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PLAYER OF THE WEEK Fresno State first baseman Kent Sakamoto, a junior from Bakersfield, Calif. (East Bakersfield HS), was 5-for-11 (.455) in a three-game sweep of San Jose State last week. He had a hit in each game to extend his season-long hitting streak to 10 games. Sakamoto had a total of four runs, four RBI, two doubles, a home run and was walked three times during the series. It is Sakamotos first career WAC Player of the Week award and second for a Bulldog hitter this year.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK Louisiana Tech right-handed pitcher Matt Lacy, a junior from Longview, Texas (Pinetree), pitched 8.2 innings in Louisiana Techs 3-1 win over Nevada on Sunday to pick up his first win of the season. He took a shutout into the ninth inning while helping the Bulldogs snap a 13-game losing streak against Nevada. Lacy struck out a career-high 10 batters and allowed eight hits, five walks and one earned run. It is Lacys second career WAC Pitcher of the Week award and second for a Bulldog hurler this year.
OTHERS NOMINATED Other player of the week nominations included:
Ben Mummy, Jr., 1B, Nevada - hit .417 (5-12) with two runs, three RBI and two home runs as the Pack split its four games. On Saturday against Louisiana Tech, he was 3-for-4 with two RBI and a home run.
Additional pitcher of the week nominations included:
Tim Schoeninger, Jr., Nevada - pitched eight innings of Nevadas 10-2 win over Louisiana Tech on Friday. He allowed five hits, one walk, two runs (one earned) in winning his fifth game of the season.
THIS WEEK IN THE WAC After not playing since April 30, Hawaii and Rice return to action this week. The Owls host ninth-ranked Baylor on Wednesday while the Rainbows face Fresno State in a three-game conference series beginning Thursday. Hawaii and Fresno State are two of three teams in the WAC tied for second place with 11-10 records. The Bulldogs swept Hawaii earlier this year in Fresno, March 25-27. Rice travels to Nevada on Friday to take on the other second place team in the WAC. The league-leading Owls have a two-game advantage in the conference standings and earlier won two-of-three games against the Wolf Pack, March 25-27. San Jose State and Louisiana Tech play against non-conference opponents only this week. The Bulldogs are at Northwestern State on Tuesday night before taking a 10-day break. The Spartans travel to future WAC affiliate Sacramento State for a four-game series that begins on Friday.
SAVERY INVITED TO NATIONAL TEAM TRIALS Rices Joe Savery was one of just three freshmen to be invited last week to participate in the 2005 USA Baseball national team trials. The U.S. team will represent the country in international baseball competitions this summer. The 20-man team will be selected from a pool of 36 collegiate players participating in a tryout camp, June 27-30. Savery is on the initial list of 13 collegiate players who have been invited to the trials.
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 .324 and is leading the WAC in home runs (18), RBI (50) and slugging percentage (.698). He has hit eight home runs in his last 12 games. Spiers has a .338 batting average and a WAC-high 29 stolen bases. He is third in the WAC with 67 hits this season. Savery is first in the WAC in hitting (.393) and second in ERA (1.86). As a pitcher, he is 6-4 with a WAC-high 101 strikeouts. Savery has an active 16-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 22 games. Contreras has hit .462 (43-for-93) with 17 RBI and 18 runs scored during his streak. The streak is tied for the longest by a WAC player this year as Louisiana Techs Ryan Hamilton also hit safely in 22 straight games from March 8-April 20.
IN THE POLLS In this weeks polls, Rice is 13th in Sports Weekly/ESPN, 15th in Baseball America and 23rd in Collegiate Baseball.
