From the Desk of Stan Morrison:

June 11, 2007

Dear Highlanders,

The past Baseball season has produced a long list of “Firsts” for UCR Highlander Baseball in it’s NCAA Division I history. Consider the following:

• Big West Conference Champions
• Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year ­ James Simmons.
• Big West Conference Freshman Player of the Year ­ Joey Gonzales.
• Big West Conference Freshman Pitcher of the Year - Joe Kelly.
• Big West Conference Coach of the Year ­ Doug Smith.
• Eight players on the Big West All Conference Team: 1st Team ­ James Simmons, Jaime Pedroza, and Joe Kelly. 2nd Team ­ Aaron Wible, Mike Vass, and Joey Gonzalez. Honorable Mention ­ Jeff Dunbar and Marc Rzepczynski.
• Rivals.com All-American: First Team ­ James Simmons.
• Collegiate Baseball All-American: Third Team ­ James Simmons.
• Louisville Slugger Freshman All-Americans ­ Joey Kelly and Joey Gonzales.
• Major League Baseball 1st Round Draft ­ James Simmons.
• Seven UCR players drafted by Major League Baseball: James Simmons (1st round); Mark Rzepczynski (5th round); Dan Runzler (9th round); Jaime Pedroza (9th round); Jeff Dunbar (11th round); Adam Reifer (11th round); and, Stephen Penney (20th round).
• Three 3 entering (Fall 2007) Freshmen selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.

With UC Irvine and CSU Fullerton headed to the College World Series, at the time of this writing, you can begin to appreciate the level of competition in the Big West Conference during the 2007 conference season and the achievements of individual players take on even greater significance. Pitching was a major strength of our team throughout the entire season. Hitting, particularly timely late game hitting, characterized the lineup where the Highlanders did an exceptional job of defending the home field.

Behind the scenes, we saw a magnificent job unfold by our Coaching Staff of our “Coach of the Year”, Head Coach Doug Smith, Assistant Coach Andrew Checketts, Assistant Coach Randy Betten, and Volunteer Coach Bobby Calderon. I would suggest that the Assistant Coaches were “Assistant Coaches of the Year.” Working long hours daily, to accommodate the academic schedules of the players, our coaching staff spent an inordinate amount of time on the field assisting with the nuances of pitching, hitting, fielding, time/score situations, game management, and building the kind of cohesion and genuine team thinking that characterized the Blue and Gold throughout the year. Great discipline and poise was in evidence as situation after situation unfolded to test the mettle of each of the young men representing UCR. Not only did our team demonstrate that they knew how to play, but they demonstrated that they knew the game as well. Those are two entirely different issues and the new locker room contributed mightily to both areas of baseball for our team.

Troy Percival, the All-Star relief pitcher who began his career as a catcher (yes, catcher!) for UCR, oversaw the beautification of the Highlander’s team locker room. What a great thing for our players to observe as Troy would show up, unannounced, dressed in his jeans, t-shirt and sneakers and put in day after day of physical labor on behalf of his alma mater. He could have hired sub-contractors, but he chose to do this job himself. The lessons taught and learned through that process are to be carried for years by the young men who saw this great pitching star quietly go about his business on their behalf. The end result is a true “home” for the team. Players arrive early and stay late as they “talk the game” and hang out together in their very special locker room. This project represents one of the great examples of “giving back” to your university that any of us in Athletics have seen since Amy Harrison gave Amy S. Harrison Field to UCR Softball.

Great excitement surrounds the UCR program after our appearance in the NCAA Regional at Arizona State a week ago. After beating Nebraska 10-5 in the first round, the Highlanders fell to eventual Regional Champion Arizona State University. ASU just earned a position in the College World Series along with Big West Conference members UCI and CSU Fullerton. The Highlanders are rooting for the Big West to make a great showing in Omaha. In the meantime, the staff is busy planning for next season. We are growing the program. We have one of the top entering freshman classes in the western United States that will walk onto the Highlander campus in late September. While we are all excited and concerned about the number of players leaving for Major League Baseball opportunities, we also know that the door is now opened for fierce competition to see who will fill those open slots and continue the upward rise of Highlander Baseball.

Everyone was disappointed that UCR was not granted an opportunity to host a Regional and/or Super Regional after we won the Big West Championship. We did apply and we did commit the same financial amount as our colleagues in the Big West Conference. There are many factors that go into the selection of sites for the Regionals. Certainly RPI is one of the “tools” used in the process. The strength of schedule: Who did you play? Where did you play? How did you do? These are legitimate questions asked by the Baseball Committee in their very aggressive and meaningful meetings to make the decisions on who gets in and who will get the bids to host. The “body of work,” encompassing the entire season, is a huge deal in the decision process. Injuries, suspensions, field lighting, seating capacity, parking, etc. are all factors in getting the bid as well. We shall persevere and work to upgrade our Baseball Stadium to meet the standards and expectations of the Baseball Committee and the NCAA. Champions deserve that! Thanks to everyone for supporting and following the UCR Highlander Baseball team this season.

i"Take Pride in R-side!"

Stan