Pitching thrives out west
You expect to see the likes of Pomona-Pitzer's David Colvin, Redlands' Derek Johnson, and Chapman's Brian Rauh at the top of the West region's best pitchers, but they have company from all corners of the west region. Up in the Northwest, Linfield has a the dynamic duo in Robert Vaughn and Ryan Larson, while out in Southern California, John LaMourve join Colvin and Johnson as the best in the SCIAC. Pitching rich Texas has Michael Schweiss, Chad Sherman, Derek Dallas, and Ben Klinesh leading their teams.
| Michael Schweiss, University of Dallas has the 12th
best ERA in the nation at 0.21. Dallas sports information |
Independent Chapman and Dallas have two pitchers seeing success
in 2011. All-American Sophomore Brian Rauh, Chapman (5-0, 1.52 ERA,
68 SO) has built upon a 11-0 freshman season and has built a 16-0
career record. His 68 strikeouts leads D-III baseball and his 4.05
hits per nine innings ranks him 15th in the nation. "(Rauh's)
better than he was last year. He's more physical, more mature. He's
got tremendous stuff," says Chapman head coach Tom Tereschuk. "We
knew he was going to be good, but he got to a higher level faster
than anyone could have expected him to."
Junior Michael Schweiss at the University of Dallas (5-0, 3 saves,
0.21, 41) has had a hand in 8 of Dallas' 17 wins. Along with senior
Phillip Carkhuff (6-2, 2.13, 52), they lead the Crusaders in every
pitching category. Each pitcher has already improved on their win
totals from 2010 (4 win each), but Schweiss has made the most
improvement. From an ERA of 3.86 in 2010, Schweiss has the 12th
best ERA in the nation and the best with pitchers having 30 innings
pitched. It is the combination of Carkhuff and Schweiss that is
keeping Dallis in the race for a Pool B playoff bid.
Pitching was expected to be good for Wildcats in 2011 and it has
been. Leading a deep pitching staff are reigning NWC Pitcher of the
Year Ryan Larson and second team all-league selection Robert
Vaughn. Both Robert Vaughn (4-1, 0.74, 40) and Ryan Larson (4-0,
1.35, 35) are up at the top of the pitching leaders in the NWC.
Vaughn's 0.74 ERA is good enough for 37th in the nation.
| Byron Minnich leads Cal Lutheran in saves with 5
saves. Cal Lutheran photo by Gaby Torres |
Southern California has more than Chapman's Rauh. D3baseball.com preseason All-American Derek Johnson, Redlands (5-0, 0.97, 38) has not disappointed. Last season, Johnson served as the workhorse and ace of the Redlands pitching staff, and is back at it again as Redlands holds down second in the SCIAC race. Cal Lutheran has John LaMoure (4-1, 1.34, 37) and Byron Minnich (3-0, 5 saves, 1.66, 26) leading a resurgence of the Kingsmen. A league leading team ERA of 3.20 has Cal Lutheran a half game better than Redlands atop the SCIAC. Pomona-Pitzer had a fantastic start the the season but has faded lately but with David Colvin (4-1, 3.50, 56), they have a true ace that can start every weekend.
Texas-Tyler, with their perfect 22-0 record, have three pitchers who have excelled. Leading the likes of Kory Cleveland (5-0, 2.18, 19) and Matt Schimpf (4-0, 2.21, 26) is Chad Sherman (5-0, 0.70, 49). Already the recipient of two ASC East Division pitcher of the week awards, Sherman headlines a potent 1-2-3 combination. Marvin Prestridge was in the ASC "14 To Watch" but it is teammate Derek Dallas making the most noise on the Texas-Dallas pitching staff. Dallas (5-1, 1.60, 42) has the Comets in second place with a game lead over Louisiana. Over in the SCAC, two Trinity (Texas) pitchers have excelled. Senior Noah Soloman (3-1, 2.25, 32) is having an improved year but it is Ben Klinesh (6-0, 3.02, 68) that is setting the pace. Despite an ERA just above 3 runs, Klinesh is tied with Rauh for the D-III strikeout lead and has the lead in victories shared with Shenandoah's Greg Van Sikler and Christopher Newport's Sean Chitsaz.
