Fresno State Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State is the two-time defending Western Athletic Conference champion ... the Bulldogs are hosting the 30th annual Pepsi Johnny Quik Tournament March 10-15 at Beiden Field this year ... Steve Susdorf, Clayton Allison and Justin Wilson were three of 254 student-athletes named to the Brooks Wallace Award watch for 2008 ... The Bulldogs have had 31 consecutive .500 or better seasons ... Fresno State has made 30 NCAA appearances, the most of any WAC school ... Four Bulldogs were selected in the second round of the 2007 MLB Draft.
Hawai?i Rainbows (2-1, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai?i is coming off a 34-25 season in 2007, its sixth-straight winning season ... the Rainbows return three all-WAC players from 2007 in Jonathan Hee, Brandon Haislet and Vinnie Catricala ... Catricala was also named to the freshman All-America team by two organziations ... UH also returns two putchers that had a significant amount of innings in Matt Daly and Joshua Schneider ... Daly threw a no-hitter in the competitive Cap Cod League, highlighting a great summer for the ?Bows ... The Rainbows will be playing their first season on a new Domo Turf surface at the Les Murakami Stadium ... The Rainbows opened the season at home, going 2-1 against Hawaii-Hilo.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
For the second season in a row, the Bulldogs broke the school record for hits in a season with 642 ... the previous high was 628, set during the 2006 season ... the school strikeout record was also broken for the second-straight year, as well. Bulldog pitchers tallied a whopping 452 punchouts, shattering the previous mark of 415 from the 2006 season ... last year’s team batting average of .310 was the fourth-best in school history, falling only .001 short of the Bulldogs’ 2006 average of .311 ... WAC Player of the Year Brian Rike became the highest draft pick in Tech baseball history as he was selected in the second round (72nd overall) by the Colorado Rockies ... Tech’s 35 wins in 2007 marked the highest victory total since the 1989 Bulldogs squad
Nevada Wolf Pack (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada returns six position starters and two starting pitchers from last season’s team that finished second in the WAC during the regular season and at the conference tournament ... a Nevada player earned WAC Player of the Week honors eight times in 2007 ... The Pack returns three players for 2008 that earned all-WAC honors last season ... Outfielder Terry Walsh was a first team selection, while first baseman Shaun Kort and pitcher Rod Scurry were named to the second team ... Kort was named 2007 WAC Freshman of the Year ... Nevada returns the top two hitters in the WAC from last season in first baseman Shaun Kort who led the league with a .392 average and outfielder Terry Walsh who hit .368.
NMSU Aggies (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies earned their 1,000th victory last season when they defeated Northern Colorado 6-5 Saturday, Feb. 3 at Presley Askew Field ... NMSU had double-digit hits in 32 games in 2007 .. the team also had at least 10 hits in six consecutive games from Feb. 13 at New Mexico to Feb. 23 against Temple ... New Mexico State returns 2007 Aggie Triple Crown winner Joseph Scaperotta who led the team with a .341 batting average, 10 home runs and 59 RBI ... NMSU returns two of three all-WAC selections to the 2008 roster ... outfielder Joseph Scaperotta and catcher Joe Leghorn earned second team all-WAC honors last season ... The Aggies added two new coaches to their staff for the 2008 season.
Sacramento State Hornets (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Sacramento State returns for its seventh season as an affiliate member of the WAC, returning 16 players, including six position starters and two rotation starters ...The Hornets return third baseman David Flores, who earned first team all-WAC honors last season ... also returning to the lineup is junior first baseman Gabe Jacobo, who led the team in most offensive categories last season ... returning in the outfield is senior Ryan Blair, who will look to build off his first campaign in the Green and Gold where he hit .316 with three homers and 26 RBI ... Alvaro Orosco is the leading returning starter for the team, having posted a 5-6 mark in 2007 ... The Hornets will look to make their third straight trip to the WAC Tournament.
