May 12 - San Diego clinched a spot in the WCC Championship Series by winning the West Division crown for the second time in as many seasons. The Toreros will meet Pepperdine, who has clinched the Coast Division title and earned its fifth straight bid to the WCC Championship Series. The Toreros defeated the Waves in the 2002 WCC Championship Series to earn the league's automatic bid a year ago.

Gonzaga Bulldogs (23-24-1/11-15 WCC) - Head Coach: Steve Hertz
Gonzaga traveled to Santa Clara and defeated the Broncos 10-5 in the first game of a three-game series before losing the second game by a score of 8-1. The rubber match will be played Monday afternoon at Buck Shaw Stadium. Senior Sam Hess belted a grand slam in the ninth inning of Saturday’s game to spark the Bulldogs to the win. Senior Eric Rodland was named to the Verizon Academic All-District VIII Team on Thursday after posting a 3.74 grade-point average in mechanical engineering while batting .287 for the Bulldogs. With the selection, Rodland will be nominated for a spot on the Academic All-American team. Rodland was named an Academic All-American in 2001 and 2002...The Zags will return to action when they host Coast Division leading Pepperdine for a three-game series. The Waves swept three games from the Bulldogs in early March.

Loyola Marymount Lions (23-29/10-17 WCC) - Head Coach: Frank Cruz
The Lions got to play the role of the spoiler over the weekend as they took the opening game from San Francisco at Page Stadium, knocking the Dons out of first place in the West Division and enabling San Diego to take the division crown. Loyola Marymount broke a season-high 10-game losing streak with Friday’s 16-10 victory. LMU’s lineup smashed a season-high five homeruns, with junior Josh Whitesell hitting two of them. Whitesell now has a team-high 13 dingers. Jonathan Higashi is batting at a .339 clip, the highest average among WCC catchers...The Lions will host Portland for three games this weekend.

Pepperdine Waves (34-18/22-5 WCC) - Head Coach: Frank Sanchez
The Waves dropped a Tuesday game to #3 ranked Long Beach State but rebounded to sweep Saint Mary’s in Moraga and extend their lead in the Coast Division to 3.5 games. Should Santa Clara lose to Gonzaga on Monday, the Waves will clinch the division and make their fourth straight WCC Championship Series appearance. Pepperdine also swept the WCC/Rawlings Player/Pitcher of the Month honors for April. Chris Kelly earned Player of the Month recognition and Greg Ramirez was tabbed as the Pitcher of the Month. Kelly has hit 14 homeruns in conference play and needs only two more to tie the record of 16 established by Gonzaga’s Nate Gold last season. The Waves moved up a spot in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll, matching their highest ranking this season at #26. Pepperdine leads the conference in team batting during conference play, hitting at a .327 clip...The Waves will host UCLA on Tuesday before finishing up the WCC season with a trip to face Gonzaga for a three-game series in Spokane.

Portland Pilots (9-40-1/5-21-1 WCC) - Head Coach: Chris Sperry
Portland dropped two midweek games to Washington in Seattle before being swept at home by San Diego. Kory Casto had an outstanding week at the plate, batting .417 for the week, while slugging three homeruns and collecting eight RBI. The junior entered Portland’s top-10 single-season charts in three separate categories over the weekend. Casto’s 11 homeruns puts him into a four-way tie for eighth place on the Pilot’s single-season list, while his 48 RBI tie him for the eighth highest total in Portland history. He was also walked eight times last week, giving him a season total of 36 bases on balls and putting him in sole possession of eight place on the all-time single-season chart. With Sunday’s 17-4 defeat, Portland suffered their 40th loss of the 2003 season, breaking the team record of 39 losses set by the 1998 Pilots team...The Pilots will finish up their season with a trip to face Loyola Marymount for a three-game series this weekend.

Saint Mary’s Gaels (18-32-1/8-18-1 WCC) - Head Coach: John Baptista
The Gaels dropped a Tuesday game to Nevada before being swept by Pepperdine at home over the weekend. Saint Mary’s has now lost 14 of their last 15 matchups against the Waves. Freshman Bryan Byrne continued his push for the WCC Freshman of the Year award, slugging his fifth homerun of the season in Friday’s 8-6 loss to Pepperdine, tying him for the team lead. Byrne also leads the team and ranks third in the conference with a .359 average. Mark Teahen was the last Gael to lead the WCC in hitting when he batted .412 last season. Byrne has also started every one of Saint Mary’s games so far this season. Junior Nick Conte continues to be a solid force in the lineup, batting .335 and throwing out 18 would-be base stealers...The Gaels will face two teams ranked in the top-10 this week as they travel to take on #3 ranked Stanford on Tuesday and hosting #2 ranked Rice on Wednesday.

San Diego Toreros (29-27/18-12 WCC) - Head Coach: Rich Hill
The Toreros clinched their second-straight Western Division title in dramatic fashion, coming from behind to defeat Portland 9-7 on Saturday. Junior Josh Hansen clubbed two homers during the game, including a two-out three-run homerun to win the contest in the ninth inning. Hansen’s eight homeruns puts him in a four-way tie for eighth place in the WCC. Junior Joey Prast currently leads the conference in hits (83), RBI (53), and doubles (24). No player has ever lead the conference in all three categories in the same season. Prast’s 83 hits are the fourth highest single-season total by a Torero. Senior Tony Perez picked up his 12th save of the season in the series against Portland to move into sole possession of fourth place on the WCC all-time single-season saves chart.

San Francisco Dons (24-28/17-13 WCC) - Head Coach: Nino Giarratano
The Dons fell just short in their bid to reach the WCC Championship Series for the first time in program history when they took two-of-three from Loyola Marymount at Page Stadium over the weekend. Senior Kevin Annis tossed his first complete game of the year, striking out six as the Dons beat the Lions 6-2 on Sunday. Annis has held opposing batters to a league-low batting average of .239. San Francisco improved their conference record by eight games from last season when they won only nine conference contests and finished last in the West Division. The 17 conference wins were also the highest total for Head Coach Nino Giarratano since he became the Dons’ skipper in 1999...San Francisco will visit California on Tuesday before finishing up 2003 with a three-game set against Sacramento State. The Dons will travel to Sacramento for the first two games before hosting the Hornets on Sunday.

Santa Clara Broncos (28-25/18-8 WCC) - Head Coach: Mark O’Brien
Santa Clara beat Sacramento State on Tuesday and split the first two games of a three-game series with Gonzaga. The Bulldogs and Broncos will conclude the series on Monday at Buck Shaw Stadium. Michael Thompson belted his sixth homerun against Sacramento State, giving him a total that is tops among WCC freshmen. Senior Jack Headley’s 17 stolen bases give him a career total of 65, placing him in sole possession of third place on the Santa Clara all-time career list. Senior Scott Dierks leads the conference with a .440 average against right-handed pitching...Should the Broncos beat Gonzaga on Monday, they will host Saint Mary’s for a weekend series standing three-games back in the Coast Division.