WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (2-2, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State opened 2-1 over Washington in a three-game series at Beiden Field ... Fresno earned a win opening night with Holden Sprague starting on the mound ... Sprague earned six strikeouts, allowed six hits, and one run in six innings of work ... Jake Johnson hit a double to drive in two ?Dogs and then scored the winning run on a wild pitch ... Fresno State fell 11-4 to the Huskies in game two ... on Sunday afternoon sophomore Jake Floethe started on the mound for Fresno State ... Floethe had a career-high five strikeouts in a career-high six shutout innings ... Danny Muno went 3-for-3 and it was a single from Tom Mendonca that scored the winning runs as the Bulldogs won game three 3-1 ... Fresno State fell 13-11 to Cal Poly Tuesday night.
Hawai?i Rainbows (1-3, 0-0 WAC)
The Rainbows were able to take a game from the No. 9 Anteaters on Sunday, Feb. 22 ... the win was the first over a team ranked in the top 10 nationally since May 7 and 8 of 2004, when the ’Bows took two of three games from No. 3 Rice. (UH lost all five meetings to top ten teams in 2008, losing once in 2006 and once in 2005 since the wins vs. Rice) ... with the 5-1 loss to UC Irvine on Feb. 20, UH lost its first season-opener since the 2004 season, when they fell to No. 5 Texas ... the two losses to top 10-ranked teams are the only two opening day losses under Head Coach Mike Trapasso (who took over in 2002) ... this week, Hawai?i travels to Minneapolis, Minnesota to participate in the Dairy Queen Classic for four games.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (3-0, 0-0 WAC)
Currently, the Bulldogs lead the Western Athletic Conference with a .390 batting average ... senior Chris Kersten also ranks first in individual batting average as he is batting .700 ... Louisiana Tech’s 55 runs in their recent opening weekend series is the most they have ever scored in a three-game opening weekend series dating back to 1972 ... for the second year in a row, the Bulldogs have swept their first series of the year ... last year, they swept McNeese State during their opening weekend ... this season, Louisiana Tech swept three games against Grambling State, two at home and one on the road ... this week, Louisiana Tech travels to play Northwestern State on Wednesday and McNeese State on Saturday and Sunday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (2-2, 0-0 WAC)
Kevin Rodland extended his career-high hit streak to 15-games collecting hits in all four games to start the 2009 plus the final 11 of 2008 ... Nevada hit four home runs in the Pack’s 8-4 victory over 10th ranked Missouri ... third baseman Matt Bowman hit two home runs in the Pack’s 8-4 win over 10th ranked Missouri. It marked the second
time he has hit two home runs in a game during his career ... DH/P Brock Stassi’s first collegiate hit was a three-run homer that tied the Pack’s game on Friday night with Gonzaga at 3-3 as Nevada rallied to win 7-4 ... head coach Gary Powers is three wins shy of reaching 800 for his career ... Nevada will play four games this week at a tournament in San Diego, Calif.
NMSU Aggies (3-0, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies started the season with a sweep over the University of North Dakota ... it was the first sweep for NM State since it accomplished the feat against Sacramento State, in Sacramento, Calif. ... the last time the Aggies swept a team at home was when they beat Louisiana Tech in three straight games, during the 2006 season ... the Aggies are boasting a team batting average of .360 and have hit six home runs, while scoring 43 runs ... New Mexico State will host Chicago State Feb. 27-Mar. 1 this week.
Sacramento State Hornets (1-2, 0-0 WAC)
Junior Tim Wheeler led the Hornets with five hits in a three game series against Arizona, leading the team to a 1-2 record over their Pac-10 foe ... Wheeler, who led the team in singles a season ago, posted five in the series ... true freshman Jesse Darrah posted his first career win in his first start, allowing just two runs in five innings, while striking out five Wildcats this past week ... sophomore Derrick Chung, who had two RBI a season ago, posted five RBI during the first weekend series ... junior Josh Powers and freshman Justin Lamb each slugged their first career home runs in the Hornets 10-7 victory over the Wildcats ... sophomore Brandon Sandoval threw 4.1 innings of scoreless relief on Friday, allowing just three hits while striking out four.
