TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (15.13, 5-3 WAC)
Fresno State has now won seven of its last eight games ... the team hit .366 as a team in the four games vs. Nevada = scored 60 runs in six games ... Alan Ahmady, Erik Wetzel, Steve Susdorf all hit .500 or better in the four-game series with Nevada ... In six games last week Ahmady hit .583 in 24 at bats. The Bulldogs sophomore had 14 hits, 14 RBIs, three homeruns, six doubles and scored eight runs to lead the Bulldogs to a 5-1 mark ... Pitcher Justin Miller went 2-0 on the week as he pitched 9.2 innings, allowing only five hits, one unearned run while fanning 10 batters.
Hawai?i Rainbows (9-19, 2-6 WAC)
The Rainbows recorded an 0-4 mark last week, dropping a four-game series at Sacramento State ... Kevin Macdonald led the team through the series with a .545 batting average ... Macdonald also fronted the team with five RBI during the four-game series ... Alex Capaul led the Rainbows on the mound, pitching 5.0 innings with a 1.80 ERA ... Capaul also had three strikeouts on the week ... Jared Alexander pitched 7.1 innings during the series, collecting four strikeouts.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (15-11, 2-5 WAC)
After a rough start to Friday’s game, Louisiana Tech got a pair of wins on Saturday, including the longest Bulldog baseball game in 22 years in the second game of the doubleheader ... The Bulldogs won 7-2 in the first game, then overcame a five-run deficit to tie the game in the ninth and scored three times in the 14th to pull out a heart-stopping 12-11 victory ... Jericho Jones hit two home runs in the nightcap, including the game-tying blast off the scoreboard in the ninth, as he finished 5-for-7 in the game .... Jones also pitched 7.1 innings in the first game and got his fifth win of the season, allowing just two runs on six hits while striking out six ... Saturday’s second game lasted over five hours; the 14-inning contest was Tech’s longest since Feb. 22, 1986.
Nevada Wolf Pack (13-12, 5-3 WAC)
Senior Kyle Howe tossed his first complete game at Nevada to improve to 3-0 on the season last week ... Nevada plays its next five games at home ... David Ciarlo continues to lead the WAC in hitting with a .500 average ... The Pack went 1-4 last week ... Ciarlo led the team at the plate with a .400 batting average in 15 at bats last week ... Ciarlo recorded four RBI, six hits, two doubles and a home run through the five games ... Howe led the team on the mound, going 9.0 innings with four strikeouts and one earned run.
NMSU Aggies (12-12, 3-1 WAC)
NMSU hit 15 home runs this past week, while their opponents only hit three ... In the weekend series, the Aggies outscored Texas Pan American 39-17, while outscoring their two opponents last week 55-32 ... In the series finale versus UTPA, the Aggies blasted eight home runs, which was just one shy of the NMSU record for home runs hit in a game ... The eight home runs is a WAC single-game record this season ... The Aggie record is nine, which came against Pacific on May 3, 1997 ... NMSU has now scored at least 20 runs three times this season and has scored double-digit runs 12 times.
Sacramento State Hornets (10-14, 5-3 WAC)
The Hornets went a perfect 5-0 last week, including a win over No. 17 Stanford and a four-game series sweep over conference foe Hawai?i ... Tim Wheeler led the Hornets at the plate with a .500 batting average ... Wheeler went 9-for-18 with a double, triple, two home runs and eight RBI ... Nick Buchta fronted the team on the mound with a 1.69 ERA ... Burchta pitched 5.1 innings with five strikeouts ... Alvaro Orozco also pitched well last week, going 7.0 innings with only two earned runs to for the win ... On the week, Sacramento State hit .318 at the plate with 49 hits on 154 at bats ... The team also registered a 3.00 ERA last week.
SJSU Spartans (14-10, 5-6 WAC)
Coming off a season-long seven-game road stretch, San Jose State opens a five-game homestand with a WAC series this weekend against Hawai’i ... the teams met just three times a year ago, in Honolulu, Hawaii, with the Spartans taking the first two games to clinch their first series victory at UH since 2002 ... the opener featured a six-hit, complete-game performance by current junior Scott Sobczak in his first major college start ... junior leadoff hitter John Shaffer has scored in 11 straight games and paces the team with 32 runs and nine steals ... SJSU and Louisiana Tech played the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader to 14 innings, the Spartans’ longest game since a 5-2, 14-inning loss at Houston in game two of the 2000 NCAA Super Regional.
WAC NOTES
FRESNO STATE’S AHMADY NAMED PRO-LINE ATHLETIC NATIONAL HITTER OF THE WEEK
The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) has announced that Fresno State’s Alan Ahmady has been named the Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week for the period ending March 30. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.
Ahmady, a sophomore from Fresno, Calif., hit .583 with 14 hits, eight runs scored, six doubles, three home runs, and 14 RBI as Fresno State went 5-1 last week. In four conference games against Nevada, he hit .600 in 15 at bats with three homers and 10 RBI. He also scored seven runs and had a slugging percentage of 1.467 during the four games against the Pack.
HAWAI?I’S ALEXANDER NAMED STATSTUD.COM’S STATSTUD OF THE DAY
StatStud.com announced that Jared Alexander from Hawaii has been named StatStud.com national StatStud of the Day, given to the nation’s top performer from the previous day. Jared Alexander from Hawaii spun a gem on Mar. 20 in a 4-0 win over Fresno State. The junior right hander went the distance allowing 4 hits, 0 ER, while striking out 10. The performance dropped his ERA to 1.71 on the year with opponents hitting a mere .217.
FRESNO STATE’S SCHEPPERS AND LOUISIANA TECH’S BURNETT NAMED TO USA BASEBALL GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD WATCH LIST
Fresno State junior pitcher Tanner Scheppers and Louisiana Tech junior pitcher Luke Burnett have been named to USA Baseball’s pre-season Golden Spikes Award Watch List. The initial list - the first ever of its kind for the Golden Spikes Award - features 75 of the nation’s top collegiate talents. On May 20, baseball officials will cut the watch list of players to 50 names. For the first time ever, fan voting will be part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2008. May 20 will mark the day when college baseball fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite player for the Golden Spikes Award on www.usabaseball.com. The 2008 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award will be presented nationally July 16. Past winners of the award include Terry Francona (1980), Will Clark (1985), Robin Ventura (2004), and David Price (2007).
NEW MEXICO STATE’S GARY WARD SELECTED TO BASEBALL COLLEGE HALL OF FAME CLASS
The College Baseball Foundation announced New Mexico State assistant baseball coach Gary Ward was named to the 2008 class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Class, Wednesday, March 05. Ward joins such names as Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson, infielder, Pasadena Junior College and UCLA; Steve Arlin, pitcher Ohio State; Eddie Bane, pitcher, Arizona State. Ward came out of retirement to coach at his alma mater, New Mexico State, and led the Aggies to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2002. He is currently the hitting coach for his son, Rocky Ward. While the head coach at NMSU, Ward finished with a 75-32 (.700) record to get him of the 1,000 win milestone.
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.
RETURNING ALL-WAC PLAYERS
The WAC features seven players this season 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.
2008 WAC BASEBALL 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.
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.
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.