HITTER OF THE WEEK ? San Jose State second baseman Marcus McKimmy, a junior from Selah, Wash. (Columbia Basin College), hit .500 (7-14) with seven runs, five RBI, three doubles and was walked five times in four games last week (3-1). In a sweep of New Mexico State, he led off in each game, the first time he batted first in a game this year. He had at least two hits in each game against the Aggies with his best outing coming on Sunday when he was 3-for-4 with two doubles, two walks, three runs and three RBI. It is McKimmy’s first career WAC Hitter of the Week award and the second for a Spartan player this year.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK ? Fresno State left-handed pitcher Justin Wilson, a sophomore from Clovis, Calif. (Buchanan HS), pitched eight innings and allowed just one unearned run in Fresno State’s 3-1 win over Louisiana Tech on Saturday. He scattered six hits and six walks while striking out nine in recording his seventh victory of the season. It is Wilson’s first career WAC Pitcher of the Week award and the second for a Bulldog pitcher this year.
Other hitters nominated:
Steve Susdorf, Jr., OF, Fresno State - was 5-for-12 (.417) in three games against Louisiana Tech. He scored five runs, drove in five and hit three home runs as Fresno State won two of three games.
Jason Rodriguez, Jr., 3B, Nevada - hit .417 (5-12) in three games for the Wolf Pack. He had five RBI, scored three runs and hit an inside-the-park home run against Hawai?i on Saturday.
Marcus Quade, Jr., UTI, New Mexico State - was 6-for-15 (.400) in three games against San Jose State. Quade drove in six runs, scored three times and hit two home runs during the series.
Gabe Jacobo, So., 1B, Sacramento State - hit .529 (9-17) in four games last week. He scored three runs, drove in four and hit his 12th home run of the season.
Other pitchers nominated:
Ryan Rodriguez, Sr., Nevada - picked up his eighth win of the season after pitching 7.1 innings in Nevada’s 7-5 win over Hawai?i on Saturday. He allowed 10 hits, five runs (3 earned) and walked three while striking out seven in the game.
TOURNAMENT FIELD SET ? The six-team field for the 2007 WAC Baseball Tournament has been set as New Mexico State was eliminated after being swept by San Jose State last weekend. The only known seed is Louisiana Tech at number three. Fresno State and Nevada can finish either one or two while Hawai?i, San Jose State and Sacramento State can finish four, five or six.
FRESNO STATE LOOKS FOR SECOND STRAIGHT TITLE ? Fresno State’s magic number for winning a second straight WAC regular season title is one. The Bulldogs are two games up on Nevada and would clinch at least a share of the title if they win one game this weekend at Hawai?i or if Nevada loses one game against San Jose State. The Bulldogs begin their series against the Rainbows on Saturday with the final game on Monday evening. Nevada travels to San Jose for its final WAC series beginning Friday night. Louisiana Tech, Sacramento State and New Mexico State have completed their WAC schedules.
ALL-WAC TEAMS ? The 2007 all-WAC first and second teams along with the Freshman, Coach, Pitcher and Player of the Year awards will be announced on Wednesday evening at the tournament banquet being held in Reno, Nevada. The awards are voted upon by the WAC’s seven head coaches.
STREAKING ? With Louisiana Tech senior shortstop Dennis Winn’s 22-game hitting streak coming to an end on Sunday, Sacramento State junior third baseman David Flores now has the WAC’s longest current hitting streak at 14 games. Flores has hit .433 (26-60) with nine RBIs and 16 runs scored during his streak. The longest hitting streak by a WAC player this year was 33 games by New Mexico State’s Marcus Quade. The WAC record is 45 games set by Arizona State’s Roger Schmuck in 1972.
WALLACE WATCH LIST ? The WAC has two players on the revised Wallace Watch that was released on May 2. The Brooks Wallace Award is presented by the College Baseball Foundation and given to the national college baseball player of the year. The WAC’s candidates are both from Louisiana Tech: junior outfielder Brian Rike and senior utility player Brandon Hudson. Prior to the start of the season, the WAC had five players on the watch list: Justin Frash, UT, Hawai?i; Jericho Jones, P-OF, Louisiana Tech; Matt Bowman, OF, Nevada (who is out for the year due to injury), Adam Harvey, INF, New Mexico State; and Ryan Angel, OF, San Jose State. The Wallace Watch will be trimmed to 12 semifinalists by late May.
RIKE A GOLDEN SPIKES SEMIFINALIST ? Louisiana Tech’s Brian Rike was named one of 50 semifinalists for the 2007 Golden Spikes Award as announced by USA Baseball. The award is given annually to baseball’s premier amateur player. Rike is among the national leaders in home runs, runs scored and RBI. The winner will be announced July 29 during the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
NON-CONFERENCE ? In non-conference games, the WAC is 117-101 (.537). Fresno State is 15-20 (.429), Hawai?i is 22-10 (.688), Louisiana Tech is 20-11 (.645), Nevada is 17-15 (.531), New Mexico State is 15-13 (.536), Sacramento State is 7-21 (.250) and San Jose State is 21-11 (.656). Last year, the WAC was 128-94 (.577) in non-conference matchups. Against Collegiate Baseball top 25 opponents this season, the WAC is 4-14 (.222) as Fresno State is 2-4, Hawai?i is 1-6, Louisiana Tech is 1-3, Nevada is 0-0, New Mexico State is 0-0, Sacramento State is 0-1 and San Jose State is 0-0.
