The 2006 regular season comes to a close this weekend. Four of the seven teams have clinched a spot in next week?™s six-team WAC baseball tournament that will be played in Fresno. The top seed will go to either Fresno State or Hawai'i. The Bulldogs have a half game lead and play a three-game series at Sacramento State beginning Friday. Hawai'i is at San Jose State for its final series, also beginning Friday. San Jose State has guaranteed itself either the second or third seed in the tournament while the Rainbows could finish first, second or third. At the other end, New Mexico State hosts Nevada in a must-win series for the Aggies. New Mexico State must sweep the Wolf Pack to continue its season, as even if it ties Sacramento State, the Hornets own the tiebreaker. One win for both Nevada and Sacramento State guarantees those teams the final spots in the six-team tournament field. Louisiana Tech has finished its regular season and will be either the fourth, fifth or sixth seed.
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XBOX LIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
HITTER ?“ Fresno State designated hitter Steve Susdorf, a sophomore from Newhall, Calif. (Hart HS), played in two of the three games against San Jose State and hit .667 (6-for-9) last week. He had four RBI, scored three runs and hit two home runs and three doubles in the two games. On Friday, he went 3-for-4 with three RBI and hit a single, double and home run. After taking a day off, he went 3-for-5 on Sunday with a game-tying solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. He then added a sac bunt in the 12th inning to move the winning run into scoring position. Fresno State swept San Jose State to move into first place in the WAC, a half game ahead of idle Hawai'i. It is Susdorf?™s fourth career WAC Hitter of the Week award and sixth for a Bulldog this season.
PITCHER ?“ Louisiana Tech right-handed pitcher Luke Burnett, a freshman from Carthage, Texas (Carthage HS), threw eight shutout innings in Louisiana Tech?™s 5-1 win over New Mexico State on Saturday. He allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out 11 batters. It is his first career WAC Pitcher of the Week award and fourth for a Bulldog this year.
Other hitters nominated:
Brandon Hudson, Jr., OF, Louisiana Tech - hit .438 (7-16) in four games last week. Hudson drove in five, scored twice and hit a double and a home run in those four games.
Matt Bowman, So., 3B, Nevada - was 6-for-18 (.333) in four wins for the Pack. He scored a total of four runs, drove in six and hit two home runs. On Saturday, he hit a three-run walk-off homer in a 6-3 victory over Sacramento State. On Sunday, he added the winning run in the bottom of the eighth after working a walk.
Brandon Lance, Sr., C/DH, New Mexico State - hit .583 (7-12) in the three-game series at Louisiana Tech. He had two RBI, scored twice and hit a double during the week.
Other pitchers nominated:
Jason Breckley, So., Fresno State - pitched five innings of shutout relief in Fresno State?™s 9-8 12-inning win over San Jose State on Sunday. He allowed just two hits and struck out five in recording his longest relief appearance of the season.
Tim Schoeninger, Sr., Nevada - threw eight innings in Nevada?™s 9-6 win over Sacramento State on Friday. He allowed just one earned run on eight hits and struck out eight.
FRESNO STATE BACK IN FIRST ?“ Fresno State jumped back into first place in the WAC standings after sweeping a three-game series from San Jose State last week. The Bulldogs were also helped out by Hawai'i as the Rainbows were idle. Nevada got back on the winning track after a three-game sweep of Sacramento State. The Wolf Pack had a six-game losing streak heading into last week but turned it around with a win against UC Davis and the three victories over the Hornets. Louisiana Tech took two of three from New Mexico State to guarantee it a spot in next week?™s WAC tournament.
THREE NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT ?“ New Mexico State second baseman, Fresno State pitcher Doug Fister and Fresno State outfielder Steve Susdorf have been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Teams. To be eligible for the Academic All-District Team, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his current institution and be nominated by his sports information director. All three players will now be on the ballot for the Academic All-America Team.
ALL-WAC TEAMS ?“ The 2006 all-WAC teams ?“ as selected by the coaches ?“ will be announced at the WAC baseball tournament banquet in Fresno on the evening of Wednesday, May 24. Also announced will be the Freshman, Pitcher, Player and Coach of the Year awards.
ROMERO TIED FOR NATIONAL LEAD IN WINS ?“ Fresno State junior Eddie Romero picked up his 11th win of the season last week and is now tied with eight others for the most victories in the nation. Romero is 11-2 in 18 appearances with an ERA of 3.78.
