DENVER Fresno State junior catcher Ben Fritz and San Jose State right-handed pitcher Mike Malott have been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for March 11-17.
Fritz, a junior from San Jose, Calif. (Oak Grove HS), hit .364 (8-22) as Fresno State took the Pepsi/Johnny Quik Classic title winning all six games it played. Fritz was named the MVP after driving in 13 runs and scoring seven. He hit two home runs and a double. Fritz also pitched one game against Oral Roberts and picked up a complete game victory. He gave up just one earned run, five hits and two walks while striking out nine.
Malott, a sophomore from San Jose, Calif. (Valley Christian HS), was 2-0 in two appearances last week. On Tuesday, he pitched his first complete game and picked up a 7-1 victory against Sacramento State. Malott allowed three hits and struck out a career-high six batters. He then earned another victory when he came into a game against Louisiana Tech with the score tied 4-4. He pitched the last inning and two-thirds and gave up just one hit and one walk while striking out two as San Jose State won 5-4 in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Other player of the week nominations included: junior third baseman Brent Cook, Hawaii; junior catcher Craig Markel, Nevada; senior second baseman Eric Arnold, Rice; and senior second baseman Gabe Lopez, San Jose State.
Additional pitcher of the week nominations included: sophomore Mike Hernandez, Fresno State; junior Chris George Hawaii; senior Lee Gwaltney, Louisiana Tech; freshman Bryan Johnson, Nevada; and freshman Philip Humber, Rice.