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PLAYER OF THE WEEK Rice first baseman Joe Savery, a freshman from Bellaire, Texas (Lamar HS), hit .545 (6-for-11) and scored a team-high six runs in three games last week. Against Louisiana Tech, he was 5-for-8 with four RBI and a home run in two games. For the week, he had a total of six RBI and was walked five times. He also picked up a win against the Bulldogs on Sunday by throwing a complete-game and allowing just five hits and two unearned runs. For the season, Savery is second in the WAC in hitting with a .396 batting average and is third in the league in pitching with a 1.94 ERA. It is Saverys second career WAC Player of the Week award and fourth for an Owl player this year.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK Hawaii right-handed pitcher Stephen Bryant, a senior from Chico, Calif. (Feather River CC), threw 8.2 innings in Hawaiis 1-0 win at San Jose State on Friday. Bryant allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out four Spartans. He improved his record to 6-3 on the year with a 2.78 ERA. It is Bryants third career WAC Pitcher of the Week award and third for a Rainbow hurler this year.
OTHERS NOMINATED Other player of the week nominations included:
Beau Mills, Fr., 3B, Fresno State - hit .400 (4-10) as the Bulldogs won two of three games against Nevada. Mills hit three home runs (all solo shots) and had a total of four RBI in the series.
Joe Spiers, Fr., SS, Hawaii - was 7-for-15 (.467) with three runs and three RBI in a three-game sweep at San Jose State.
Matt Bowman, Fr., OF, Nevada - hit .412 (7-17) in four games last week. In Sundays win over Fresno State, he posted career-highs with three hits and three RBI while batting leadoff. For the week, he scored four runs, drove in five and hit one double, one triple and two home runs.
Additional pitcher of the week nominations included:
Matt Garza, Jr., Fresno State - threw eight innings and got the win in a 3-1 victory over Nevada last Friday. He allowed just two hits, six walks and one unearned run while striking out nine.
Travis Sutton, Jr., Nevada - allowed a two-run homer in the first inning and then faced the minimum the rest of the game in an 8-2 win over Fresno State on Sunday. He gave up just four hits and one walk in the contest.
Cole St. Clair, Fr., Rice - made two appearances last week and struck out 18 batters in 8.2 innings of work. Against Texas, he struck out six in 2.1 innings and then came back two days later to pitch a career-long 6.1 shutout innings against Louisiana Tech, striking out a career-high 12 batters, and earned his first win of the season. In the two games combined, St. Clair allowed three hits, two runs and no walks.
RICE MOVES INTO FIRST After opening the season 0-3, Rice has steadily been moving up the WAC standings and now finds itself in first place 60 percent of the way through the season. The Owls recorded their first WAC sweep of the season last week by winning all three games against Louisiana Tech. The two teams ahead of Rice going into last weekend both dropped below the Owls as Nevada lost two of three games against Fresno State while San Jose State was swept at home by Hawaii.
THIS WEEK IN THE WAC All six teams continue WAC action this week. Nevada and Hawaii begin their three-game series on Thursday night in Honolulu. Earlier this month, Nevada won two of three against the Rainbows in Reno, April 8-10. On Friday, San Jose State is at Louisiana Tech. The Spartans won two games against the Bulldogs in San Jose, March 24-26. Rice hosts Fresno State on Friday in a doubleheader and then concludes the series on Saturday afternoon. The Owls won two of three in Fresno, April 1-3.
FRESHMEN LEADERS The WAC has had three freshmen emerge as some of the top players in the league this season. Fresno State third baseman Beau Mills, Hawaii shortstop Joe Spiers and Rice utility player Joe Savery have all put up great numbers in their first years. Mills is hitting .325 and is leading the WAC in home runs (15), RBI (45) and slugging percentage (.688). He has hit five home runs in his last six games. Spiers has a .330 batting average and a WAC-high 25 stolen bases. He is second in the WAC with 61 hits this season. Savery is second in the WAC in hitting (.396) and third in ERA (1.94). As a pitcher, he is 5-4 with a WAC-high 86 strikeouts. In conference games only, he is first in the league in both hitting (.415) and ERA (1.37). Savery has an active 12-game hitting streak, currently the second longest in the WAC.
STREAKING San Jose State senior shortstop Anthony Conteras has the WACs longest current hitting streak at 14 games. Contreras has hit .417 (25-for-60) with nine RBI and nine runs scored during his streak. The longest streak by a WAC player this year is 22 games by Louisiana Techs Ryan Hamilton (March 8-April 20).
IN THE POLLS In this weeks polls, Rice is 14th in Sports Weekly/ESPN, 15th in Baseball America and 27th in Collegiate Baseball.
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) 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 75-71-1 (.514). Fresno State is 14-15 (.483), Hawaii is 13-13 (.500), Louisiana Tech is 8-16 (.333), Nevada is 11-11 (.500), Rice is 18-7 (.720) and San Jose State is 11-9-1 (.548). Against Collegiate Baseball top 25 opponents, the WAC is 9-21 (.300) as Fresno State is 0-5, Hawaii is 4-1, Louisiana Tech is 1-6, Nevada is 0-2, Rice is 4-6 and San Jose State is 0-1.