HOPKINS TOPS NATION IN RBI AND WALKS ?“ New Mexico State first baseman Luke Hopkins continues to lead the nation in both RBI and walks per game in the NCAA?™s statistical release that came out on May 16 for games through May 14. The sophomore is averging 1.51 RBI per game and 1.17 walks per contest. He was also ranked in slugging percentage (6th-.770), home runs per game (17th-0.34) and batting average (40th-.396).
STREAKING ?“ Louisiana Tech senior third baseman Ryan Hamilton has the WAC?™s longest current hitting streak at 13 games. Hamilton has hit .451 (23-for-51) with six RBI and 12 runs scored during his streak. The longest streak this season was 17 games by New Mexico State teammates Luke Hopkins and Abe Aguirre. The WAC record is 45 games set by Arizona State?™s Roger Schmuck in 1972.
IN THE POLLS ?“ Hawai'i remained 29th in the Collegiate Baseball poll but dropped out of the top 25 in USA Today?™s coaches?™ poll. The highest a WAC team has been ranked this season was when Fresno State earned the 21st spot in Baseball America?™s preseason poll and was again 21st on April 3 according to Collegiate Baseball.
NON-CONFERENCE ?“ In non-conference games, the WAC is 124-90 (.579). Fresno State is 21-10 (.677), Hawai'i is 23-7 (.767), Louisiana Tech is 21-10 (.677), Nevada is 13-14 (.481), New Mexico State is 13-18 (.419), Sacramento State is 12-19 (.387) and San Jose State is 21-12 (.636). Last year, the WAC was 85-80-1 (.515) in non-conference matchups. Against Collegiate Baseball top-30 non-conference opponents this season, the WAC is 11-16 (.407) as Fresno State is 3-3, Hawai'i is 2-2, Louisiana Tech is 2-4, Nevada is 1-5, New Mexico State is 3-1, Sacramento State is 0-1 and San Jose State is 0-0.
WALLACE WATCH LIST ?“ The WAC has four players on the revised Wallace Watch as announced by the Collge Baseball Foundation in Lubbock, Texas. The Brooks Wallace Award is presented to the national college baseball player of the year. The WAC candidates are Fresno State?™s Beau Mills (3B), Hawai'i?™s Steven Wright (SP), New Mexico State?™s Luke Hopkins (1B) and Fresno State?™s Andy Underwood (SP). The Wallace Watch will be trimmed to 12 semifinalists by late May. Additional candidates will be added as the season progresses.
CLEMENS AWARD CANDIDATES ?“ Two WAC pitchers ?“ Fresno State?™s Eddie Romero and Hawai'i?™s Steven Wright ?“ have been added to the Roger Clemens Award watch list, given annually to the top collegiate pitcher in the nation. All Division I head baseball coaches will take part in the voting for the honor, in addition to a selected panel of national media and all past winners of the Rotary Smith Award, which was retired after the 2003 dinner by the committee that is sponsoring the Clemens Award.
HOWSER WATCH LIST ?“ The WAC had four baseball players named to the Dick Howser Trophy watch list as announced by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association late last month. New Mexico State first baseman Luke Hopkins and Nevada outfielder Shawn Scobee joined Fresno State teammates Christian Vitters (SS) and Eddie Romero (SP) on the list of 64 candidates for the award given to the top player in collegiate baseball.
2006 FORMAT ?“ The 2006 season features a few differences from the last few years. The WAC is comprised of the six baseball playing members of the conference along with an affiliate member ?“ Sacramento State. The seven teams play a 24-game league schedule. Each team will play a three-game series home and home versus two opponents and a three-game series either home or away against the other four opponents.
POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT ?“ For the first time since the 1999 season, the WAC will conduct a postseason tournament. The top six finishers in the WAC standings will play a double-elimination format at Pete Beiden Field in Fresno, Calif., May 25-28. The winner will receive the WAC?™s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (36-16, 15-6 WAC)
Has an eight-game winning streak, tied for the eighth longest in the nation ... catcher Frank LoNigro hit two home runs and had four RBI in Sunday?™s 9-8 12-inning win over San Jose State ... junior LHP Eddie Romero is tied for the national lead in wins and is 11-2 on the season ... it is the most wins for a Fresno State pitcher since Jeff Weaver also had 11 in 1997 ... the trio of Romero, Andy Underwood and Doug Fister have combined for 27 wins, the most in the WAC ... the three also hold spots 2-4 in strikeouts in the WAC ... sophomore 3B Beau Mills is third on the school?™s all-time home run list with 34 ... the Bulldogs were 16-0 in the month of March.
