WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (16-13, 0-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs went 3-2 in their final week of non-conference match-ups ... the ?Dogs split the series with UC Davis and took two of three from Cal State Bakersfield ... Fresno State hit six home runs and tallied 38 hits with 25 RBIs ... the pitching staff had a combined ERA of 3.48 striking out 32 batters and allowing only 15 walks ... junior Matt Morse and Holden Sprague both had career best striking out 10 and nine, respectively ... Tom Mendonca inched closer to becoming Fresno State home run king ... the junior has 41 career home runs and needs three more to break the record ... the Bulldogs dropped their first game of a two-game series with Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday night ... Fresno State then opens WAC play against NM State this week.
Hawai?i Rainbows (20-10, 3-1 WAC)
Hawai`i had two come-from-behind wins on Apr. 4 and 5, scoring the go-ahead runs in the eighth and fifth innings, respectively ... the win in the WAC opener was the first shutout of the season for the ’Bows ... the Rainbows also got their first sell out of the season on Apr. 4, getting 4,326 in attendance during the doubleheader ... UH is currently ranked No. 8 in the RPI on WarrenNolan.com with a strength of schedule that ranks third ... Kevin Macdonald batted .308 on the week, driving in five RBI with one double and a home run ... Jayson Kramer pitched 8.0 innings in the WAC-opener vs. SJSU (Apr. 3), allowing no runs on six hits to get the win ... UH defeated Santa Clara 8-4 on Tuesday night ... UH is currently ranked No. 23 in the Baseball America poll.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (13-12, 1-3 WAC)
The Bulldogs went 1-3 in their four-game opening WAC series against Nevada last week ... Tech was scheduled to play a total of five games during the week, but their midweek contest at UALR was canceled due to wet playing conditions ... as Nevada and La. Tech discovered after the conclusion of their series finale, the team that scored first in each game eventually lost ... Tech pounded out 17 runs on 17 hits in their win on Sunday ... they put together three big innings, including a four-run inning and two six-run innings ... Chris Kersten led the Bulldogs by going 7-for-14 (.500 BA) at the plate ... he also scored five times, smashed a double and a home run and collected an RBI.
Nevada Wolf Pack (14-16, 3-1 WAC)
Nevada has won its last two series going 3-1 at Louisiana Tech and vs. Utah Valley University the last two weekends ... Nevada’s three wins to start the WAC season at Louisiana Tech was a season high win streak ... in his last four appearances, two coming each of the last two weekends, reliever Daniel Tinlin has recorded a save giving
him a team-high four on the season ... Tinlin has allowed no runs, just two hits and pitched five innings to earn the saves ... Travis Simas hit .600 (9-for-15) last week with eight runs scored, two doubles, three home runs and seven RBI starting four games during the week and playing in all five as the Pack went 3-2 ... he picked off his WAC leading ninth and 10th runners of the season and caught two runners.
NMSU Aggies (28-4, 3-1 WAC)
The Aggies are 6-0 on the road and 28-4, which is the best record for them in program history ... NMSU is boasting a league leading .372 batting average on the year, which leads the league ... three Aggies go one, two and three in batting average in the WAC heading into this weeks play ... the team leads the country in runs scored (408), doubles (93) and home runs (72) ... Bryan Marquez led the Aggies to an 3-1 record in the opening series of WAC play with a .529 batting average, 1.059 slugging percentage, .556 on-base percentage, three home runs and seven RBI ... Tyler Sturdevant posted a 1.42 ERA to lead the Aggies to its first WAC win of the season. Of the 30 batters he faced Sturdevant struck out eight batters, which ties a career high for him.
Sacramento State Hornets (17-12,1-3 WAC)
Senior Blake Crosby continued his hot hitting, hitting .444 against New Mexico State and running his hit streak to a season-high 13 games ... freshman Aaron Crouch is in the midst of a season-high six-game hitting streak, and is 9-for-20 over his last six games ... junior Tim Wheeler passed former Hornet David Flores (2005-08) and moved into fourth place in school history with 110 career RBI after producing four this weekend against New Mexico State ... the Hornets host four games this weekend as Utah Valley comes to town for a four-game weekend series.
SJSU Spartans (20-8, 1-3 WAC)
San Jose State suffered its first loss of the season in a series of three games or more this last weekend to begin the conference portion of its 2009 schedule, after winning its first seven, with four sweeps ... the Spartans dropped three of four games at Hawai’i, now nationally-ranked, being unable to hold onto early leads in two of the three defeats, while getting blanked for the first time in 2009 in their Friday night WAC opener, 3-0 ... David Berner (5-1) tossed his second straight complete game and third already this season, in that contest, but was pinned with his first loss of the year ... despite the weekend results, the Spartans continue to lead the WAC in team ERA (3.83) and fielding percentage (.979), and remain second in batting average (.335).