TOP-10 NCAA RANKINGS In the most recent NCAA stat rankings, San Jose States David Pierson is fifth in sacrifice hits per game (0.33), Nevadas Ryan Rodriguez is tied for seventh in the nation in wins (8) and Nevadas Jacob Butler is tied for seventh in walks per game (1.00). In team categories, Rice is fifth nationally in ERA (2.72) and San Jose State is fifth in fielding percentage (.977).
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. Rice has been the WACs regular season champion the past five seasons. The Owls also won the WAC tournament three consecutive seasons from 1997-99. San Jose State tied Rice for the regular season championship during the 2000 season.
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 (21-23, 7-8 WAC)
Has lost six of its last eight games ... senior DH David Gomez was 3-for-5 with three RBI and a home run against Nevada last Saturday ... is 1-10 on the road this season ... the Bulldogs lead the WAC with eight triples but have hit just one in the last 17 games ... sophomore outfielder Nick Moresi is 12-for-12 in stolen base attempts but has just one in the last 12 games ... freshman third baseman Beau Mills leads the WAC in RBI (45), home runs (15), slugging percentage (.688) and multiple RBI games (13) ... he hit three round-trippers in the series against Nevada and has five in his last six games ... sophomore second baseman DeAndre Miller leads the WAC in runs (44) and walks (39).
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (21-23, 8-10 WAC)
Swept SJSU to record its first WAC road sweep since May 11-13, 2001, when it beat Hawaii-Hilo ... it was their first road sweep away from the islands since April 29-May 1, 1999 (Utah) ... head coach Mike Trapasso is two wins shy of 100 for his career ... UH has played six extra inning games (3-3), tied for the most in the WAC ... junior 2B Isaac Omura leads the WAC in batting average (.399), hits (65), doubles (18) and multiple hit games (24) ... Omura is attempting to become the first Rainbow to hit .400 since Greg Oniate in 1981 (.417) ... freshman SS Joe Spiers leads the WAC in stolen bases with 25 (in 30 attempts), more than twice the number of the WACs runner-up.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (15-27, 7-11 WAC)
Has a five-game losing streak for the second time this season ... all five losses have come on the road ... plays its next four games at home where it has won its last three contests ... is 13-1 when leading after eight innings ... is 5-6 in one-run games after losing two last week against Lamar ... junior third baseman Ryan Hamilton had his school-record 22-game hitting streak snapped in the first game against Rice last Friday ... it was the longest streak by a WAC player this year ... senior Brandon Haygood has started 81 consecutive games at second base for the Bulldogs ... Tech leads the WAC in stolen bases with 47 in 74 attempts, but has allowed a WAC-high 61 stolen bases from its opponents.
Nevada Wolf Pack (20-17, 9-6 WAC)
Beat Fresno State on Sunday to snap a four-game losing streak ... has hit 28 home runs in its last 15 games ... junior outfielder Shawn Scobee hit his 10th home run of the year Sunday against Fresno State ... he is the second WAC player to reach double digits in homers this season ... junior first baseman Ben Mummy and senior outfielder Jacob Butler are tied for third in the WAC with nine home runs apiece ... the Pack owns the WACs best road record (12-9) ... sophomore Ryan Rodriguez has eight wins, the most in the WAC ... junior Wesley Dorsett leads the WAC in saves with five ... Butler is the WACs active leader in home runs with 37 ... head coach Gary Powers is six wins shy of 700 for his career.
Rice Owls (29-14, 11-7 WAC)
Has won eight of its last 10 games ... recorded its first WAC sweep of the season last weekend against Louisiana Tech ... hit six home runs against the Bulldogs ... struck out 35 Tech batters in the three games .. is 3-1 in its current eight-game homestand ... leads the WAC in ERA (2.87) and hitting (.272) ... freshman pitcher/DH Joe Savery is second in the WAC in batting average (.396) and third in ERA (1.94) ... Savery leads the WAC in strikeouts with 86 ... junior Eddie Degerman is 6-0 on the season, the best record by winning percentage in the WAC ... freshman outfielder Tyler Henley has been hit by a pitch a WAC-high 12 times this season.
San Jose State Spartans (20-18-1, 9-9 WAC)
Has lost six of its last seven games ... junior second baseman David Pierson had three sacrifice hits against Hawaii on Sunday, the most by a WAC player in a game this year ... Pierson leads the WAC with 13 sacrifice hits this year ... has played six extra inning games (3-3), tied for the most in the WAC ... leads the WAC in fielding percentage (.977) and has committed just 36 errors, 25 less than the next best team in the WAC ... senior Brad Kilby leads the WAC in ERA (1.62) ... he is 5-1 with a save ... senior shortstop Anthony Contreras has been the hardest WAC player to strike out with 0.28 per game ... Contreras current 14-game hitting streak is the longest by a Spartan this season.