The SCIAC champion Pomona-Pitzer baseball team is the lone college team left standing. The Sagehens will leave Tuesday morning for the NCAA Division III West Regional to be hosted by Linfield (Ore.) starting on Wednesday.

The Sagehens (29-9) are seeded third in the six-team field and will open up against fourth-seeded University of Texas-Tyler at 7 p.m.

The field looks extremely tough with all six teams ranked nationally.Chapman is the top seed and is ranked the highest at No. 6. Then it’s Trinity (Tex.) at No. 9, Pomona-Pitzer at No. 11, Mississippi College at No. 15 and Texas-Tyler at No. 18.

Tyler is the top team out of the tough American Southwest Conference. Both Tyler and Pitzer were regional qualifiers last year, although they didn’t play each other.

The biggest challenge for the Sagehens will be rust. They haven’t played in three weeks. No matter how much you practice or how many intrasquad games you play, it isn’t the same as seeing live pitching and being in game situations.

Junior David Colvin gets the start. With him on the mound the Sagehens typically don’t need a lot of runs.

The Sagehens have five seniors, two of whom are starters. They have been to the regional three times in the last four years.

Former Pomona-Pitzer baseball standout Drew Hedman is playing for the Salem (Va.) Red Sox, Boston’s High A affiliate in the Carolina League.

 It’s early but his second professional season is off to a better start than the first.He is hitting .340 (16-for-47) in 14 games with eight RBI and eight runs scored. He played first base in college but is now seeing time in right field.

Hedman, who broke several school records his senior season, hit .265 last year in 45 games for the Lowell Spinners of the New York-Penn League. He was a 50th round draft pick by the Red Sox in 2009.

By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

Pomona-Pitzer senior Drew Hedman sprints to third base, where Frank Pericolosi is watching from the third-base coach’s box. The Sagehens are about to score another run and they’re already comfortably ahead.

“When you’re done, there’s a scout here to see you,” the coach says to the player, then turns his attention back to the matter at hand.

It might not have been the best time to mention such a thing, but Pericolosi knows that his player can handle it. He’s been doing so all season and it hasn’t provided the least bit of distraction.

The Sagehens (31-3, 15-0), winners of 12 straight games, are nearing their second SCIAC title in three years but face a formidable challenge today against Cal Lutheran (27-7, 13-2).

The Sagehens are ranked No. 1 in one national poll and No. 3 in another. The contribution of Hedman has been a huge factor. The Redding native is hitting a whopping .533, but his other numbers are equally impressive.

He leads the SCIAC in runs scored (53), hits (72), home runs (21), RBIs (70) and total bases (152). His slugging percentage is a robust 1.126 and his on-base percentage is .605. He has more than twice as many walks (23) as strikeouts (9). The 21 home runs are a school single-season record.

Hedman knows he is being watched, but he doesn’t let that get in his head.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to get drafted, but it doesn’t change how I approach the game,” he said during a break in a recent practice. “I don’t even think about that when I’m on the field.”

Hedman’s numbers warrant the attention, but getting drafted isn’t a given when you play for a Division III school.

Pericolosi, in his seventh year, has had two players drafted during his tenure — catcher Jose Cortes by the Phillies in 2003 and Jase Turner, Hedman’s predecessor at first base, by the Cubs in 2005.

The University of Redlands and University of La Verne have been among the top of the heap in the SCIAC in recent years, but they haven’t had much luck in the draft department.

Redlands hasn’t had a player drafted in coach Scott Laverty’s 10 years, and the last player drafted out of La Verne was pitcher Scott Lindeen, the SCIAC Player of the Year in 2005. He played just one year in the minor leagues and never made it out of rookie ball.

The most prominent player to come out of the SCIAC in the last decade is pitcher Jason Hirsh, who was drafted out of Cal Lutheran in the second round by the Houston Astros in 2003 and made his major- league debut in August of 2006.

Pericolosi certainly thinks his top player is worthy.

“I have to think someone will give him the chance,” he said. “His hitting numbers speak for themselves, but his fielding is outstanding and his foot speed is above average for a first baseman. He has all the tools.”

Pericolosi added that the Diamondbacks have shown the most interest, although that is hardly an indication of what might happen on draft day.

Other teams have turned out too, and they say the evaluation process isn’t different than it is for a Division I player.

