WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (24-27, 8-12 WAC)
The Bulldogs split their last home series of the 2009 season with Hawai’i ... the ?Dogs won the first two games, 17-9 and 14-11 before falling in the doubleheader, 15-10 and 15-6 ... freshman Dusty Robinson sit over .700 against the ?Bows with four doubles and two home runs ... the Bulldogs hit nine home runs over the weekend and junior Tom Mendonca became the WAC home run leader with 22 ... Fresno State scored 47 runs on 52 hits and tallied 43 RBI ... the Bulldogs also honored the seniors, who will go out one of the most decorated senior classes in program history after winning three league and tournament championships, along with the national championship ... Fresno State out the regular season on the road against Sacramento State.
Hawai?i Rainbows (29-22, 11-12 WAC)
The Rainbows broke the school single-season team home run record over the weekend, posting a total of 11 in the Fresno State series ... the team now has 60 homers, breaking the previous record of 58, set in 1983 ... Sean Montplaisir batted .600 in the five games on the road, knocking in eight RBI and seven runs scored while posting two home runs and five doubles ... Nathaniel Klein pitched 8.0 innings to get the win at Fresno State ... freshman Kolten Wong also had a great week, posting 12 RBI with two homers and three doubles ... Matt Roquemore played great in the series at Fresno State, batting .688 with five runs and four RBI ... Kevin Macdonald posted two home runs, getting his total for the season to 14, the third-highest in school history.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (26-18, 11-9 WAC)
Louisiana Tech’s two games last week, against Stephen F. Austin and at Grambling State, were canceled due to inclement weather and a schedule conflict, respectively ...going into the final week of the regular season, two Bulldogs, Devon Dageford and Kevin Winn, have played all 44 games ... six Bulldog starters are hitting above .300, four have recorded 60 or more hits and three have totaled 50 or more RBI ... starting pitcher John Anderson leads the staff with six wins and a 5.04 ERA ... seven pitchers have accumulated one save on the year ...Tech will wrap up the regular season with a four-game series against New Mexico State at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park beginning Thursday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (25-25, 10-9 WAC)
The Pack snapped a five-game losing skid with a 7-6 victory over Sac State on Sunday, but dropped the series at home to Sacramento State, 3-1 ... Brett Hart highlighted the week for the Wolf Pack, hitting for the cycle in his first four at bats in game one of the Sac State series ... for the weekend he batted .400 (6-for-15) with 5 runs scored, a double, a triple, a home run and drove in seven. On Sunday he scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Pack a 7-6 victory ... Nevada closes out its regular season at San Jose State this week before heading to Honolulu for the WAC Tournament May 21-24.
NM State Aggies (39-13, 10-10 WAC)
New Mexico State went 1-3 last week against WAC-leader San Jose State at home ... NM State dropped the first three games (5-24, 7-20, 11-15) before taking the final game of the series, 11-8, on senior day ... Nate Shavers led the Aggies in the series, batting .400 with six hits, four runs scored, three RBI, a double and three walks ... Bryan Marquez also hit the ball well, batting .364 at the plate with four hits, four walks and an RBI ... Scott Coffman picked up the win on the mound for the Aggies, going 1.1 innings with one strikeout while allowing just one run ... New Mexico State closes out its regular season schedule at Louisiana Tech this week.
Sacramento State Hornets (27-22, 8-10 WAC)
The Hornets went 3-1 last week at Nevada, taking 14-13, 9-6 and 12-6 victories before falling 7-6 in the series finale ... junior Tim Wheeler set the school’s single-season and career RBI records ... the career record went down on Saturday in game two of the doubleheader, as Wheeler passed Will Fitzpatrick (1990-93) who had owned the mark with 135 in his four year career ... Wheeler has posted 139 RBI now in his three-year career ... Wheeler posted his 69th RBI of the season in Sunday’s contest, passing Jason Bolton (1998) for the best single-season performance in school history ... this week, Sacramento State hosts Fresno State in its final series of the regular season.