WAC NOTES
NEVADA'S SIMAS NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Nevada catcher Travis Simas has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for Mar. 30-Apr. 5.
Simas, a senior from Elk Grove, Calif. (Sheldon HS/San Joaquin Delta College), hit .600 in helping the Wolf Pack to three conference wins over Louisiana Tech last week. Simas went 9-for-15 at the plate with eight runs scored, two doubles, three home runs and seven RBI. He also picked off his WAC-leading ninth and 10th runners of the season and caught two of the four base stealers. In the WAC series at Louisiana Tech, Simas hit .692 (9-for-15). He recorded a 1.538 slugging percentage in WAC games after totaling 20 bases. He collected multiple hits in three of his four games at Louisiana Tech, including a career-high four the series finale.
The other hitter of the week nominations were Fresno State junior third baseman Tom Mendonca, Hawai?i junior first baseman Kevin Macdonald, Louisiana Tech junior outfielder Devon Dageford, New Mexico State senior shortstop Bryan Marquez and Sacramento State senior first baseman Blake Crosby.
HAWAI?I'S KRAMER NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Hawai?i right-handed pitcher Jayson Kramer has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for Mar. 30-Apr. 5.
Kramer, a senior from Kane`ohe, O`ahu (Mid-Pacific Institute), pitched 8.0 innings in a combined 3-0 shutout win against San Jose State. Kramer allowed no runs on six hits to get the WAC season-opening victory. The senior tied his career high for innings pitched, while recording his first combined shutout as a starter. Kramer improved to 2-3 on the season with a 3.00 ERA in 48 innings of work.
The other pitcher of the week nominations were Fresno State senior Holden Sprague, Nevada senior Derek Achelpohl and New Mexico State senior Tyler Sturdevant.
HAWAI?I ENTERS TOP-25 POLL
The Rainbows made it into the national rankings, moving in at No. 23 in the Baseball America poll this week. It is the first time that UH was ranked by that publication since May 22, 2006. UH also remains in the Rivals.com poll at No. 24, the same ranking they came into the poll at last week. Hawai?i is the third WAC team to enter the polls this season. New Mexico State is currently ranked No. 23 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll. San Jose State was ranked No. 25 earlier this season in the same poll.
WAC RPI ON THE RISE
As of April 7, the WAC now owns a league RPI of 11 according to WarrenNolan.com and BoydsWorld.com. The WAC ranks just ahead of the Big East and Big Ten. Hawai?i holds the top RPI in the WAC at eight, followed by San Jose State at 86.
NEW MEXICO STATE LEADS NATION IN SEVEN NCAA STATISTICAL CATEGORIES
As of April 7, New Mexico State ranks fifth or better in 11 team statistical categories. The Aggies lead the nation in scoring (12.8), runs (408), doubles (93), home runs (72), slugging percentage (.660), base on balls (249) and win-loss percentage (.875). NMSU also ranks second in the nation in hits (422) and home runs per game (2.25). The team ranks third in batting average (.372) and doubles per game (2.91). Individually, NMSU’s Richard Stout leads the nation in runs (53) and base on balls (43).
HAWAI?I STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE NOW RANKS THIRD IN THE NATION
Hawai?i’s strength of schedule is ranked third on the WarrenNolan.com website and seventh on the BoydsWorld.com website. Hawai?i has an RPI of eight on both websites as of Tuesday, April 7. Eight of UH’s 12 opponents thus far have been ranked at some point this season. UC Irvine heads the list, ranking at No. 5 in Baseball America and No. 7 in Collegiate Baseball. Coastal Carolina ranks No. 24 and 19 while Oregon State is No. 16 and 27 in those two polls, respectively, while Minnesota ranks No. 30 in Collegiate Baseball. UC Santa Barbara and Mississippi State were also in the polls earlier in the season. Arizona State heads the list of teams ranked that are still coming up on UH’s schedule, ranking at No. 1 in Baseball America and No. 2 in Collegiate Baseball. WAC opponent New Mexico State is ranked No. 24 in this week’s Collegiate Baseball poll, while both Fresno State was ranked earlier this season. The Rainbows are currently 7-5 in games against ranked opponents.
