TACOMA, Washington – Two of the top three baseball teams in the Northwest Conference clash in Forest Grove, Oregon this weekend when Puget Sound takes on Pacific for three games, March 11-12.
 
Dylan did it
Dylan Joyce is Puget Sound's new home run king. During his first at-bat of last week's Linfield's series, Joyce belted his 30^th career home run. Mark Rockey's 29 home run record previously stood since 2010.
 
Conference nod
Dylan Joyce was named the NWC Hitter of the Week following the Loggers' three-game sweep over Linfield (March 5-6). Not only did he set the new home run standard for Puget Sound, but Joyce homered three times and drove in eight runs in a game against the Wildcats. His seven homers this season rank second in the NWC.
 
Can't touch this
Puget Sound's pitching staff has the second-best ERA (4.12) and second-best opponent batting average (.241) in the NWC.
 
Great, to be frank
Sophomore southpaw Davis Franklin has the second-most strikeouts in the NWC (27), and his .255 opponent batting average ranks seventh among all pitchers with at least 20.0 IP.
 
Brett and butter
Among all NWC pitchers with at least 20.0 IP, Brett Harvey ranks fifth in opponent batting average (.236). He also has 21 strikeouts in 26.1 IP. Harvey clearly has the stuff, but he needs to limit his walks (20) to bring down his 6.15 ERA.
 
Mak on 'em
Makana Murashige is tied for the conference's third-leading hitter. He carries a .438 batting average into this weekend. Murashige is also third in steals (8), and tied for fourth in runs (16).
 
On the Bloch
Nathan Blocher is tied with Makana Murashige in runs (16). His 1.211 OPS ranks eighth in the NWC.
 
Setting the table
Outfielder Cody Hirano has been batting leadoff for the past several games for Puget Sound. He went 6-for-15 in the Linfield series, and he's hitting .333 overall this season.
 
Scouting Pacific (8-5, 5-2 NWC)
The Boxers have scored at least 10 runs in four of their last five games. Pacific swept the Lutes in three games last week (March 4-5). The Boxers lead the NWC in hitting (.329), steals (37), and ERA (4.10). Ty Yukomoto has a conference-leading .474 batting average, while CJ Colyer (.436) and Tyler Quinn (.431) also rank in the top-10. Will Clark (0.78) as the best ERA among all conference pitchers with at least 15.0 IP.