“You’re looking at a lot of things,” said one scout who took in the Sagehens against Chapman last weekend.  “Bat speed, mechanics, how frequently the batter is making solid contact — those things don’t change.
“About the only thing that is different is that these guys aren’t facing as good a pitching game-in, game-out.”

Hedman set the stage for his senior season by competing for the Green Bay entry of the prestigious Northwoods League, a summer wood-bat college league that starts in early May and runs through August.

That gave him the chance to play with the top players throughout the country in all divisions and show that he can play without the aid of the aluminum bat. He responded by hitting a respectable .305 in 59 games.

“That was a great opportunity,” Hedman said.  “I was happy with how I played there, and it gave me a lot of confidence to hold my own against those guys.”

While the draft is a definite goal, Hedman’s priority right now is helping the Sagehens to the postseason. Pitzer won the SCIAC and advanced to the West Region in 2007, his sophomore year, but they went just 1-2 in that tournament. They’re a more seasoned team this time around, though.

“Most of us have been there before and we know what it takes,” he said.
“We’re more experienced and we have more depth. Hopefully that will pay off.”

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Junior second baseman James Kang stroked a two-run single in the sixth to boost the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens (29-3) to a 4-2 nonconference win over perennial Division III title contender Chapman University Friday at Hart Park.

That hit upped Pitzer’s lead to 4-0 and it never looked back.

The Panthers (21-11) scored lone runs in the seventh and ninth against Sagehens starter David Colvin (5-0) who allowed just six hits and struck out four in going the distance.

After three straight losses to regional foes, the University of Redlands softball team bounced back with a doubleheader sweep against the visiting Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Saturday.  The Bulldogs relied on solid pitching and late-game rallies to take down the Sagehens by scores of 6-0 and 8-0, respectively.

In the opener, the Bulldogs gave up a run in the top of the fourth inning on an errant throw to home with the bases loaded.  Redlands quickly made up for it with two quick outs to end the inning, as the defense tagged out a runner in a pickle play and then junior catcher Nicky Neumann (Fremont, CA) picked off another at third.

The Maroon and Gray then equalized the score with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning.  Freshman third baseman Lindsay Henry (Lake Elsinore, CA) led off with a single down the right field line and then scored on a single by junior designated player Amanda Doeppel (Monrovia, CA).

Tied at one apiece, Redlands broke it open in the sixth inning with a five-run explosion.  Doeppel led off with a double to right center.  With freshman Molly Duran (Corona, CA) pinch running, freshman right fielder Jen Boschken (Davis, CA) connected on a single down the right field line to score Duran.  The team then strung together four hits and took advantage of aggressive base-running with steals, wild pitches, and passed balls, to score four more runs.  Freshman short stop Kai Masutani (Honolulu, HI), junior center fielder Kayla Peterson (San Jose, CA), sophomore first baseman Lizett Casillas (Pomona, CA), and senior second baseman Dory Baga (Aiea, HI) each recorded RBI-singles for the Bulldogs.

Junior pitcher Olivia Ellis (Colfax, CA) scattered three hits and struck out seven batters in seven innings of work, earning her 11th win and second shutout of the season.

During the nightcap, Redlands tallied 10 hits and scored eight runs in six innings while holding the Sagehens to just three hits and no runs.

The Bulldogs initiated the scoring in the bottom of the first inning as Baga provided a sacrifice fly to score Neumann, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning.

During the third inning, the Maroon and Gray added two runs and then followed that up with three more in the fifth.  Redlands solidified its lead with two runs in the sixth, gaining the win by the eight-run-rule.

Doeppel pitched for the Bulldogs, striking out three batters and scattering three hits.  She also went 3-for-3 from the plate with one RBI and one run scored.

With a 10-2 SCIAC record, Redlands (13-8, 10-2) sits atop the conference standings.  The Bulldogs welcome non-conference opponent Williams College (MA) to the “Field of Dreams” on Thursday for a 2 p.m. doubleheader.

By Michelle Gardner

Staff writer

The women’s water polo team from Pomona-Pitzer got to square off against the top Division I teams in the country last year but was overwhelmed from the start.

The Sagehens are getting the same chance and hoping for a better showing in this year’s national tournament which starts Friday at Stanford. The Sagehens (13-8), who got an automatic bid by finishing first in the SCIAC, open play against No 1. UCLA (30-0). That’s the same opening-round foe they drew last year and lost 22-0.

