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PLAYER OF THE WEEK Fresno State third baseman Beau Mills, a freshman from Visalia, Calif. (Golden West HS), hit .600 (9-for-15) in four games against Iona College. In Fridays doubleheader, he was 2-for-3 with two RBI in the first game and then was 5-for-5 with four RBI and six runs scored in the nightcap. For the week, he scored eight runs, drove in seven, stole a base and hit three doubles and two home runs. It is Mills first career WAC Player of the Week award and first for a Bulldog player this year.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK San Jose State left-handed pitcher Branden Dewing, a junior from Modesto, Calif. (Grace Davis HS), allowed just one run in a complete-game win over eighth-ranked Rice on Sunday afternoon. He gave up seven hits and three walks while striking out five Owls. The win was one of three for the Spartans against Rice, the first time the Owls were swept in a three-game WAC series in seven years. It is Dewings first career WAC Pitcher of the Week award and first for a Spartan player this year.
OTHERS NOMINATED Other player of the week nominations included:
Isaac Omura, Jr., 2B, Hawaii - hit .438 (7-16) in five games for the Rainbows last week. He had a slugging percentage of 1.000 as hit three singles, one double, one triple and two home runs. Omura drew eight walks, including three intentional over the week.
Ryan Hamilton, Jr., 3B, Louisiana Tech - was 4-for-10 from the plate with three RBI, two runs scored and a home run to help Tech win two of three games at Hawaii.
David Ciarlo, Fr., 2B, Nevada - hit .467 (7-15), scored five runs and drove in 10 in four games for the Pack last week. Ciarlo hit two doubles and two home runs while making his first starts of the season at second base.
Josh Rodriguez, So., 2B, Rice - was 7-for-17 (.412) in four games last week. He scored three runs and hit three doubles and a home run.
Anthony Contreras, Sr., SS, San Jose State - hit .353 (6-17) in four games last week. He drove in five, scored four runs and stole two bases while hitting leadoff in all four contests.
Additional pitcher of the week nominations included:
Doug Fister, Jr., Fresno State - pitched a complete-game and allowed just one unearned run in a 4-1 victory over Iona. He gave up five hits, one walk and struck out a career-high eight batters including three in the ninth inning.
Stephen Bryant, Sr., Hawaii - started two games and had two no decisions while recording a total of 11 strikeouts in 11.1 innings. He had an ERA of 3.97 in the two games.
Steve Alverson, Jr., Louisiana Tech - had three appearances against Hawaii and recorded a win and a save. He allowed just one hit and no runs in 3.1 innings of work.
Ryan Rodriguez, So., Nevada - won his fifth consecutive start after pitching 5.1 innings in a 12-7 win over UC Irvine on Saturday. He allowed five hits, two walks and four runs while striking out five batters.
Cole St. Clair, Fr., Rice - had two relief appearances and allowed just one hit and no runs in 4.2 innings of work. He also struck out seven in the two games.
SAN JOSE STATE SWEEPS RICE This past weekend was the first involving WAC games. San Jose State swept Rice to take the early lead in the WAC standings. The Spartans beat Rice on Friday, 10-8, before waiting until Sunday to finish the series due to heavy rains. San Jose State won both games of the doubleheader, 5-1 and 4-1, to become just the second team to sweep the Owls in a three-game WAC series and first in nearly eight years. In 1997, Fresno State won three games against the Owls. It was Rices first year in the WAC.
TECH WINS SERIES AT HAWAII Louisiana Tech won its first WAC series of the year, taking two of three from Hawaii in Honolulu. It is the first time that the Bulldogs have opened a WAC season with a series win.
THIS WEEK IN THE WAC All six teams play each other in WAC games this week beginning with Louisiana Tech at San Jose State on Thursday evening. On Friday, Rice hosts Nevada and Hawaii travels to Fresno State. The Rainbows play their first game away from Honolulu tonight when they take on Pacific in Stockton, Calif. Hawaii played its first 25 games at home.
STREAKING Nevada catcher/DH Baker Krukow has the WACs longest current hitting streak at 13 games. Krukow has hit .385 (20-for-52) with 12 RBI and eight runs scored during his streak. Fresno States Nick Moresi had a 16-game hitting streak (that began last season) earlier in the year, the longest by a WAC player in 2005.
IN THE POLLS In this weeks polls, Rice is 15th in Baseball America, 14th in Sports Weekly/ESPN and 24th in Collegiate Baseball. Both Nevada and San Jose State received votes in the Sports Weekly/ESPN poll.
WALLACE WATCH LIST The WAC has seven players on the 2005 Wallace Watch as announced by the College Baseball Foundation in Lubbock, Texas. The Brooks Wallace Award is presented to the national college baseball payer of the year. The WAC candidates are Fresno States Christian Vitters (2B), Hawaiis Matthew Inouye (OF), Nevadas Jacob Butler (OF), Rices Josh Geer (P), Paul Janish (SS) and Lance Pendleton (OF) and San Jose States Travis Becktel (OF). The Wallace Watch will be trimmed to 12 semifinalists by May 24. Additional candidates will be added as the season progresses.
