DENVER Nevada third baseman Jacob Butler and Rice left-handed pitcher Justin Crowder have been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for April 22-28.
Butler, a freshman from Yelm, Wash. (Yelm HS), hit. 529 (9-17) and had a slugging percentage of 1.176 in four games for the Wolf Pack last week. Butler began the week with a 3-for-4 performance and drove in six runs against San Francisco on Tuesday. He was a single away from hitting for the cycle and also scored three times. Butler had two more games with multiple hits as he opened the San Jose State series with a 3-for-4 day and followed that up going 2-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI on Saturday. For the week, he drove in nine, scored six runs, hit three doubles, one triple and two home runs.
Crowder, a senior from Flower Mound, Texas (Marcus HS/TCU), pitched seven shutout innings versus Louisiana Tech on Friday in Rices 9-1 victory. He allowed just four hits and two walks and struck out six hitters in lowering his WAC-best ERA to 2.10 on the season.
Other player of the week nominations included: junior catcher Ben Fritz, Fresno State; junior DH Brent Cook, Hawaii; sophomore outfielder Dan Preaus, Louisiana Tech; freshman first baseman Vincent Sinisi, Rice; and senior second baseman Gabe Lopez, San Jose State.
Additional pitcher of the week nominations included: senior Zach Minor, Fresno State; junior Chris George, Hawaii; and junior Darrell Rasner, Nevada.
-WAC-