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PLAYER OF THE WEEK Fresno State outfielder Brian Lapin, a freshman from Madera, Calif. (Madera HS), hit .667 (8-12) in Fresno States three-game sweep of Louisiana Tech last week. Lapin opened the series with a 2-for-3 performance on Friday. On Saturday, he was 3-for-5 with two runs scored. In Sundays contest, Lapin was 3-for-4 with a double, triple and home run and scored all three times he was on base. For the week, he scored six runs, drove in two and hit three doubles. It is Lapins first career WAC Player of the Week award and second for a Bulldog hitter this year.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK San Jose State right-handed pitcher Matt Winck, a junior from Santa Clara, Calif. (Wilcox HS), pitched eight scoreless innings in San Jose States 10-1 win over Nevada on Friday. He allowed just four hits and two walks while striking out four. It was the most innings pitched for Winck since a complete game shutout versus Washington State in 2003. It is Wincks first career WAC Pitcher of the Week award and fourth for a Spartan hurler this year.
OTHERS NOMINATED Other player of the week nominations included:
Esteban Lopez, Jr., C, Hawaii - hit .583 (7-12) with four RBI and four runs in three games at Rice. On Friday, he was 4-for-4 with two runs in a 7-4 win.
Ryan Hamilton, Jr., 3B, Louisiana Tech - was 10-for-17 (.588) in four games last week. On Saturday, he was 4-for-5 with two RBI and two runs against Fresno State. He had at least two hits in each game and currently has a 12-game hitting streak.
Ben Mummy, Jr., 1B, Nevada - hit .615 (8-13) with five runs and four RBI in three games at San Jose State. He had at least two hits in each game and also hit two home runs and a double in the series.
Josh Rodriguez, So., SS, Rice - was 8-for-18 (.444) with five runs and five RBI over four games last week. He also had four extra base hits with a double, triple and two home runs.
Ryan Angel, So., INF/OF, San Jose State - hit .538 (7-13) with nine RBI and two runs in three games versus Nevada. He had at least two hits and two RBI in each game, and on Sunday, he drove in five.
Additional pitcher of the week nominations included:
Matt Garza, Jr., Fresno State - threw eight innings and allowed nine hits, three walks and a run while striking out nine in the Bulldogs 12-1 win over Louisiana Tech last Friday.
Steven Wright, So., Hawaii - made two appearances against Rice and pitched a total of 5.1 innings without allowing a run. He recorded a save versus the Owls in a 7-4 win on Friday by pitching 2.1 hitless innings.
Ryan Rodriguez, So., Nevada - earned his 10th win of the year by pitching 7.2 innings in an 11-3 win at San Jose State. He allowed nine hits, two walks and three runs.
Cole St. Clair, Fr., Rice - pitched 7.1 innings in three relief appearances and was 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA. He allowed just five hits, three walks and two runs while striking out five. St. Clair picked up the win against Hawaii last Sunday.
FINAL WEEK The WACs regular season comes to a close this weekend. Rice hosts San Jose State, Hawaii is at Louisiana Tech and Fresno State travels to Nevada. San Jose State is the only WAC team to win a series from Rice this year as the Spartans swept the Owls in San Jose, March 18-20. That same weekend, Louisiana Tech took two games from the Rainbows in Honolulu. Fresno State won two of three at home against Nevada, April 22-24. Rice can claim its ninth consecutive WAC title with a win or a Fresno State loss. If Rice and Fresno State tie, the Owls would earn the WACs automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament as Rice won four of the six games between the two schools.
ALL-WAC TEAMS The 2005 all-WAC first and second teams will be announced on Tuesday, May 31. The teams are determined by a vote of the six WAC coaches. Also to be announced are the WACs Player, Pitcher, Freshman and Coach of the Year.
HAYES NAMED SEMIFINALIST FOR BENCH AWARD Nevada junior catcher Brett Hayes is one of 10 semifinalists for the 2005 Johnny Bench Award. Hayes, a two-time all-WAC catcher, was the 2003 WAC Freshman of the Year. Last summer he was a member of the Team USAs gold medal winning FISU II World University Baseball Championship squad. Three finalists for the award will be announced June 1.
TWO INVITED TO NATIONAL TEAM TRIALS USA Baseball announced this week that Fresno States Beau Mills has accepted an invitation to try out for the National Team at North Carolina State, June 27-30. Mills is one of 36 players from across the nation invited to the tryouts. He joins Rice freshman first baseman/pitcher Joe Savery who was invited earlier this month. Mills, a freshman from Visalia, Calif., plays third base and has been batting cleanup for the Bulldogs.
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 first baseman/pitcher Joe Savery have all put up great numbers in their first years. Mills is hitting .322 and is leading the WAC in home runs (21), RBI (61) and slugging percentage (.702). Spiers has a .308 batting average and a WAC-high 31 stolen bases. Savery is first in the WAC in hitting (.390) and second in ERA (2.50). As a pitcher, he is 7-4 with 112 strikeouts. Savery has an active 24-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 29 games. Contreras has hit .443 (54-for-122) with 19 RBI and 22 runs scored during his streak. The streak is the longest by a WAC player this year and longest since Fresno States Casey McGehee hit safely in 31 games from March 15-May 18, 2002.
