Loyola Thrashes Gu 18-1, Then Hertz Lashes Zags

College baseball

It obviously wasn’t your routine “Forget-about-it-and-let’s-go-get-‘em-tomorrow” sermon coach Steve Hertz gave to his Gonzaga Bulldogs following Friday’s humbling 18-1 loss to Loyola Marymount.

That would have taken 5 minutes, tops.

Hertz kept his team huddled down the right-field foul line at August/A.R.T. Stadium for close to 30 as he tried to sort through the mental rubble created by another lopsided West Coast Conference defeat.

“We absolutely got embarrassed,” Hertz said after his lengthy, philosophical postgame oration, which was centered on the mental aspects of the game of baseball. “Any person who was in the park or on that other team has no respect for us. How could they?

“That team may very well be better than we are, but we didn’t even make it a contest today, because we stopped playing.”

Loyola Marymount (17-30 and 10-7 in the WCC) used a pair of home runs by catcher Travis Wilson to ambush the Zags (13-21 and 1-12) for 15 runs in the first four innings.

Then the Lions turned things over to starting pitcher Sandor Demosthenes, who proceeded to scatter six hits and strike out a school-record 16 before leaving after eight innings.

The sophomore ace of coach Jody Robinson’s staff retired 14 of the last 16 batters he faced and raised his record to 7-3. His 16 strikeouts shattered the previous single-game mark of 13, held by three others, including teammate Lucas Fitzgerald (2-4), who is scheduled to pitch the second game of today’s noon doubleheader between the teams.

Demosthenes, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound sophomore, said he had no idea he was closing in on the strikeout record until someone said in the sixth he was only two away.

“I wasn’t thinking about it at all,” he said. “I haven’t really been a strikeout pitcher this year, but I had my slider going really good today.”

The Bulldogs helped out by not showing much patience at the plate - particularly early in the count.

“I was getting them to swing at the slider out of the strike zone on the first pitch,” said Demosthenes, who settled into a groove after his teammates scored eight runs in the third inning and four more in the fourth to stake him to a 15-1 lead.

Wilson did most of the damage with a two-run homer in the first inning and another two-run blast in the third. But he accounted for only three of the 20 hits the Lions pounded off GU starter Brian Alexander (2-2) and Charlie Zimmerman, who relieved in the third.

Leadoff hitter Ikaika Hooplii had four hits and scored three runs for Loyola and Chad Ohira drove in four runs with a pair of doubles.

“We hit it better than we have all year, but we’ve been swinging the bat fairly good” Robinson said. “That’s the best game we’ve played. Everything just clicked, and it all started from the mound.”

Hertz was as quick to compliment the Lions as he was to anguish over his team’s lack of mental toughness.

“I’m not going to get boat-raced without giving the other team credit,” he said. “They came out swinging the bats and we went down like a fighter who got one in the chops, didn’t want to fight any more and ran around the ring the rest of the fight.

“That should never happen, and I’m not just taking about the kids. It’s my team, I’m the leader and I’m not separating myself. It’s embarrassing.”

Loyola Marymount 18, Gonzaga 1

Loyola Mary 218 400 012 - 18 20 1

Gonzaga 010 000 000 - 1 6 2

Demosthenes, Farrell (9) and Wilson, Martinez (9); Alexander, Zimmerman (3) and Asan, Canny (6). W-Demosthenes (7-3). L-Alexander (2-2). HITS: LMUHoopii 5, Fiore 2, Campbell, Hueth, Conlan, Wilson 3, Montgomery, Sulentor, Veronda, Cassanego 2, Ohira 2. GU-Murrell, Hare 3, Workman, Uberuaga. 2B-Conlan, Ohira 2, Veronda, Wilson, Uberuaga. HR-Wilson 2 (10), Cassanego (3).

Oregon St. 18, WSU 3

Eric Lovinger (7-1) and Mike Boire combined on a six-hitter and the Beavers (21-11-1, 4-5) blasted four homers and three doubles to sink the visiting Cougars (15-27, 4-5) in a Pacific-10 Conference North game at Corvallis.

OSU catcher David Schmidt ripped a grand slam in the first off Heath McLellan (2-7). Beavers first baseman Matt Bailie had two homers and three RBIs, while Mike Leone added a homer and three RBIs.

The Cougars scored all their runs on homers - Jon Fischer’s solo shot in the second and Josh Hamik’s two-run blast in the ninth.

WSU 010 000 002 - 3 6 5

Oregon St. 501 311 61x - 18 15 0

McLellan, Grutz (5), Clifford (7) and Hairston; Lovinger, Boire (6) and Schmidt. W-Lovinger (7-1). L-McLellan (2-7).

HITS: WSU Ryan, Horner, Bowman, Hamik, Fischer, Kelley. OSU Vermillion 2, McDonald 2, Leone 2, Wakeland, Bailie 2, Lipe 2, Schmidt, Hageman, Vazquez 2. 2B-Ryan, Hageman, McDonald, Vermission. HR-Fischer (2), Hamik (4), Bailie 2 (4), Leone 3, Schmidt (9).

Washington 18, Portland St. 6

Jamie Porter and Kevin Miller each had four hits as the Huskies (17-21, 6-3) overpowered the visiting Vikings (12-24, 4-5) in a Pac-10 North game at Seattle.

CC Spokane 7, Big Bend 0

Tim Hackman pitched a one-hitter and faced one batter more than the minimum as the Sasquatch (9-11, 5-6) stopped the Vikings (9-13, 6-8) during an NWAACC game at Spokane Falls.

Hackman (2-1) gave up just Rod Cann’s infield single in the seventh. He walked one, struck out three and allowed no runner to second base until the ninth inning.

Trevor Davis went 2 for 3 with three RBIs for the Sasquatch.

Big Bend 000 000 000 - 0 1 3

CCS 140 002 00x - 7 9 1

Enriquez, Aarstad (6), Visker (7) and Duncan, Correia (8); Hackman and Zarfas. W-Hackman (2-1). L-Enriquez.

HITS: BBCC Cann. CCS Melsness 2, Sage, Davis 2, Best, VandeMark, Gillispie 2.

, DataTimes