THIS WAVE IS A HIT PITCHER HAREN CAN HELP HIMSELF.Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer MALIBU - Dan Haren Daniel John ("Dan") Haren (born September 17, 1980 in Monterey Park, California) is a baseball pitcher who currently plays for the Oakland Athletics. High School and College Career Dan Haren graduated from Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, CA in 1998. arrived at Pepperdine a hard-hitting first baseman with an eye toward a career in professional baseball. He remains a pro prospect, and baseball could make him piles of money someday. Ask a major-league pitcher. Haren's 28 career wins ties him for third with ex-Waves star Doug Simons. His 337 innings thrown and 268 strikeouts both rank fourth all- time. The junior takes a 10-3 mark, five complete games and a 2.41 ERA into Friday afternoon's start against Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference championship series opener. Not bad for a guy who admits, ``Hitting was my serious thing, but pitching was fun.'' ``My senior year I probably threw 20 innings,'' Haren said of his days at Bisop Amat High of La Puente La Puente (lä pwĕn`tē), city (1990 pop. 36,955), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles; laid out 1841, inc. 1956. Primarily residential, the city manufactures hardware, electronics, and paper products. . ``I threw kind of hard. In high school that's what everyone looked for.'' Haren's offense - .465 average as a Lancers lanc·er n. 1. A cavalryman armed with a lance. 2. A member of a regiment originally armed with lances. 3. lancers (used with a sing. verb) a. A kind of quadrille. b. senior - attracted Division I coaches from USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. , Tulane, Loyola Marymount, UC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. , USF USF University of South Florida USF Universal Service Fund (often part of phone bill in US) USF University of San Francisco USF University of Sioux Falls USF University of St. , Saint Mary's Saint Mary's, island, Scilly Islands Saint Mary's, England: see Scilly Islands. and Pepperdine. Waves coach Frank Sanchez foresaw Haren filling out into the 6-foot-4, 210-pound body he has today. ``He was a young man who had considerable success with the bat,'' Sanchez said. ``Now he also had a chance to pitch some. ... Hopefully, he could round out our pitching staff.'' Sanchez, recovering from cancer, missed most of Haren's freshman-year fall workouts. When watching him throw in preseason practice, clearly this wasn't the staff's sixth or seventh pitcher. His freshman season, Haren went 10-3. He was 8-5 as a sophomore, posting 3.08 ERAs both years. ``(Sanchez's) big thing was, 'If you come here, we'll give you the chance to maybe do both,' '' Haren said. ``That's why I was so excited coming here.'' Only this year did Sanchez's plan fully evolve. The Waves lost four starting position players, three who batted at least .333. In an era in which many top college pitchers give way to designated hitters, Haren hits for himself when starting and is Pepperdine's full-time DH. He is hitting .313 with five homers, 42 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in and a capable complement to first baseman Jared Pitney (.393), second baseman Danny Garcia (.371), shortstop Tony Garcia (.361) and center fielder Woody Cliffords (.348). ``He has progressed and blossomed,'' Sanchez said of Haren. Practices are never boring. While fellow pitchers Noah Lowry, Jay Adams and others shag shag see cormorant. fly balls in the outfield, Haren grabs a bat when finished with his side work and running. It's a busy afternoon and the stress mounts on pitching days. ``I can't even imagine it,'' said Tony Garcia, who roomed with Haren last year and lives with 13-game winner Lowry this season. ``I know what kind of frame of mind a pitcher's got to get into and stay focused. To go out there and throw and then come back in here and try to knock some runs in is unbelievable.'' WCC WCC n abbr (= World Council of Churches) → COE m (Conseil œcuménique des Églises) WCC n abbr (= World Council of Churches) → Weltkirchenrat m CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES --Who: Gonzaga (27-25 overall, 17-13 in Coast Division) vs. Pepperdine (39-15, 25-5 in West Division). --When and where: Friday, 3 p.m.; Saturday, 1 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m. (if necessary). All games at Eddy D. Field Eddy D. Field is home of the Pepperdine University Waves' baseball team located in Malibu, California. It was originally built in 1973, but underwent renovations in 1980 and 1999. It now holds up to 2,000 spectators, all box seats. Stadium in Malibu. --Waves to watch: Junior P/DH Dan Haren (10-3, 2.41 ERA, .313 average, 42 RBI); Junior P Noah Lowry (13-1, 1.62); Senior 1B Jared Pitney (.393, 10 HR, 54 RBI; Junior CF Woody Cliffords (.348, 58 runs, 24 SB); junior 2B Danny Garcia (.371, eight HR, 49 RBI, 24 SB). --Bulldogs to watch: Senior OF/LHP Barry Matthews (Crespi High/Pierce JC) (.341, 10 HR, 31 RBI; 8-2, 3.03, five CG); Senior OF Jared Hertz (.332, seven HR, 43 RBI); Junior 1B Kevin Richardson (.321, 11 HR, 34 RBI). CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Pepperdine pitcher/designated hitter Dan Haren throws hard and carries a big stick. He starts on the mound Friday in the Waves' WCC tournament opener against Gonzaga. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer Box: WCC CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (see text) |
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