SJSU Spartans (35-17, 11-7 WAC)
SJSU is coming off a 3-2 road week that featured a three-games-to-one WAC series victory at New Mexico State that put the Spartans atop the league standings by one full game, with just one week remaining in the regular season ... San Jose State out-scored the highest-scoring team in the country on its home field, 67-34, over four games, and out-homered the national home run leader, 11-4, over those four games ... the Spartans now close out the regular season with a five-game homestand, beginning Tuesday, May 12, against 2008 College World Series participant Stanford ... they will then go after the WAC regular-season crown with a four-game set against third-place Nevada on the weekend, before heading back to Honolulu.
WAC NOTES
SAN JOSE STATE’S BELLOWS NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
San Jose State infielder Kyle Bellows has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for May 4-10.
Bellows, a junior from San Jose, Calif. (Santa Teresa HS), helped the Spartans to three road wins over New Mexico State last week. Bellows batted .583 (14-for-24) with 12 runs scored, 17 RBI, four home runs, two doubles and two walks, slugging 1.167. Bellows also handled all 16 defensive chances cleanly at his shortstop position. On Saturday, Bellows produced his third career two-homer game at NM State, leading the Spartans to a 15-11 victory.
The other hitter of the week nominations were Fresno State freshman outfielder Dusty Robinson, Hawai?i sophomore outfielder Sean Montplaisir, Nevada junior outfielder Brett Hart and Sacramento State junior outfielder Tim Wheeler.
HAWAI?I’S KLEIN NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Hawai?i right-handed pitcher Nathaniel Klein has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for May 4-10.
Klein, a junior from Goleta, Calif. (Santa Barbara City), threw 8.0 innings in a win at Fresno State. Klein compiled six strikeouts for his second win of the season. He now has a 5.02 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 52 innings of work this season.
The other pitcher of the week nominations were Fresno State junior Matt Morse and Nevada sophomore Brock Stassi.
2009 WAC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
The 2009 NAPA Auto Parts WAC Baseball Tournament will be held at Les Murakami 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. Tickets can be purchased at www.hawaiiathletics.com.
2009 NAPA AUTO PARTS WAC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT TO BE STREAMED LIVE
The Western Athletic Conference, in conjunction with its Web site partner JumpTV Sports, has announced it will stream next week’s 2009 NAPA Auto Parts WAC Baseball Tournament live from Honolulu, Hawaii. Viewers can sign up by visiting www.WAC.tv.
The double-elimination tournament will be held May 21-24 at Les Murakami Stadium on the campus of the University of Hawai?i with the first game beginning at 11:00 a.m. (HT) on Thursday. Every game of the tournament can be viewed for a single subscription price of $17.95 which will include on-demand viewing of any of the games the following day.
More information and how to subscribe to any of these video streaming events can be found at www.WAC.tv.
Note: There will only be one link to each day’s games. The same link will be used for each day, so it is possible that there may not be any picture or audio if the link is selected between games. Please continue to hit refresh and click on the “Now Available” link in the media player and once subsequent games begin, the link will begin streaming again.
WAC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT HEADED TO MESA, ARIZONA’S HOHOKAM STADIUM FOR 2010, 2011 AND 2012
The Western Athletic Conference has awarded the City of Mesa the WAC Baseball Tournament for 2010, 2011 and 2012, WAC Commissioner Karl Benson announced on Thursday. The event will be played at Mesa’s Hohokam Stadium, the Chicago Cubs Spring Training home. Starting in 2010, the City of Mesa will host the double-elimination tournament with the winner earning the WAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The top six teams from the WAC’s regular season standings will advance to the tournament. The WAC Baseball Tournament is no stranger to the state of Arizona and the City of Mesa. The league’s championship has been played in Arizona nine times (1963, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, 76, 78) and the event was held in Mesa in 1971 and 1973.
WAC AND THE RPI
As of May 12, the WAC owns a league RPI of 10 according to WarrenNolan.com and 11 according to BoydsWorld.com. The WAC ranks just ahead of the Big East. Hawai?i holds the top RPI in the WAC at 34, followed by San Jose State at 74.