IN THE POLLS In this weeks polls, Rice is 11th in Sports Weekly/ESPN, 15th in Baseball America and 18th in Collegiate Baseball.
NON-CONFERENCE In non-conference games, the WAC is 81-78-1 (.509). Fresno State is 14-15 (.483), Hawaii is 13-13 (.500), Louisiana Tech is 8-19 (.296), Nevada is 11-12 (.478), Rice is 20-8 (.714) and San Jose State is 15-11-1 (.574). Against Collegiate Baseball top 25 opponents, the WAC is 10-23 (.303) as Fresno State is 0-5, Hawaii is 4-1, Louisiana Tech is 1-7, Nevada is 0-3, Rice is 5-6 and San Jose State is 0-1.
TOP-10 NCAA RANKINGS In the most recent NCAA stat rankings, Fresno States Beau Mills is tied for eighth in home runs per game (0.38), San Jose States David Pierson is eighth in sacrifice hits per game (0.28) and his teammate, Brad Kilby, is eighth in ERA (1.65). In team categories, San Jose State is third in fielding percentage (.978).
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 (30-26, 16-11 WAC)
Has won eight of its last nine games including five in a row ... is guaranteed at least a .500 season for the 29th consecutive year ... junior first baseman Kent Sakamoto has batted over .400 in four straight WAC series ... sophomore outfielder Nick Moresi is 13-for-13 in stolen base attempts ... freshman third baseman Beau Mills leads the WAC in RBI (61), home runs (21), slugging percentage (.702) and multiple RBI games (18) ... he hit three home runs last week against Louisiana Tech including two on Saturday and had nine RBI in the three games ... junior pitcher Matt Garza leads the WAC with 117 strikeouts ... junior Rudy Quinonez is tied for the WAC lead in saves with five.
Hawaii Rainbows (26-27, 13-14 WAC)
Has lost four of its last five games ... is 1-2 in its current six-game road trip ... Hawaii is 5-10 on the road this year ... UH is 11-6 in one-run games ... junior second baseman Isaac Omura is second in the WAC with a .379 batting average ... Omura has a current 12-game hitting streak, the longest by a Rainbow this season ... freshman shortstop Joe Spiers leads the WAC in stolen bases with 31 (38 attempts), more than twice the number of the WACs runner-up ... its the most stolen bases in the WAC since UHs Sean Takamori had 34 in 1999 ... Spiers is tied for the WAC lead in triples with three ... UH has played seven extra inning games (3-4), tied for the most in the WAC.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (17-37, 9-18 WAC)
Has lost 15 of its last 17 games ... is one win shy of tying its WAC win total in each of the past two seasons ... completed an eight-game road trip with a 1-7 record ... has lost four consecutive WAC series (2-10) ... junior third baseman Ryan Hamilton has hit safely in 35 of his last 37 games ... senior Brandon Haygood has started 93 consecutive games at second base for the Bulldogs ... he tied the school record for doubles in a season last week with his 20th, also tying for the WAC lead ... Haygood has a season-high 15-game hitting streak while Hamilton has hit safely in 12 consecutive games ... earlier this year, Hamilton had a 22-game hitting streak.
Nevada Wolf Pack (23-27, 12-15 WAC)
Has lost six of its last seven games ... third baseman Eric Newman tied a season single-game WAC-high with five hits against San Jose State on Saturday ... has won 13 road games, the most in the WAC this season ... three of the top four home run hitters in the WAC are from Nevada: junior outfielder Shawn Scobee (2nd-16), junior first baseman Ben Mummy (3rd-15) and senior outfielder Jacob Butler (4th-11) ... sophomore Ryan Rodriguez has 10 wins, the most in the WAC ... junior Wesley Dorsett is tied for the WAC lead in saves with five ... Butler is the WACs active leader in home runs with 39 ... head coach Gary Powers is three wins shy of 700 for his career.
Rice Owls (38-17, 18-9 WAC)
Has won seven of its last nine games ... junior second baseman Greg Buchanan hit two triples in the series against Hawaii and is now tied for the WAC lead with three on the season ... leads the WAC in ERA (3.18) and hitting (.294) ... freshman pitcher/DH Joe Savery is first in the WAC in batting average (.390) and second in ERA (2.50) ... senior catcher Adam Rodgers is tied for the WAC lead in doubles (20) ... freshman outfielder Tyler Henley leads the WAC in runs scored (59) and hit by pitches (21) ... 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 (28-25-1, 13-14 WAC)
Has won four of its last five games ... senior shortstop Anthony Contreras has been the hardest WAC player to strike out with 0.24 per game ... he leads the WAC in hits (86) and multiple hit games (27) ... Contreras current 29-game hitting streak is a school record ... junior second baseman David Pierson leads the WAC with 15 sacrifice hits this year ... SJSU has played seven extra inning games (4-3), tied for the most in the WAC ... leads the WAC in fielding percentage (.978) and has committed just 47 errors, 25 less than the next best team in the WAC ... senior Brad Kilby leads the WAC in ERA (1.66) ... he is 7-1 with a save ... junior Steve Jones is tied for the WAC lead in saves with five.