NON-CONFERENCE In non-conference games, the WAC is 69-60-1 (.535). Fresno State is 14-15 (.483), Hawaii is 12-10 (.546), Louisiana Tech is 7-14 (.333), Nevada is 11-8 (.579), Rice is 15-5 (.750) and San Jose State is 10-8-1 (.553).
NCAA STATS The NCAA will not begin compiling national statistics until Tuesday, April 12.
POSTSEASON The WAC does not conduct a postseason tournament, but the regular season champion as determined by winning percentage in conference games will earn an automatic bid into this years NCAA Tournament which begins June 3.
WAC ADDS NEW MEXICO STATE AND SACRAMENTO STATE Last year, the WAC issued invitations to Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State effective July 1, 2005, the same date that Rice, SMU, UTEP and Tulsa are moving to Conference USA. Of the three incoming schools, only New Mexico State has baseball. Sacramento State will also join the WAC as an affiliate member in baseball beginning in the 2006 season. The Hornets previously were an affiliate member of the WAC from 1993-96.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (14-15, 0-0 WAC)
Has won five of its last seven games including three in a row ... is in the midst of a 27-game homestand (13-8) ... allowed just four earned runs in its four-game series against Iona last week ... junior Matt Garza struck out 12 in a 3-2 loss against Iona on Thursday with all three runs being unearned ... sophomore OF Nick Moresi had a home run in both games against Iona on Friday ... the Bulldogs lead the WAC with 25 home runs and seven triples ... Moresi and sophomore Christian Vitters are tied for the most hits in the WAC with 38 each ... freshman Beau Mills leads the WAC in RBI with 31 and home runs with eight ... Garza has struck out a WAC-high 53 batters this year.
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (13-12, 1-2 WAC)
Played its first 25 games of the season at home ... plays its first road game tonight against Pacific and is 3-1 versus the Tigers this season ... has lost four of its last five games after four consecutive wins against top 25 opponents ... has played five extra inning games (2-3), the most in the WAC ... played a 15-inning game that lasted 4:53 in a 4-3 loss against Winthrop last Tuesday ... it was the second longest game in school history by both time and innings ... junior Isaac Omura leads the WAC in batting average (.411), slugging percentage (.667) and doubles (12) ... freshman Joe Spiers leads the WAC in stolen bases with 20 ... senior Stephen Bryant is 4-0 with a 1.90 ERA on the year.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (9-15, 2-1 WAC)
Has won four of its last six games after losing nine of its previous 10 ... trailed 6-1 in the seventh inning against Hawaii on Sunday, but scored two in the seventh and six runs in the ninth to win 9-6 ... Techs first three batters were hit by a pitch in the ninth inning ... is in the midst of an 11-game road trip (4-3) ... is one of only two WAC teams to have a winning record on the road this season (7-6) ... leads the WAC in stolen bases with 42 in 55 attempts, but has allowed a WAC-high 40 stolen bases from its opponents ... is last in the WAC in hitting (.248) and is the only WAC team to not have a team batting average of at least .270.
Nevada Wolf Pack (11-8, 0-0 WAC)
For the second time this season, a Tuesday game between Nevada and future WAC foe Sacramento State, has been cancelled due to rain ... the Pack are one of two WAC teams with a winning road record this year (7-5) ... was 2-1 in the UC Irvine Tournament last week, its second 2-1 mark in a tournament this year ... sophomore Ryan Rodriguez has won his last five starts ... his five wins are tied for the most in the WAC this year ... junior Wesley Dorsett leads the WAC in saves with four .. sophomore Baker Krukow has a 13-game hitting streak, the second longest in the WAC this season ... junior Brett Hayes leads the WAC in RBI per game with 1.37.
Rice Owls (15-8, 0-3 WAC)
Has a three-game losing streak for the first time since the 2001 season ... has lost two of its last three WAC series dating back to last season ... leads the WAC in pitching with an ERA of 2.70, a full run better than the next best team in the league ... junior Josh Geer has won five games, tied for the most in the WAC ... junior 3B Greg Buchanan has a nine-game hitting streak, the longest by an Owl this season ... Buchanan returned to the lineup last week against Purdue after missing the previous 10 games due to an injury ... senior 1B Adam Rodgers needs three more hits to reach 100 in his two-year career at Rice ... freshman pitcher/DH Joe Savery has a .386 batting average and 2.82 ERA.
San Jose State Spartans (13-8-1, 3-0 WAC)
Has won nine of its last 10 games ... swept Rice for the first time in school history last week ... has won six straight WAC games dating back to last season ... is in the midst of a 15-game homestand (9-2) ... leads the WAC in team batting with a .278 average ... senior Brad Kilby leads the WAC in ERA (1.41) ... Kilby pitched a complete game and allowed just one run, six hits and a walk in a 4-1 win over Rice on Sunday ... he is 4-1 with a save ... junior OF Travis Becktel has been hit by a pitch a WAC-high nine times this season ... Becktels 11-game hitting streak came to an end on Sunday against Rice ... it was the longest hitting streak by a Spartan this year.