DENVER ? San Jose State outfielder Chris Balatico and Nevada right-handed pitcher Kyle Howe have been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for May 14-20.
Balatico, a senior from Ewa Beach, Hawaii (Hartnell College), hit .643 (9-14) in helping the Spartans to win two of three games against Nevada last week. He had three hits in each game and drove in a total of six runs while scoring four. In Friday’s 6-2 win, he had a career-high three RBI. Balatico hit his fourth triple of the season on Saturday and scored three runs. He had two doubles over the weekend to give him a slugging percentage of .929 and was also walked twice. It is Balatico’s first career WAC Hitter of the Week award and the third for a Spartan player this year.
Howe, a junior from Poulsbo, Wash. (Columbia Basin CC), earned both wins that Nevada had over the week. Last Monday, he pitched eight innings allowing just two runs, six hits and one walk while striking out nine in Nevada’s 7-2 win at Hawai?i. On Sunday, he recorded his fourth win of the season by throwing five innings and allowing three runs in an 11-6 win at San Jose State. It is Howe’s first career WAC Pitcher of the Week award and the fourth for a Wolf Pack pitcher this year.
The other player of the week nominations were junior second baseman Jon Hee, Hawai?i; senior infielder Dennis Winn, Louisiana Tech; and senior catcher Konrad Schmidt, Nevada.
The other pitcher of the week nominations were senior Mark Rodrigues, Hawai?i; sophomore Luke Burnett, Louisiana Tech; and senior Steven Vidal, San Jose State.
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