Bearcats to Play at Pomona-Pitzer in Best-of-Five Regional in NCAA Tournament
By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University Bearcats, winners of the Northwest Conference Baseball Tournament, will take on Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (Calif.) in a best-of-five regional in Claremont, California, this weekend as part of the 2024 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship bracket. The Bearcats and the Sagehens will play one game on Friday, May 17, two games on Saturday, May 18, and if necessary, two games on Sunday, May 18. Once a team has won three games, that team will advance to a best-of-three super regional next weekend.
Action between Willamette and Pomona-Pitzer will begin on Friday with a single game starting at 12 p.m. PDT. A doubleheader will be played on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. If needed, Sunday's schedule will feature up to two games, starting at 10 a.m. The Bearcats bring a 28-13 record into the NCAA Regional, while Pomona-Piter is 32-11.
The NCAA Division III Baseball Championship field includes 60 teams. A total of 41 teams received automatic qualifying berths as conference champions, including Willamette and Pomona-Pitzer. The Sagehens won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) tournament. The NCAA bracket features two best-of-five, two-team regionals, and 14 four-team, double-elimination regionals. Following the regionals and super regionals, the NCAA Division III College World Series will be played May 31-June 26 at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake, Ohio.
Jeff Hoffman (Sr., 3B, Salida, CA/Joseph A. Gregori HS) leads the Bearcats with a .375 batting average and 12 home runs. He ranks first on the team with 42 RBIs and has scored 37 runs. He owns a .699 slugging percentage.
Tassos Foster (Sr., 2B, Novato, CA/Novato HS) is batting .358 and tops the offensive chart with 14 doubles, 34 walks, and 50 runs scored. He has achieved 27 RBIs.
Luke Piazza (Jr., 1B/LF, Simi Valley, CA/Royal HS/UC Davis) and Wyatt Thames are both hitting .355. Piazza has recorded 39 hits, with nine doubles and five home runs. He has registered 28 RBIs. In just 76 at bats, Thames has earned 27 hits and scored 24 times. He is 17 of 19 on stolen bases.
Also batting well above the .300 mark is Clint Walker (Grad., CF, Rocklin, CA/Rocklin HS) at .323 with 42 hits. Walker has scored 31 runs and contributed 29 RBIs, while hitting 11 doubles, two triples, and three homers. He is 10 of 12 on stolen bases.
The WU pitching staff is led by Layton Wagner (Grad., RHP/INF, Boise, ID/Timberline HS), who owns a 9-3 record with a 3.12 earned run average. He has earned 78 strikeouts in 78 innings. Steven Verespey (So., RHP, San Ramon, CA/California HS) is 5-3 on the season and has a 4.48 ERA. Verespey has struck out 46 batters in 62 1/3 innings.
Top relievers for the Bearcats are Logan Haslam (Sr., RHP, San Ramon, CA/California HS), Pruitt Spritzer (Grad., RHP, Missouri City, TX/Strake Jesuit College Prep), and Brady Joyner (Sr., RHP, Las Vegas, NV/Shadow Ridge HS).
Haslam is 1-0 with two saves, a 2.48 ERA, and 29 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings. Spritzer holds a 4-0 win-loss record with a 3.90 ERA. He has recorded 26 strikeouts in 30 innings. Joyner leads the team with a 1.99 ERA and six saves in 22 2/3 innings. He has earned 32 strikeouts.
Willamette Head Coach Mike Coduto is in his first season with the Bearcats. His assistant coaches are Andrew Shebloski, Jimmy Meuel, and Elijah "Bear" Smith.