NEVADA’S POWERS EARNS 800th WIN, SAN JOSE STATE’S PIRARO PICKS UP 700th
Head coach Gary Powers recorded his 800th career victory when the Wolf Pack defeated Oregon 6-5 on March 12. Powers the longest tenured coach in the history of Nevada athletics is in his 27th year as skipper of the Pack. Coming into the 2009 season he ranked 26th among NCAA Division I active coaches in career victories. Currently his career mark stands at 809-637-4. San Jose State’s 6-1 victory over Dartmouth College inside Municipal Stadium on Thursday night, March 19, marked win No. 700 for 22nd-year Spartan head coach Sam Piraro. The winningest coach in program history, he now has a record of 705-528-6 in charge at his alma mater.
NMSU BREAKS INTO NATIONAL POLLS, SJSU’S RANKING ON MARCH 9th FIRST SINCE 2002.
New Mexico State is off to its best start in the program’s history at 28-4. The 1990 team started 19-3 and went on to a 40-19 finish under former head coach Elliot Avent. The Aggies broke into the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper NCAA Division I baseball poll two weeks ago and moved up to No. 23 this week after picking three wins to start conference play. They have beat No. 20 New Mexico (3/10) and earned three wins over a respectful San Francisco team (3/20-22) this year. San Jose State entered Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s NCAA Division I baseball poll at the No. 25 spot on March 9. It was San Jose State’s first in-season national ranking since the 2002 campaign, which marked the last time the Spartans made the NCAA Championship field, finishing with a school-record 45 wins at 45-17. Although not currently ranked, SJSU continues to receive votes in the top-25 poll.
SJSU ENJOYS BEST START IN TWO DECADES
San Jose State’s incredible 9-0 start marked the program’s best in two decades, since the Spartans reeled off 15 straight victories to begin the 1989 season, 22nd-year head coach Sam Piraro’s third in charge. The Spartans’ nine-game win streak was their longest since an 11-game stretch between April 28 and May 15, 2001. It’s 16-3 start is the best 19-game mark for San Jose State also in almost two decades, since the Spartans began the 1990 season at 17-2. That team went on to start 29-2, with the only two blemishes a pair of one-run road defeats at area rivals Stanford and USF, before finishing 43-17. Piraro and associate head coach Tom Kunis were together on both the 1989 and 1990 staffs.
NEW MEXICO STATE SETS SCHOOL RECORD FOR HOME RUNS IN A SINGLE GAME, JUST THREE SHY OF TYING WAC RECORD
The New Mexico State baseball team set the school record for most home runs in a game when it hit 10 home runs against Chicago State, Friday, Feb. 27. The old record was nine, when the Aggies accomplished that feat against Pacific, May 3, 1997. Steven Anderson, Chuck Howard, Leo Aguirre, Bryan Marquez, Nate Shaver, Mike Sodders, and Max Taylor all got in on the fun, with Aguirre, Marquez and Sodders each hitting two bombs in the game. The all-time WAC single game record for home runs is 13, set by Cal State Northridge against Fresno State in 1997. The 10 home runs are just three shy of tying the WAC single-game record of 13 set by Cal State Northridge in 1997.
MENDONCA HITS CAREER HOME RUN #41
Tom Mendonca continues to front the WAC as the league’s active career leader in home runs with 41. Mendonca is close to breaking the all-time Fresno State home run record. The junior has 12 home runs on the season and 41 in his career. Mendonca passed Lance Shebult and former teammate Stephen Susdorf, moving into second place on all-time record book. He needs three more home runs to move past current all-time leader Guiseppe Chiramonte.
WAC REPRESENTED AMONG NATIONAL PLAYERS 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, along with David Berner, was named to the Week No. 1 National All-Star Lineup presented by The College Baseball Foundation and Diamond Sports. Jeff Farnham was named to week two’s National All-Star Lineup for his play last week.
In Week #4, Bryan Marquez was named to the College Baseball Foundation’s National All-Star Lineup. Marquez had two grand slams on the weekend, and finished the week going 9-for-15 at the plate with nine hits, 13 RBI and four home runs.
TECH SCORES MOST RUNS IN A THREE-GAME SERIES SINCE 1972
The Bulldogs opened the 2009 season with a bang as they swept Grambling State in a three-game series. Tech scored 15 runs in the season opener at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park on Friday, Feb. 20 and then followed that effort by scoring 20 runs at Tiger Stadium in Grambling on Saturday. They topped off their weekend by scoring 20 more in Ruston on Sunday. Tech’s 55 runs are the most runs scored in a three-game or more series dating back to 1972 involving the Bulldogs. The team also illuminated the hits section of the scoreboard as they totaled 48 in their three wins. Senior Chris Kersten led the Bulldogs in the series with a .700 batting average (7-for-10), 13 RBI, two doubles, four home runs and zero strikeouts. He also contributed to the 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.
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.
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.
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.