Baseball News Release
Schedule| Roster| GSAC Standing| Coach Profile
| Cougar Baseball, the GSAC's winningest program, posts another 30-win season |
| Records: 34-16 (overall) 17-7 (GSAC) Individual Honors: Steve Esquibel (All-GSAC, NAIA All-West Region) Jeff Courvoisier (All-GSAC) Mike Boyle (All-GSAC) Dirk Lewallen (All-GSAC) |
| ANOTHER FINE SEASON: The season may not have ended in a preferred manner, but nonetheless, Azusa Pacific enjoyed another winning season - its 11th straight - and posted another 30-win campaign - its 10th in the past 11 seasons. During the course of the regular season, the Cougars won 34 of 48 games, including 17 of 24 in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). |
| MEN OF STEEL: The 1997 season saw the return of the Cougar "Men of Steel," those players with thunder bats that turn nail-biting games into big-time blow outs. During the late 1980s, the Cougars made a name for themselves with their powerful bats and high-scoring offense. In recent years, though, the Cougars relied more on a finesse game and strong mound performances. This year, though, the power surge was back. For the 12th straight season, the Cougars batted over .300 as a team, compiling a .337 team average that included an average 8.3 runs a game, thanks in part to 60 home runs, the most by a Cougar team since 1988. Sixteen times they scored 10 or more runs in a game and were not shut out the entire season. Twelve Cougars batted over .300 on the season, including Jeff Courvoisier (Costa Mesa, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS), who tallied a school-record 69 singles and batted .423, the highest season average by a Cougar since 1972. And all this from a team that featured 10 new position players. |
| BELL RINGER: He may have played just 1 season at Azusa Pacific, but what a season it was for senior OF Steve Esquibel (West Covina, Calif./Damien HS), a former Citrus College standout who transferred from Chico State last summer. Esquibel put together one of the finest seasons ever by a Cougar, batting .397 with 22 home runs, 68 RBIs and 13 doubles. His 22 round-trippers are an Azusa Pacific and GSAC record, and the 68 RBIs are the second most in Cougar history. Over the course of a 9-game stretch from March 18 to April 2, Esquibel hit 9 home runs, knocked in 25 runs, scored 15 runs and batted .559 (19-for-34). |
| THE GSAC'S FINEST: Though it didn't win the GSAC title this season (only the second time in the past 8 seasons), Azusa Pacific still has a stranglehold on the all-time GSAC standings and continues as the conference's all-time winningest program with 172 conference wins in the GSAC's 11-year history, more than 50 wins better than the next GSAC foe. One of the NAIA's premier baseball conferences, GSAC members Azusa Pacific, Southern California College and Point Loma Nazarene have all finished among the top 3 in the NAIA over the past 13 seasons. This year, Cal Baptist is headed for the NAIA Championship Tournament for the first time ever after knocking off defending NAIA champion Lewis-Clark State. |
| THE BONE YARD: Tony Barbone, who just completed his 12th season at the Cougar helm, is Azusa Pacific's all-time winningest coach with a collegiate record of 384-195 (.663). Over the past 7 seasons, he has led Azusa Pacific to an impressive 230-100 record. Each of his past 5 Cougar teams has been ranked in the NAIA Top 25 Poll. A former Cougar first baseman (1975-76), Barbone is among the NAIA's Top 15 winningest active coaches. |
All-Time GSAC Standings
| School | Conf. | Pct. |
|---|---|---|
| Azusa Pacific (7) | 172-66 | .723 |
| Cal Baptist (1) | 121-99 | .550 |
| So. Cal College | 124-116 | .517 |
| Westmont (3) | 121-117 | .508 |
| Point Loma Nazarene (1) | 95-125 | .413 |
| Biola | 27-45 | .375 |
| Concordia | 72-148 | .327 |
May 19, 1997
Schedule| Roster| GSAC Standing| Coach Profile
Copyright(c) Joon Cho 1997,
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