WALLACE WATCH LIST The WAC has eight 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), Lance Pendleton (OF) and Joe Savery (P/1B) 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 76-72-1 (.513). Fresno State is 14-15 (.483), Hawaii is 13-13 (.500), Louisiana Tech is 8-16 (.333), Nevada is 11-12 (.478), Rice is 18-7 (.720) and San Jose State is 12-9-1 (.568). Against Collegiate Baseball top 25 opponents, the WAC is 9-22 (.290) as Fresno State is 0-5, Hawaii is 4-1, Louisiana Tech is 1-6, Nevada is 0-3, 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 (0.32) is tied for fifth in sacrifice hits per game. Nevadas Ryan Rodriguez is tied for 10th in wins (9). San Jose States Brad Kilby is ninth in ERA (1.53). Nevadas Jacob Butler is ninth in walks per game (0.98) and Fresno States Beau Mills is eighth in home runs per game (0.36). In team categories, San Jose State is fourth 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. The WAC will have a conference tournament following the 2006 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 (25-25, 11-10 WAC)
Has won four of its last five games ... is 2-12 on the road this season ... hit two triples against Fresno State on Friday after hitting one in the previous 20 games ... sophomore outfielder Nick Moresi is 12-for-12 in stolen base attempts but has just one in his last 18 games ... freshman third baseman Beau Mills leads the WAC in RBI (50), home runs (18), slugging percentage (.698) and multiple RBI games (15) ... he hit a home runs last week against San Jose State and has eight in his last 12 games ... sophomore second baseman DeAndre Miller leads the WAC in walks (42) ... junior pitcher Matt Garza is second in the WAC with 98 strikeouts.
Hawaii Rainbows (24-23, 11-10 WAC)
Has won six games in a row, its longest streak since winning eight in a row early in the 2004 season ... is coming off consecutive WAC series sweeps for the first time under head coach Mike Trapasso ... Trapasso won his 100th game on April 29 ... UH is 11-5 in one-run games ... junior 2B Isaac Omura leads the WAC in doubles (18) and multiple hit games (24) ... Omura is hitting .389 and 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 29, more than twice the number of the WACs runner-up ... Spiers leads the WAC with three triples.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (17-32, 9-15 WAC)
Has lost 10 of its last 12 games ... the win against Nevada on Sunday snapped a 13-game losing streak against the Wolf Pack ... it also broke a seven-game road losing streak ... faces 30th-ranked Northwestern State on Tuesday and then takes a 10-day break before traveling to Fresno State ... is in the midst of a seven-game road trip (1-2) ... junior third baseman Ryan Hamilton has hit safely in 30 of his last 32 games ... senior Brandon Haygood has started 88 consecutive games at second base for the Bulldogs ... he has a season-high 10-game hitting streak ... Haygood is three doubles shy of tying the schools single-season record of 20.
Nevada Wolf Pack (22-22, 11-10 WAC)
Won two of its last three games after losing eight of its previous nine contests ... beat Louisiana Tech 13 consecutive times before losing to the Bulldogs last Sunday, 3-1 ... three of the top four home run hitters in the WAC are from Nevada: junior outfielder Shawn Scobee (14), junior first baseman Ben Mummy (12) and senior outfielder Jacob Butler (9) ... sophomore Ryan Rodriguez has nine 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 four wins shy of 700 for his career.
Rice Owls (32-15, 13-8 WAC)
Has won six of its last seven games and 11 of its previous 14 contests ... is 6-2 in its current nine-game homestand ... returns to action on Wednesday after taking an 11-day break due to final exams ... leads the WAC in ERA (2.99) and hitting (.288) ... freshman pitcher/DH Joe Savery is first in the WAC in batting average (.393) and second in ERA (1.86) ... Savery leads the WAC in strikeouts with 101 ... freshman outfielder Tyler Henley has been hit by a pitch a WAC-high 16 times this season ... Henley leads the WAC in runs scored (48) ... the Owls have earned the WACs automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament in all eight previous seasons as a member of the league.
San Jose State Spartans (24-22-1, 11-13 WAC)
Has lost four of its last six games ... senior shortstop Anthony Contreras has been the hardest WAC player to strike out with 0.23 per game ... he leads the WAC in hits (75) ... Contreras and Nate Corrick both collected their 200th career hits in the series against Fresno State last weekend ... Contreras current 22-game hitting streak ties the school record ... junior second baseman David Pierson leads the WAC with 15 sacrifice hits this year ... has played seven extra inning games (4-3), the most in the WAC ... leads the WAC in fielding percentage (.977) and has committed just 43 errors, 19 less than the next best team in the WAC ... senior Brad Kilby leads the WAC in ERA (1.53) ... he is 5-1 with a save.