SJSU Spartans (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
The team returns seven letterwinners in 2008, and will have just four seniors on the roster ... a total of 24 newcomers were added to the program ... the 56-game 2008 San Jose State schedule features 28 games at home spread out over 23 dates, nine doubleheaders, including five at home, a first-ever appearance at the River City Classic and a first-ever trip to take on Washington State ... at 34-26 last season, the Spartans posted the best overall record among the nine NCAA Division I baseball programs in Northern California, defeating top local foes California and Stanford ... SJSU led the WAC in fielding percentage for a third straight season in 2007 (.970), while also posting a conference-best team batting average of .312.
2008 WAC PRESEASON POLL AND ALL-WAC TEAM ANNOUNCED
Fresno State has been selected as the favorite to win the 2008 Western Athletic Conference regular season baseball crown in a vote by the league’s seven head coaches. The coaches also voted on a preseason all-WAC team, and Fresno State placed seven players on the team while Nevada had four. Fresno State senior outfielder Steve Susdorf was named the preseason player of the year while his teammate, senior Clayton Allison, was picked the preseason pitcher of the year.
Fresno State received 36 points and six first place votes after a 38-29 season last year. The Bulldogs have won both the WAC regular season and tournament titles the past two seasons. Louisiana Tech ranked second with 29 points followed by Nevada with 26, Hawai?i with 23, San Jose State with 16 points, Sacramento State with 10, and New Mexico State with seven.
The preseason all-WAC team included seven Fresno State players: senior outfielder Steve Susdorf, junior second baseman Eric Wetzel, senior shortstop Todd Sandell, junior catcher Danny Grubb, senior pitcher Clayton Allison, junior pitcher Tanner Scheppers, and senior reliever Jason Breckley. Susdorf was picked as the preseason player of the year after hitting .340 last year with 68 RBI, 12 home runs and 14 doubles. Allison was selected the preseason pitcher of the year after posting a 10-5 record with a 4.50 ERA last season.
Nevada had four players on the team: sophomore first baseman Shaun Kort, senior DH Terry Walsh, junior utility player Matt Bowman, and senior reliever Mario Rivera. Hawai?i placed two on the team in senior outfielder Brandon Haislet and junior pitcher Matt Daly. Sophomore outfielder Tim Wheeler and senior third baseman David Flores represented Sacramento State. New Mexico State’s lone representative was senior outfielder Joseph Scaperotta.
The 46th year of WAC baseball begins Friday, February 22 when each of the league’s seven teams will open regular season play. The WAC Tournament will be held in Ruston at Louisiana Tech’s J.C. Love Field, May 22-25. The top six teams will advance to the tournament.
2008 WAC Baseball Coaches’ Poll
1. Fresno St. 36
2. Louisiana Tech 29
3. Nevada 26
4. Hawai?i 23
5. San Jose St. 16
6. Sacramento St. 10
7. New Mexico St. 7
Preseason All-WAC Team
OF Steve Susdorf, Sr., Fresno State
OF Brandon Haislet, Sr., Hawai?i
OF Tim Wheeler, So., Sacramento State
OF Joseph Scaperotta, Sr., New Mexico State
1B Shaun Kort, So., Nevada
2B Eric Wetzel, Jr., Fresno State
SS Todd Sandell, Sr., Fresno State
3B David Flores, Sr., Sacramento State
C Danny Grubb, Jr., Fresno State
DH Terry Walsh, Sr., Nevada
UTI Matt Bowman, Jr., Nevada
SP Clayton Allison, Sr., Fresno State
SP Tanner Scheppers, Jr., Fresno State
SP Matt Daly, Jr., Hawai?i
RP Jason Breckley, Sr., Fresno State
RP Mario Rivera, Sr., Nevada
Player of the Year
Steve Susdorf, Sr., Fresno State
Pitcher of the Year
Clayton Allison, Sr., Fresno State
NINE WAC PLAYERS ON 2008 WALLACE WATCH LIST
Nine players from the Western Athletic Conference have been named to the preseason release of the 2008 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award Watch List. Fresno State led the list with three candidates, including senior pitcher Clayton Allison, junior reliever Justin Wilson, and senior outfielder Steve Susdorf. Sacramento State has two players on the watch list with senior outfielder Ryan Blair and junior infielder Gabe Jacobo. Other candidates include Louisiana Tech junior pitcher Luke Burnett, Nevada sophomore infielder Shaun Kort, New Mexico State senior outfielder Joseph Scaperotta, and San Jose State sophomore infielder Kyle Bellows.