FOUR WAC TEAMS MAKE APPEARANCES IN TOP-25 POLLS
Fresno State was first to enter the top-25 rankings this season as the team was ranked No. 16 in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll. The Bulldogs remained in the poll for two weeks. New Mexico State broke into the Collegiate Baseball top-25 poll on Mar. 23 at No. 24 and moved up to No. 23 on April 6 before falling out of the poll. San Jose State entered the same 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. Hawai?i made it into the national rankings, entering in at No. 23 in the Baseball America poll on April 6 and then again at No. 20 on April 20 . It marks the first time that UH was ranked by that publication since May 22, 2006. UH has also been ranked in the Rivals.com poll, staying at No. 24 for two weeks. Hawai?i is the fourth WAC team to enter the polls this season.
NEW MEXICO STATE LEADS NATION IN THREE NCAA STATISTICAL CATEGORIES
As of May 10, New Mexico State ranks fifth or better in nine team statistical categories. The Aggies lead the nation in scoring (11.5), runs (597) and base on ball (369). NMSU also ranks second in the nation in hits (670), home runs (108) and slugging percentage (.616). Individually, NMSU’s Bryan Marquez leads the nations in RBI with 80 .
HAWAI?I STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE NOW RANKS 16th IN THE NATION
UH’s strength of schedule is ranked 16th on the WarrenNolan.com website. Hawai?i has an RPI of 34 according to the website. Nine of UH’s 18 opponents thus far have been ranked at some point this season.
MENDONCA NEW HOME RUN KING AT FRESNO STATE
Tom Mendonca became the Fresno State all-time home run king on April 18, hitting his 44th career homer in the fifth inning against Louisiana Tech. The home run moves him past former Fresno State all-time leader Guiseppe Chiramonte. Mendonca now has 22 home runs this season and 51 in his career, which currently leads the WAC.
WAC REPRESENTED AMONG NATIONAL HONORS THIS SEASON
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. SJSU’s Ryan Shopshire was chosen by the College Baseball Foundation and Diamond Sports to their National All-Star Lineup for the 2009 season’s 10th week of April 20-26 on Tuesday, April 28. Shopshire was honored after tossing a seven-inning complete-game shutout in a 2-0 home defeat of WAC rival Fresno State on Saturday, April 25. He struck out a career-high 15 in the contest, among 21 total outs registered.
WAC PLAYERS ON NATIONAL WATCH LISTS
San Jose State shortstop Kyle Bellows and New Mexico State shortstop Bryan Marquez have each been included on the Brooks Wallace Award watch list which for the first time since its creation in 2004, will honor the best shortstop in the nation. The Wallace Award had previously gone to the national player of the year. San Jose State’s David Berner and Max Peterson, along with New Mexico State’s Daniel Simon have been named to the watch list for the inaugural presentation of the Pitcher of the Year Award, as announced by the CBF and Mizuno.
LOUISIANA TECH’S WINN ENDS HITTING STREAK AT 33 GAMES
Kevin Winn compiled a 33-game hitting streak that began in the final seven games of the 2008 season and concluded in the second game of Tech’s doubleheader against San Jose State on April 10. His hitting streak was the longest in the country since Tim Alberts from Niagara put together a 35-game hitting streak between the 2006-07 seasons. Winn’s personal-best hitting streak began with a single in a 4-3 defeat at UL-Lafayette on May 6 in 2008 and ended in a 6-0 defeat at San Jose State this season. During that stretch, Winn batted .386 (54-for-140) with 11 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 40 RBI and only nine strikeouts. He also compiled 16 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI games. The senior went 3-for-4 with four RBI in a 10-0 win over Eastern Michigan on March 8. He also recorded five RBI in a game twice, March 20 against Houston Baptist and April 5 against Nevada. The WAC record is 45 games set by former Arizona State Sun Devil Roger Schmuck in 1972.
NEVADA’S POWERS EARNS 800th WIN, SAN JOSE STATE’S PIRARO PICKS UP 700th, BATESOLE NEARS WIN NUMBER 500
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 820-646-4. San Jose State’s 6-1 victory over Dartmouth College inside Municipal Stadium on 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 720-537-6 in charge at his alma mater. Fresno State head coach Mike Batesole is now just one win shy of his 500th. Batesole currently holds a 499-350-1 career record.
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.
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.