Hawai'i Rainbows (37-13, 14-6 WAC)
Had its eight-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday in a 15-1 loss at San Francisco ... it was the Rainbows?™ worst loss since a 24-9 setback against Fresno State in 1998 ... had three players watch their hitting streaks end (Eli Christensen-8 games, Jonathan Hee-7, and Robbie Wilder-7) ... has its most wins since going 37-20 in 1999 ... is 13-3 on the road, the second best record in the nation ... leads the WAC in team ERA (3.72) ... Darrell Fisherbaugh leads the WAC in saves with nine ... junior RHP Steven Wright leads the WAC in ERA (2.66) and strikeouts (103) ... Wright is 4-0 in four road starts with a 0.87 ERA.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (32-23, 11-13 WAC)
Won four of its last five games to end the regular season ... freshman OF/RHP Jericho Jones is currently hitting .370, the second best average in the WAC ... he is second in the WAC in home runs with 16, setting a new freshman school record ... Jones is also 5-3 on the mound ... Tech leads the WAC in hitting with a .312 team average ... junior OF/DH Brandon Hudson had his 16-game hitting streak snapped against Louisiana-Monroe on Tuesday ... the streak was the tied for the third longest in the WAC this season ... he has hit safely in 20 straight WAC games, the longest active streak in the WAC ... Hudson leads the WAC in hitting in conference games only with a .432 average.
Nevada Wolf Pack (21-26, 8-12 WAC)
Has a four-game winning streak after losing six in a row ... senior OF Shawn Scobee leads the WAC in home runs with 18 after hitting three last week ... he leads the WAC and is third in the nation in slugging percentage (.804) ... Scobee has also been hit by a pitch 19 times this season (four times last week), the most in the WAC ... sophomore 3B Matt Bowman and Scobee are virtually tied for fourth in the WAC in batting average (.358) ... Bowman hit .280 last year in 41 games ... junior RHP Ryan Rodriguez has 214 career strikeouts, the most of any active WAC player ... the Pack is last in the WAC in both hitting (.261) and fielding (.959).
NMSU Aggies (19-33, 6-15 WAC)
Has lost five of its last six games ... in its 5-4 win over Louisiana Tech on Saturday, Brian Gausman pitched a complete game, the second for an Aggie this season ... NMSU must sweep Nevada this weekend to earn a spot in the WAC tournament ... the Aggies are 9-23 all-time versus the Wolf Pack after being swept in Reno, March 24-26 ... sophomore 1B Luke Hopkins leads the WAC in hitting with a .396 average but is hitting just .256 in WAC games ... Hopkins also leads the WAC in RBI (62) and on-base percentage (.539) ... he missed 11 games in April due to a hamstring injury ... senior OF Vince Rodden leads the WAC in stolen bases (33 in 41 attempts).
Sacramento State Hornets (20-32, 8-13 WAC)
Has lost eight games in a row ... sophomore 3B David Flores is hitting .403 in conference games only, third best in the WAC ... overall, he leads the Hornets in hitting with a .340 average ... junior 2B/OF Gary Johnson is the only Hornet to play in all 52 games this season ... he missed his first start of the year last week against Stanford ... senior Travis Kane struck out 11 Nevada batters on May 14, the most in a game for a Hornet pitcher this year ... the Hornets have matched its total number of wins from last season (20) ... head coach John Smith has 793 career victories (all with the Hornets) ... Sacramento State was also an affiliate member of the WAC from 1993-96.
SJSU Spartans (33-21, 12-9 WAC)
Was swept by Fresno State last week, the first time it had been swept in any series this year ... gave up a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth with two outs in the 9-8 12-inning loss on Sunday ... has more than 30 wins for the first time since going 45-17 in 2002 ... senior LHP Branden Dewing is third in the WAC in ERA (3.04) ... the Spartans set a school record last year in fielding percentage (.978) and leads the WAC this season (.978) ... OF Ryan Angel has no errors in 115 chances, the most chances by any player in the WAC with a 1.000 fielding percentage ... senior reliever Steve Jones has 10 career saves, tying the school record.