeo Lau Hee was punctuated by an effort that saw the sophomore finish a home run short of hitting for the cycle. In a 14-4 win over Lewis & Clark on Apr. 19, Lau Hee singled, doubled and triple in a season-best 4 for 5 performance to pace the Boxers offensively.

Lau Hee opened his day with a double in the second inning. He added a single to center field in the third and singled to the shortstop in the fourth. Lau Hee added the triple in the fifth on a well-hit ball to left center field before flying out in the seventh and walking in the ninth.

After hitting just .182 in eight games last year, Lau Hee has proven to be a formidable middle-of-the-lineup hitter. In 35 starts, including 26 starts as the designated hitter and nine at first base, Lau Hee finished the season with as .366 average, second best for the Boxers.

OFFENSIVE CLOUT: After their lackluster offensive season in 2007, the Boxers turned around to be one of the top offensive teams in the league in 2008. The Boxers finished the season ranked third in the NWC in batting average (.312) and slugging percentage (.458), fourth in on base percentage (.405) and fifth in runs scored (284). The team's 32 home runs ranked the Boxers 54th among Division III teams in home runs per game (0.80). Pacific also ranked 89th nationally in slugging percentage. The Boxers' .312 batting average was a significant improvement over their .264 average from the year before.

DEFENSIVELY STOUT: Pacific succeeded in playing a very solid brand of defensive baseball as well. The Boxers ranked third in the league with a .959 fielding percentage, which also ranked the team 42nd nationally among Division III teams. The Boxers committed a total of 55 errors and saw only one play register more than 10 miscues. Starting center fielder Jeff Johnston did not commit an error in 39 starts. Occasional starters Kyle Barksdale and Jordan Nakayama also finished the year with a 1.000 fielding percentage.

A HISTORIC TRIPLEHEADER: Tripleheaders are a rarity in baseball, but the Boxers' Feb. 23 tri-bill against Pomona-Pitzer will link Pacific and the trifecta permanently in the record books. Rain forced the Boxers and Sagehens to compact their three-game series into one day. Pacific won the opening seven-inning tilt 5-2 before dropping games two and three by finals of 7-4 and 7-5.

It was the second tripleheader played in the history of the team. The Last time Pacific played three games in one day was on April 4, 2005, when Pacific took two of three games from Puget Sound in a conference series that was compacted into one day due to rain. The Loggers won the opener, 4-3, before Pacific took the final two games by scores of 6-2 and 7-6. According to research on hand in the Pacific Sports Information Office, Pacific is only the second team in college baseball history to play in two tripleheaders. Ohio State is the other team, having played tripleheaders in 1999 and 2002.

NEUTRAL SITES: Construction delays and typically wet Oregon spring weather forced Pacific to play a number of games on neutral site fields. Finish work on Chuck Bafaro Stadium meant that the Boxers moved their Mar. 4 game against Corban to Warrior Field in Salem and their four-game series against Pacific Lutheran, Mar. 8 and Mar. 9, to Pilots Stadium in Portland. Snow forced Pacific and Whitworth to play the final two games of their series on Mar. 16 at the artificial surface of Gonzaga Prep High School in Spokane, Wash. Rain, meanwhile, saw the Boxers' four-game series with Lewis & Clark on Apr. 19 & 20 moved to Lake Oswego High School, also an artificial surface.