“Last year we were just happy to be there,” Sagehens coach Alex Rodriguez said. “We’re looking forward to a more competitive showing this year. We’re not saying we’re going to win but we want to do a better job of representing our conference.”

Water polo is one of the few sports where colleges don’t compete in divisions because there are only 65 that have teams. The other six teams in the field this week are No. 2 seed Stanford, No. 3 USC, No. 4 San Diego State, No. 5 UC Davis, No. 6 Michigan and No. 7 Marist.

One reason Rodriguez is expecting a better showing is that this year’s team has improved. It graduated just two players and has had some key additions.

The Sagehens are led by senior Laura Condon, senior keeper Elena Peifer and junior driver Janelle Gyorffy.

But there have also been some imprssive newcomers in freshman driver Tamara Perea (Upland HS) and junior Nicole Ruesch, a transfer from Chaffey College.

The coach also singles out the improvement of sophomore driver Danielle Joseph, who typically gets the job of defending the opposing team’s best perimeter player.

“Last year we were basically practicing dummies for them,” Rodriguez said. “They had things they wanted to work on and they weren’t going to sit there and feel sorry for us. We want to make them have to work for it.”

The Pomona-Pitzer baseball team remained in first place in SCIAC with a 13-8 and 9-8 sweep of local rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

The Sagehens (23-5, 10-2), ranked 18th nationally have a one-game lead over La Verne which swept lowly Caltech.

Shortstop Brandon Huerta supplied the power in the opener, stroking two grand slam home runs, opne ion the fourth and one an inning later.

Zach Mandelblatt, returning to leftfield after missing three weeks with a wrist injury, had two hits, as did Mike Silva and Michael Joannides.

CMS was led by Travis Nishioka with four hits and Andrew Blomberg with two home runs and four RBI.

The second game was closer with CMS taking an 8-7 lead into the seventh when the Sagehens got the tying and go-ahead runs. Drew Hedman walked and Mandelblatt doubled. After an intentional walk to load the bases and set up a double play, Nick Frederick knocked in two with a single to left.

James Brunswick (3-1) got the win in relief of starter Joannides.

DREW HEDMAN

Pomona-Pitzer

Baseball

The lowdown: The junior first baseman is coming off a week in which he earned Division III national player of the week honors. In 25 games he is hitting .452 (42-for-93) with 47 RBI, 32 runs, nine doubles and 13 home runs with a slugging percentage of .968. He also has a fielding percentage of .991. Was a first-team All-SCIAC, All-West Region and All-American selection as a junior when he hit .389 with 14 home runs and 56 RBI in 43 games. Also carries a 3.61 GPA.

Age: 21

Hometown: Redding

High school: Shasta High School, 2005

Major: Politics, Philosophy, Economics (with concentration on economics).

Favorite athlete: Travis Hafner, J.T. Snow

Favorite team: San Francisco Giants

Role model: My parents because they are honest, hard-working and generous people.

Most memorable sports moment: Last year on the last day of the regular season when our baseball team qualified for the regional tournament.

Most embarrassing sports moment: I was so excited for my first game as a freshman that I didnt pay attention to the lineup and I went to the wrong position, only to have the person who was playing that position tell me I was in the wrong spot.

Person most influential in your athletic success: My dad. He taught me to play hard, to work hard at practice and to push myself in the weight room. He taught me to play hard but play smart. Many days when I was younger were spent throwing the ball in the backyard or hitting at my school.

Best advice anyone has ever given you: Dont ne satisfied. There is always room for improvment.

Pre-game ritual or superstition: I always give my batting gloves to my first base coach right when the game starts. Even after checking the lineup and knowing the answer, I ask our statistician where I am hitting in the order.

Cant miss TV show: The Office

Celebrity you most want to meet: Michael Jordan

Last good book you read: White Fang (while I was studying abroad in Spain it was the only book in English in my room).

Favorite food: Steak

Favorite movie: Gladiator

Favorite vacation spot: Anywhere sunny, warm, with a beach nearby.

Other hobbies: Working out, listening to music, playing the piano.

Whats in your CD player/iPOD: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Citizen Cope, Jay-Z, Tom Petty.

What do you want to be doing in five years?: I want to play baseball as long as I can. After that I could see myself getting my MBA and working as a sports agent or in a front office of a baseball team.

- Compiled by Michelle Gardner