DENVER ?“ New Mexico State first baseman Luke Hopkins and Fresno State left-handed pitcher Eddie Romero have been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for February 27-March 5.
Hopkins, a sophomore from Albuquerque, N.M. (St. Pius X HS), played in four games last week and hit .667 (10-15) with 17 RBI and scored 10 runs for the Aggies. He was 5-for-6 with six RBI against New Mexico and 3-for-5 with five RBI in the first game against Northern Iowa on Friday. On Sunday, he was 1-for-1 with five RBI including a grand slam in the win over Northern Iowa. For the week, Hopkins was also walked six times (four intentionally), hit three doubles and two home runs. It is Hopkins?™s third career WAC Player of the Week award.
Romero, a junior from Fresno, Calif. (Central HS), won two games for the Bulldogs last week. He entered Wednesday?™s contest against San Francisco in the seventh and retired five straight batters to get the victory. On Saturday, he started game two against Portland and allowed five hits, three walks and no runs in seven innings as Fresno State went on to win the game, 3-0. For the week, he pitched 8.2 innings, gave up no runs, five hits, three walks and struck out seven. It is Romero?™s first career WAC Pitcher of the Week award and first for a Bulldog this year.
The other player of the week nominations were senior first baseman Kent Sakamoto, Fresno State; junior DH Justin Frash, Hawai'i; senior infielder Joey McCarthy, Louisiana Tech; and senior second baseman David Pierson, San Jose State.
The other pitcher of the week nominations were senior Justin Costi, Hawai'i; freshman Jericho Jones, Louisiana Tech; junior Brian Gausman, New Mexico State; and junior Mick Joyce, Sacramento State.