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PLAYER OF THE WEEK San Jose State shortstop Anthony Contreras, a senior from San Jose, Calif. (Piedmont Hills HS), hit .533 (8-for-15) with four runs and six RBI over four games for the Spartans last week (3-1). Contreras had two doubles, a triple and was walked six times. On Saturday, he was 4-for-4 against Louisiana Tech. In the series finale, Contreras was 1-for-1 with four walks. He extended his conference-best hitting streak to 18 games. It is Contreras first career WAC Player of the Week award and third for a Spartan player this year.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK Hawaii right-handed pitcher Justin Costi, a junior from Elk Grove, Calif. (NE Oklahoma A&M), threw 8.0 shutout innings in Hawaiis 8-0 win over Nevada on Saturday. He gave up just six hits and two walks while striking out four in picking up his second win of the season. It is Costis first career WAC Pitcher of the Week award and fourth for a Rainbow hurler this year.
OTHERS NOMINATED Other player of the week nominations included:
Joe Spiers, Fr., SS, Hawaii - was 6-for-13 (.462) with five runs, four stolen bases and two RBI in a three-game sweep of Nevada. He had two hits in each of the games and has now hit safely in eight straight contests.
Mims Boyce, Jr., C, Louisiana Tech - hit .563 (9-16), scored five runs and had one RBI in four games for the Bulldogs. He tied a career-high with four hits on Sunday against San Jose State.
Josh Rodriguez, So., SS, Rice - was 6-for-13 (.462) with five RBI and was walked four times in four games last week.
Additional pitcher of the week nominations included:
Matt Garza, Jr., Fresno State - pitched six innings and allowed just one run, four hits and two walks in an 8-7 win over Rice last Saturday.
Joe Savery, Fr., Rice - pitched eight innings and struck out a career-high 15 batters in a win over Fresno State last Saturday. He allowed seven hits, one walk and one run in the game.
THIS WEEK IN THE WAC The WAC features just two series this weekend as both Hawaii and Rice are off. Louisiana Tech and Nevada begin their three-game series on Friday afternoon in Reno. Earlier this year, Nevada swept Louisiana Tech in Ruston, March 31-April 2. Fresno State hosts San Jose State on Friday evening. The Spartans took two of three from the Bulldogs in San Jose, April 9-10.
SAVERY NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK Rice freshman Joe Savery was named one of five Louisville Slugger National Players of the Week. Savery struck out a career-high 15 batters in eight innings against Fresno State and also collected six hits in four gamesincluding two doubles and a home runto extend his hitting streak to 16 games.
SAVERY INVITED TO NATIONAL TEAM TRIALS Rices Joe Savery was one of just three freshmen to be invited last Tuesday 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 .319 and is leading the WAC in home runs (17), RBI (47) and slugging percentage (.699). He has hit seven home runs in his last nine 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. In conference games only, he is first in the league in both hitting (.413) and ERA (1.33). 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 19 games. Contreras has hit .444 (36-for-81) with 16 RBI and 14 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 24th 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 (0.30) and Ryan Angel (0.28) are sixth and tied for 10th, respectively, in sacrifice hits per game. Nevadas Jacob Butler is ninth in walks per game (0.97) and Fresno States Beau Mills is 10th in home runs per game (0.36). In team categories, Rice is ninth nationally in ERA (2.99) and 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 (22-25, 8-10 WAC)
Has lost eight of its last 11 games ... is 2-12 on the road this season ... hit a WAC-low .255 last week in the series against Rice ... the Bulldogs lead the WAC with eight triples but have hit just one in the last 20 games ... sophomore outfielder Nick Moresi is 12-for-12 in stolen base attempts but has just one in the last 15 games ... freshman third baseman Beau Mills leads the WAC in RBI (47), home runs (17), slugging percentage (.699) and multiple RBI games (14) ... he hit two solo shots last week against Rice and has seven in his last nine games ... sophomore second baseman DeAndre Miller leads the WAC in walks (41).
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 ... swept Nevada for the first time since taking four from the Pack in 1981 ... has consecutive WAC series sweeps for the first time under head coach Mike Trapasso ... Trapasso won his 100th game on Friday ... UH is 11-5 in one-run games ... junior 2B Isaac Omura leads the WAC in hits (68), 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.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (16-30, 8-13 WAC)
Has lost eight of its last nine games but held a lead in the seventh inning or later in six of those games ... Ryan Hamilton and Gil Laird hit back-to-back home runs on Sunday to become the first Bulldogs to do so since 2002 ... Tech hit a season-high five home runs in the 10-8 loss against SJSU on Sunday ... snapped a seven-game losing streak (tied with Hawaii for the longest by a WAC team this season) by beating San Jose State last Saturday, 7-6 ... senior Brandon Haygood has started 85 consecutive games at second base for the Bulldogs ... he collected his 200th career hit last Saturday with a seventh-inning double against San Jose State.
Nevada Wolf Pack (20-21, 9-9 WAC)
Has lost eight of its last nine games ... has been shut out in consecutive games and has not scored a run in the last 20 innings ... faces Louisiana Tech this week and has won 11 in a row against the Bulldogs ... three of the top four home run hitters in the WAC are from Nevada: junior outfielder Shawn Scobee (12), junior first baseman Ben Mummy (10) and senior outfielder Jacob Butler (9) ... sophomore Ryan Rodriguez has eight wins, tied for 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 (32-15, 13-8 WAC)
Has won six of its last seven games ... is 6-2 in its current nine-game homestand ... is taking an 11-day break due to final exams ... hit a season-best five doubles in a 10-2 win against Fresno State last Sautrday ... 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 ... junior Eddie Degerman lost his first game of the year last week in an 8-7 loss versus Fresno State ... freshman outfielder Tyler Henley has been hit by a pitch a WAC-high 16 times this season (four last week) ... Henley leads the WAC in runs scored (48).
San Jose State Spartans (24-19-1, 11-10 WAC)
Has won four of its last five games ... senior shortstop Anthony Contreras reached base safely 14 times in his 18 plate appearances against Louisiana Tech last week ... Contreras has been the hardest WAC player to strike out with 0.25 per game ... junior second baseman David Pierson leads the WAC with 13 sacrifice hits this year ... has played seven extra inning games (4-3), the most in the WAC, after beating Louisiana Tech in 12 innings last Friday ... leads the WAC in fielding percentage (.978) and has committed just 39 errors, 23 less than the next best team in the WAC ... senior Brad Kilby leads the WAC in ERA (1.59) ... he is 5-1 with a save.