SJSU Spartans (4-0, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State altered its weekend schedule with Saint Joseph’s to avoid impending rain in the Bay Area on Sunday, and pulled off difficult doubleheader sweeps on back-to-back days to take all four meetings with visiting Saint Joseph’s and begin the year a perfect 4-0 ... the Spartans trailed at the end of just three of the 36 innings played between the teams ... through the first weekend of the season, SJSU is first in the WAC in team ERA (1.75) and tied for first in fielding percentage (.974) ... SJSU’s game at Saint Mary’s on Feb. 24 was postponed due to weather ... the San Jose State will now play its annual three-game set with South Bay rival Santa Clara over the weekend.
WAC NOTES
LOUISIANA TECH’S KERSTEN NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Louisiana Tech third baseman Chris Kersten has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for Feb. 16-22.
Kersten, a senior from Kiowa, Kansas (Medicine Lodge HS), hit .700 (7-10) in helping the Bulldogs to a three-game sweep over Grambling State last week. In the season-opening 15-3 win, Kersten went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and a home run with a pair of RBI. In the second game against Grambling State, Kersten went 2-for-2 with a pair of home runs and six RBI. He then went 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles and a home run, along with five RBI. On the week, Kersten went 7-for-10 with four home runs, three doubles, 13 RBI and two walks.
The other hitter of the week nominations were Fresno State sophomore shortstop Danny Muno; Nevada junior shortstop Kevin Rodland; New Mexico State junior left fielder Leo Aguirre; and Sacramento State junior outfielder Tim Wheeler.
SAN JOSE STATE’S BERNER NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
San Jose State left-handed pitcher David Berner has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for Feb. 16-22.
Berner, a senior from Santa Clara, Calif. (West Valley College/Santa Clara HS), pitched a complete game three-hit shutout in the season opener for San Jose State. Berner struck out 10 and did not issue a walk. He faced only two batters over the minimum and retired 16 straight Saint Joseph’s batters between the third and eighth innings.
The other pitcher of the week nominations were Fresno State senior Holden Sprague; Louisiana Tech junior John Anderson; Nevada senior Sammy Miller; New Mexico State senior Sebastien Vendette; and Sacramento State freshman Jesse Darrah.
WAC TEAMS GO 16-9 IN OPENING WEEK OF PLAY
Teams from the WAC went a combined 16-9 (.640) in the first week of play. San Jose State led the group with a perfect 4-0 record, taking all four games from Saint Joseph’s last week. Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State each went 3-0. Louisiana Tech swept Grambling State, while New Mexico State took a three game series against North Dakota.
FRESNO STATE RANKED NO. 15/19 IN LATEST NATIONAL POLLS
Fresno State continues its presence in the national polls as the Bulldogs are ranked No. 15 in the latest (Feb. 22) NCBWA poll and No. 19 in the Collegiate Baseball (Feb. 23) poll. The Bulldogs went 2-1 against Washington in the team’s season-opening series at home last week.
LOUISIANA TECH’S KERSTEN NAMED NATIONAL HITTER OF THE WEEK
Louisiana Tech senior Chris Kersten was named National Hitter of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) on Feb. 24. Kersten had a weekend to remember against Grambling State. The third baseman from Kiowa, Kan. hit .700 (7-for-10) with 13 RBI, two doubles, four home runs and zero strikeouts. He also contributed to Tech’s three big wins by scoring nine times, walking twice and stealing a base. He concluded his weekend with a .769 on-base percentage and an astonishing 2.200 slugging percentage.
During the Bulldogs season opener on Friday at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park, Kersten went 2-for-4 with an RBI double and a solo home run. On Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Grambling, he hit two three-run home runs in consecutive innings. His six-RBI day established a new career high for the slugger. In Tech’s final game of the series at home on Sunday, he hit two doubles and capped off his weekend with a two-run home run. Currently, Kersten leads the conference in the following categories: batting average (.700), slugging percentage (2.200), on-base percentage (.769), RBI (13) and home runs (4). Shaeffer Hall from Kansas was also named a Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week as he was awarded National Pitcher of the Week. He fired a complete game no-hitter in the Jayhawks 5-0 win over Air Force on Friday. Former Tech standout Jericho Jones was the last Tech player to earn National Hitter of the Week honors. In 2007, he went 13-for-20 with 11 runs scored, 16 RBI and three home runs to win the award. The NCBWA board reviews candidates from all Division 1 conferences each week and names winners every Tuesday throughout the collegiate baseball season.