2007 FORMAT ? 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 plays a three-game series home and home versus two opponents and a three-game series either home or away against the other four opponents.
WAC TOURNAMENT ? Last year, the WAC reinstated a postseason tournament for the first time since 1999 season. The top six finishers in the WAC standings will play a double-elimination format at Peccole Park in Reno, Nevada, May 24-27. The winner will receive the WAC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
WAC.TV ? The Western Athletic Conference officially launched WAC.tv prior to the 2006-07 season. WAC.tv, the Internet based media platform of the Western Athletic Conference, will offer selected baseball games this season. Go to www.wac.tv to sign up or login.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (31-25, 16-5 WAC)
Has won five of its last six games ... one win or a Nevada loss will give Fresno State its sixth regular season title since joining the WAC in 1993 ... tied a team season-high with four home runs against Louisiana Tech on Friday ... Justin Wilson pitched eight innings against the Bulldogs on Saturday, the longest outing by a Fresno State pitcher this season ... tied a team season-high by striking out 12 Tech batters on Sunday ... the Bulldogs have six players with six or more home runs (Steve Susdorf-11, Tom Mendonca-9, Alan Ahmady-7, Loren Storey-7, Todd Sandell-6, Ozzie Lewis-6), the most in the WAC ... junior RHP Allison Clayton leads the WAC in wins with nine.
Hawai?i Rainbows (31-22, 9-12 WAC)
Completed its 10-game road trip with a 4-6 record ... was swept at Nevada last week for the first time in a WAC series since losing three at Fresno State in March of 2005 ... is the only WAC team to not be shut out this year ... is averaging a WAC-best 2,605 fans per home game ... has allowed a total of just seven runs in ninth innings this season ... Hawai?i leads the WAC in team ERA (3.78) ... has four of the top seven pitchers in the WAC by ERA ... senior 1B Kris Sanchez leads the WAC in doubles (23) ... his 10 HRs this season are the ninth most in school history ... sophomore RHP Matt Daly leads the WAC in ERA (2.67).
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (34-21, 14-10 WAC)
Has lost four of its last six games ... won 14 WAC games this season, the most since joining the WAC in 2002 ... leads the WAC in runs scored by 75 with 431 ... has had five players put together hitting streaks of at least 10 games this year ... junior OF Brian Rike leads the WAC in runs scored (72), RBI (64), home runs (20-one shy of the school record held by four different Bulldog players), total bases (149), slugging percentage (.727) and is fourth in stolen bases (15) ... he has just one home run in the last 17 games ... his 20 homers rank tied for fourth in the nation ... sophomore RHP Luke Burnett leads the WAC in strikeouts (102).
Nevada Wolf Pack (31-22, 14-7 WAC)
Has won six of its last seven games ... has outscored its opponents by 38 runs (63-25) in sixth innings this year ... has shut out five opponents this year, the most since 1989 (five) ... has 18 triples this year after hitting just six all of last year ... freshman 1B Shaun Kort leads the WAC in hitting (.400) ... in WAC games only, junior OF Terry Walsh leads the league in hitting (.476) while Kort is second (.432) ... senior RHP Ryan Rodriguez is the WAC’s active career leader and school record-holder in wins (31), innings pitched (385.2-7th in WAC history) and strikeouts (320) ... his 96 strikeouts this year are tied for the seventh most in a season in school history.
NMSU Aggies (21-31, 6-18 WAC)
Was swept by San Jose State last week, the fourth time the Aggies have been swept in a WAC series this year ... missed out on the WAC tournament for the second year in a row ... has finished 6-18 in conference play both seasons in the WAC ... the Aggies are 11-2 in games decided by two runs or less ... C Joe Leghorn is third in the WAC in hitting with a .386 batting average ... sophomore 2B/SS Richard Stout leads the WAC in stolen bases with 22 ... Joseph Scaperotta hit safely in his last 18 WAC games ... is the only team in the WAC to not post a shutout this year.
Sacramento St. Hornets (17-35, 10-14 WAC)
Lost three of its last four games ... hit .324 as a team in its four games last week ... is playing a makeup game against UC Davis on Wednesday ... has been outscored by 40 runs (71-31) in seventh innings this year ... won two more conference games than it did a year ago ... sophomore 1B Gabe Jacobo leads Sacramento State in hitting (.360), runs (40), RBI (41), doubles (12) and home runs (12) ... junior RHP Mitch Lively leads the WAC in saves with eight ... junior RHP Alvaro Orozco is the Hornets’ top pitcher with a record of 5-5 and an ERA of 4.68 ... the Hornets are last in the WAC in hitting (.282), the only WAC team under .300.
SJSU Spartans (30-23, 9-12 WAC)
Has won three straight after losing six of its previous seven games ... the sweep of New Mexico State was its first conference sweep of the season ... has guaranteed itself a winning season for the 14th time under head coach Sam Piraro (20th season) ... senior OF/DH Ryan Angel is the WAC’s active career leader in games played (207), at-bats (764), runs (135), hits (230), doubles (54) and stolen bases (49) ... senior OF Donato Giovanatto has been hit by a pitch a WAC-high 18 times this season ... SJSU leads the WAC in fielding percentage (.972) ... has the best winning percentage among the nine Division I baseball teams in Northern California.