It was Casto's team-leading 13th home run, as both he and Whitesell hit two homers in the three-game series.

Not to be outdone, Casto provided a three-run home run of this own in the top of the third inning. It was Whitesell's team-leading 15th home run of the season. With one out in the bottom of the second inning, Frazee and Higashi hit back-to-back singles, before Whitesell hit a three-run home run to centerfield. The sophomore drilled a double to straightaway centerfield, scoring Higashi and Pettit. LMU third baseman Jonathan Oller provided the big blow of the inning. Whitesell worked a bases-loaded walk, forcing in Lockin, before freshman Chris Pettit grounded into a fielder's choice to plate Joe Frazee.

Portland starting pitcher Trent Kristjanson walked three of the first four Lions he faced, as 14 of his first 20 pitches were balls. The Lions answered right back in the bottom of the frame with four runs. The freshman allowed just three hits while striking out seven, including the side in the eighth inning.Īfter Portland's Kory Casto drew a two-out walk in the top of the first inning, Travis Vetters hammered a triple to rightfield, handing the Pilots their first lead of the season over LMU. Stephen Kahn threw five shutout innings in relief for the Lions to up his mark to 5-4. The victory sealed a six-game season sweep for LMU over the Pilots.īoth Joe Frazee and Jonathan Higashi had three hits for LMU, with a combined five RBI and six runs scored, while Joshua Whitesell drove in a game-high four runs. LMU won the slugfest 15-9, ending the season at 26-30 overall, 13-17 in the West Coast Conference, while the Pilots dropped to 9-43-1, 5-24-1 in the league. Loyola Marymount and Portland combined to score at least three runs in each of the first five innings during Sunday afternoon's match-up at Page Stadium.

He is married with two grown children.Los Angeles, Calif. His father, a World War II marine who fought on Iwo Jima, recites The Cremation of Sam McGee and The Shooting of Dan McGrew ballads from childhood memory.

He has a journalism degree from the University of New Mexico and an MBA completed at George Washington University. Jones can be contacted at He is available for podcast interviews on a variety of topics ranging from 1880s baseball to the yellow journalism of the 1890s. Jones has also written the non-fiction business leadership book “Advice from the Top: 1001 Bits of Business Wisdom from the Great Leaders of the Recent Past,” a collection of tips from hundreds of his interviews with business, sports and cultural leaders. Two novels, “At The Bat: The Strikeout that Shamed America” and “The Cremation of Sam McGee” are written for adults and built upon beloved ballads by Earnest Thayer and Robert W. Jones wrote more than 300 cover stories at USA Today. Pulitzer Prize nominee for beat reporting, Mr.

At The Bat by Del Leonard Jones