FRESNO STATE RANKED NO. 21 IN PRESEASON POLL
For the third-consecutive season the Fresno State baseball team has earned a preseason ranking in Collegiate Baseball newspaper’s Fabulous 40 pre-season NCAA Division I baseball poll. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 21 in the 2008 poll. The newspaper has ranked college baseball teams since 1959 but only has had pre-season rankings since 1999. In those 10 years of pre-season rankings, this marks the fifth season in which the Bulldogs have been mentioned. Fresno State received votes in the 2007 pre-season poll, was No. 40 in 2006 and No. 36 in 2001. The `Dogs highest ranking from Collegiate Baseball came in the 2002 preseason poll in which they were ranked No. 11. Three of Fresno State’s 2008 opponents are in the top 40 and five others are receiving votes, including WAC foes Louisiana Tech, Hawai’i and Nevada. The Bulldogs finished the 2007 season at 38-29 and earned a trip the NCAA Tournament after winning their second-straight WAC title. At the San Diego Regional, the `Dogs fell to powerhouse Cal State Fullerton in the Regional Final. Seven starting position players and four pitchers return to the 2008 team from last season after losing only two starting position players. The Bulldogs also bring six talented newcomers to the lineup.
RETURNING ALL-WAC PLAYERS
The WAC will feature seven players who were 2007 first team all-WAC performers. Fresno State returns five players in junior catcher Danny Grubb, junior second baseman Erik Wetzel, senior outfielder Steve Susdorf, junior pitcher Tanner Scheppers, and junior pitcher Justin Wilson. Louisiana Tech returns senior pitcher Albie Goulder and Sacramento State welcomes back junior third baseman David Flores. Second team returnees include: C Joe Leghorn, New Mexico State; 1B Shaun Kort, Nevada; 2B Jonathan Hee, Hawai?i; SS Kyle Bellows, San Jose State; OF Brandon Haislet, Hawai?i; OF Joseph Scaperotta, New Mexico State; DH Vinnie Catricala, Hawai?i; SP Clayton Allison, Fresno State; SP Dylan Moseley, Louisiana Tech; SP Rod Scurry, Nevada; and RP Brandon Burke, Fresno State. In all, 18 of the 33 all-WAC selections from last year return for the 2008 season.
FOUR WITH 30
The WAC had five teams with at least 30 wins last season. It marked the 30th time in the last 31 years that the WAC has had at least three teams with 30 wins (only two in 2005). Fresno State led the WAC with 38 wins, followed by Nevada and Louisiana Tech with 35. San Jose State and Hawai?i each had 34 wins.
THREE COACHES AMONG WINNINGEST ACTIVE COACHES
The WAC boasts three of the top active head coaches in the country in Sacramento State’s John Smith, Nevada’s Gary Powers, and San Jose State’s Sam Piraro. Smith ranks 26th among active head coaches with 810. Powers is 31st among active coaches all-time with 761. Piraro ranks 39th among the active coaches with 653 victories. New Mexico State assistant coach Gary Ward (father of Aggie head coach Rocky Ward) is one of the all-time greatest coaches, compiling a record of 1,022-361-1 in 19 years at Oklahoma State (1978-96) and two seasons at New Mexico State (2001-02). His winning percentage of .739 is the 24th best of all-time in Division I and the 1,022 victories are the 45th most.
2008 WAC TOURNAMENT
The 2008 WAC Tournament will be held at J.C. Love Field in Ruston, Louisiana, May 22-25. The top six teams in the WAC’s regular season standings will advance to the double-elimination tournament. The winner receives the WAC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.