2009 WAC PRESEASON POLL AND ALL-WAC TEAM ANNOUNCED
Fresno State has been selected as the favorite to win the 2009 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 four players on the team while Hawai?i, Nevada and New Mexico State each had three. Fresno State junior third baseman Tommy Mendonca was named the preseason player of the year, while Hawai?i senior Jared Alexander was picked the preseason pitcher of the year.
Fresno State received 34 points and five first place votes after a 47-31 season last year. The Bulldogs have won both the WAC regular season and tournament titles the past three seasons. Fresno State won last year’s national title at the College World Series. San Jose State ranked second with 29 points followed by Nevada with 26, Hawai?i with 25, New Mexico State with 14 points, Louisiana Tech with 13, and Sacramento State with six.
The preseason all-WAC team included four Fresno State players: senior outfielder Gavin Hedstrom, junior outfielder Steve Detwiler, sophomore shortstop Danny Muno and junior third baseman Mendonca. Mendonca was picked as the preseason player of the year after hitting .281 last year with 70 RBI, 19 home runs and eight doubles.
Hawai?i had three players on the team: Alexander, senior catcher Landon Hernandez, and sophomore relief pitcher Josh Slaats. Alexander was selected the preseason pitcher of the year after posting a 7-3 record with a 3.27 ERA last season. Nevada had three players on the team: junior first baseman Shaun Kort, senior second baseman Matt Bowman, and senior utility player Tyson Jaquez. New Mexico State also placed three on the team in senior outfielder Richard Stout, senior pitcher Tyler Sturdevant, and senior relief pitcher Erik Nyquist. Junior outfielder Tim Wheeler represented Sacramento State. San Jose State’s representative was junior pitcher Max Peterson.
FRESNO STATE’S MENDONCA, SACRAMENTO STATE’S WHEELER NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
Fresno State junior third baseman Tommy Mendonca and Sacramento State junior outfielder Tim Wheeler have been named to the preseason All-American team by Baseball America. Mendonca received first team honors while Wheeler was named to the third team.
Mendonca capped off his sophomore campaign with four home runs and 11 RBIs at the College World Series earning the CWS Most Outstanding Player award. Mendonca started 77 games for the Bulldogs in 2008 and recorded 19 home runs, eight doubles, and 70 RBIs. He also was named the 2009 Preseason WAC Player of the Year.
Last season, Wheeler earned first team all-WAC honors after hitting .330 with three home runs and 43 RBI. He had eight outfield assists on the season, while ranking second on the team during WAC play in RBI (22) and stolen bases (5). Wheeler also tied for the longest hitting streak in the WAC last season, hitting safely in 20 straight games during the year.
RETURNING ALL-WAC PLAYERS
The WAC will feature three players who were 2008 first team all-WAC performers. Fresno State returns junior first baseman Alan Ahmady. Ahmady hit .382 at the plate last season and tallied 60 runs, 110 hits, and 92 RBI. Sacramento State returns all-WAC first team outfielder Tim Wheeler. Wheeler hit .330 at the plate with 38 runs and 43 RBI. Hawai?i welcomes back first team all-WAC honoree Jared Alexander. Alexander led the WAC with a 3.27 ERA. He registered 63 strikeouts in 82.2 innings of work, and compiled a 7-3 record. 2008 WAC Freshman of the Year Danny Muno returns for his sophomore campaign. The Fresno State shortstop hit .330 with 62 runs, 95 hits, 13 doubles and 30 RBI last season. There are also seven second team all-WAC honorees that return this year. The list of second teamers includes Hawai?i senior catcher Landon Hernandez, Nevada sophomore first baseman Shaun Kort, New Mexico State senior shortstop Richard Stout, San Jose State junior pitcher Max Peterson, New Mexico State senior pitcher Heath Goin, and New Mexico State senior pitcher Tyler Sturdevant.
2009 WAC TOURNAMENT
The 2009 WAC Tournament will be held at Les Murakani Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii, May 21-24. 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.