DENVER ? Hawai?i first baseman Kris Sanchez and Louisiana Tech right-handed pitcher Brandon Hudson have been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for January 29-February 4.
Sanchez, a senior from Tucson, Ariz. (Central Arizona CC), was 7-for-11 (.636) in a three-game series against Georgia Southern last week. In the opener, Sanchez was 2-for-5 with three RBI in a 13-11 loss. On Friday, he was 4-for-4 with two doubles and a triple while driving in two runs in a 5-3 win. In the rubber game, Sanchez was 1-for-2 and drove in both runs of the Rainbows’ 2-1 victory. For the week, he had seven RBI, three doubles, a triple, was walked once and scored a run. It is Sanchez’s second career WAC Hitter of the Week award after being honored with the award last week as well.
Hudson, a senior from Benton, La. (Benton HS), entered Saturday’s game against fourth-ranked Arkansas in the sixth inning with a 3-0 lead, the bases loaded and no outs. He gave up a two-run double to the first batter then struck out the side. He finished the game to pick up a save and recorded five strikeouts with no walks and no runs in four innings as Tech won the game, 9-2. At one point, Hudson had a stretch where he retired eight straight batters. It is Hudson’s first career WAC Pitcher of the Week award.
The other player of the week nominations were freshman third baseman Tommy Mendonca, Fresno State; senior third baseman Courtney Jones, Louisiana Tech; and junior center fielder Ari Loiben, New Mexico State.
The other pitcher of the week nominations were sophomore Matt Daly, Hawai?i; and senior Brian Gausman, New Mexico State.
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