Western Courier

Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Adam Sacasa Junior second baseman Cole Waddell is batting .228 with seven RBIs this season.

Media Credit: Adam Sacasa Junior pitcher Ben Percival has posted a 4.23 earned run average in 38.1 innings pitched for the Leathernecks this season.

The Leathernecks will try to make history this weekend and do what no Western baseball team has ever done while playing at Oral Roberts: win a game.

Oral Roberts (25-8, 7-1 Summit League) has swept Western in every game the two teams have ever played in Tulsa, Okla. The team hosts the Leathernecks in a four-game series this weekend.

Western (10-19, 4-4 Summit) is coming off three straight wins against conference opponent IPFW and seems to have all three facets of its game - pitching, fielding and hitting - in order. With his team running on all cylinders, coach Stan Hyman said that despite history, he is ready to go into the series.

"This is the best we've played offensively all season, so I'm really confident," Hyman said. "You look at our lineup and we have five or six guys hovering around .300 range, and we're getting more production from the bottom of the lineup.

"We just need to have a big weekend, and guys are going to have to produce.

"People have been scoring runs off the Oral Roberts' pitching staff, Hyman added The question is, 'can we score enough runs?' because I know our four pitchers are going to keep us in every game."

The Golden Eagles have managed to overcome their recent poor pitching that has given up 27 runs in their last five games with an offensive onslaught that has scored 44 runs during that same period.

The offensive powerhouse will collide with Western's pitching staff that has already posted six shutouts this year, matching last year's season total. The Leathernecks' strong starting pitchers should give them an edge in the four-game series if they continue to produce as they have all year.

"We have never played Oral Roberts where I could tell you 'hey we've got four starters that can beat them,' but with (Mark) DiBernardo, (Travis) Tolsma, (Eric) Eden and (Ben Percival), we've got four guys who have really proven that they can beat anybody this year," Hyman said. "The advantage going into this weekend is that Oral Roberts has never seen one of my four starting pitchers. I feel very good about that."

Western's offense will have to give support this weekend and will be led by junior Lorenzo Gallaga, its new leadoff hitter. Gallaga was named Summit League Player of the Week last week on the strength of his .700 average against IPFW. Gallaga said he is going into this weekend with confidence.

"I feel ready. I feel as a team we are ready, coming off three big, big victories," he said. "We are as well prepared as we are going to be, and the coaches prepared us well."

Gallaga's production on the field has been a season-long work in progress, and the team is starting to reap the benefits of his hard work. He has finally adjusted to Western's style, and the shortstop said he had to calm his game down to succeed.

"I've slowed myself down at the plate. I've slowed myself down on the field," Gallaga said. "I think the last step is to slow myself down on the base paths. (I have to) allow my speed and my natural ability to just do what it does and not think about things and not be out of control when I do things."

Four conference losses for either team this weekend could be season-changing, but if the Leathernecks drop four, it will make a tournament appearance unlikely. The high-stakes series begins Friday with a game under the lights starting at 7 p.m.

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