DENVER - Rice has been selected to win the 2000 Western Athletic Conference regular season baseball crown in a vote by the league's six head coaches. It marks the fourth year in a row the Owls have been selected the preseason favorite for either a divisional or regular season championship.
Rice received 25 points and five first place votes after a 59-15 season in 1999, a third consecutive WAC tournament championship and its second trip to the NCAA College World Series in the past three years. Hawai`i garnered 18 points to place second after a 37-20 record last year. Third place went to Fresno State with 17 points followed by TCU (15), San Jose State (10) and new affiliate member, Hawai`i-Hilo (5).
Rice, ranked in the top 15 by a couple of preseason publications, will be led by senior outfielder Jason Gray, a preseason All-America selection. Last season, Gray hit .327 and was second in the WAC in home runs (20), second in triples (8), third in stolen bases (19), fourth in RBI (72) and fourth in hits (96). The pitching staff returns two preseason All-Americans, senior Jeff Nichols and junior Kenny Baugh. Nichols was 15-4 with a 4.84 ERA last year and led the WAC in wins. Baugh was 12-2 with a WAC-best 2.26 ERA.
The WAC will feature four players who were 1999 all-WAC performers. Hawai`i has two players returning that earned all-WAC honors last year. Senior first baseman Jamie Aloy hit .358 for the Rainbows and also had a 7-6 record with a 4.74 ERA. Senior outfielder Sean Takamori led Hawai`i with a .363 batting average and stole a WAC-high 34 bases in 44 attempts. Fresno State senior outfielder Anthony Acevedo was a first-team selection in 1999 after leading the Bulldogs in hitting (.383), doubles (23) and RBI (61). TCU's Cade Harris returns for the Horned Frogs after hitting .380 and making 18 appearances on the mound.
A pair of second basemen return this year after earning co-Freshman of the Year honors in 1999. Fresno State's Tom Creighton hit .335 with 26 RBI and eight stolen bases, while San Jose State's Junior Ruiz hit .354 with 29 RBI and nine stolen bases for the Spartans.
The WAC season began last week with Hawai`i-Hilo sweeping a pair of games against Sonomo State. Hawai`i hosts Florida this weekend for a three-game series, while Hawai`i-Hilo plays San Diego three games at home.
2000 WAC Baseball Coaches' Poll(Points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis as coaches not allowed to vote for their own team)
Rk. Team 1 2 3 4 5 Total
1. Rice 5 - 25
2. Hawai`i 1 2 1 1 18
3. Fresno State 3 1 1 17
4. TCU 1 3 1 15
5. San Jose State 1 3 1 10
6. Hawai`i-Hilo 5 5