TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (22-25, 6-10 WAC)
The Bulldogs split a four-game series with first place Nevada over the weekend ... the ?Dogs fell, 15-11 and 16-4, in the two games against the Wolf Pack ... on Sunday, Fresno State won both games, 8-6 and 12-5 ... junior Alan Ahmady hit a walk off home run in the first game to lift the Bulldogs past Nevada ... senior Holden Sprague closed the first game and started the second game earning two wins and throwing his first complete game of the year ... the Bulldogs hit .291 with 13 home runs and 33 RBIs over the weekend ... the pitching staff struck out a combined 22 batters and the infield turned four double plays ... the ?Dogs continue their home stand next weekend hosting Hawai’i for a four-game series.
Hawai?i Rainbows (27-20, 9-10 WAC)
Hawai?i went 1-4 this past week, taking four losses at home to conference foe Louisiana Tech before defeating Saint Mary’s, 10-3, on the road ... Ryan Morford led the Rainbows last week, hitting .524 with 11 hits, five doubles and a pair of home runs ... Morford also had five RBI, seven runs and two walks ... on the mound, Jayson Kramer pitched 9.0 innings with a 2.00 ERA ... Kramer pitched a complete game while only giving up a pair of earned runs ... this week, Hawai?i travels to Fresno to take on the Bulldogs in a four-game set, starting on Thursday night ... the four games will wrap up WAC play for the Rainbows, who will end the season at home with four games against Utah Valley.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (26-18, 11-9 WAC)
Louisiana Tech went 5-0 on the week as they won Monday at Sacramento State and then swept the Rainbows at Hawai’i ...the sweep marked Tech’s second conference sweep of the season ...the Bulldogs finished their road trip to Sacramento State and Hawai’i with a 6-2 record and are 13-2 in their last 15 games ... Chris Kersten now leads the squad with a .393 batting average and 18 doubles ... John Anderson leads the pitching staff with a 6-2 record and a 5.04 ERA ... Tech hosts Stephen F. Austin in a mid-week contest on Wednesday before they take a break from their WAC schedule by visiting Grambling State for a single game Saturday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (24-22, 9-6 WAC)
Nick Melino hit .471 (8-for-17) with seven runs scored, two doubles, a triple, three home runs and 14 RBI as the Pack went 3-2 on the week ... six of his eight hits went for extra bases, two doubles, a triple and three home runs ... Nevada had its season-high six game win streak snapped fall in Sunday’s first game ... outfielder Matt Bowman recorded his 63rd and 64th career doubles in the FS series to break Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Lyle Overbay’s school record ... Nevada scored a season-high 15 runs in Saturday’s first win at FS then topped that scoring 16 in game two. The Pack’s 18 hits in game two on Saturday tied the season high.
NMSU Aggies (38-10, 9-7 WAC)
The Aggies now have 104 home runs on the season, which leads the WAC ... the team needs 11 more to tie the NM State record of 115 (2004) ... senior Justin Lucero broke the school-record for being hit-by-pitches in one game when he was hit four times against Houston-Baptist, Saturday, May 2 ... junior Wade Reynoso had 10 hits against Houston-Baptist and finished the weekend hitting .556 ... he became the fifth Aggie to hit at least 10 homers on the year as he led the way to a 20-10 win in game one of Saturday’s double header going 3-fo-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored ... Junior Jared Jordan had another excellent outing on the mound as he held Houston-Baptist to only one run on six hits in a season-high 7 2/3 innings.
Sacramento State Hornets (24-21, 5-9 WAC)
Sacramento State went 1-2 this past week ... the Hornets dropped a 4-6 decision at Stanford before splitting a conference series against San Jose State, 1-1 ... the series with the Spartans was shortened from four games to only two because of inclement weather ... Sacramento State defeated San Jose State 11-6 before taking a 10-9 loss the following day ... Jeff Roth led the Hornets at the plate with a .500 batting average last week, collecting six hits, one run, four RBI, a walk and a double ... Blake Crosby hit .462 with six hits and a pair of RBI ... Tim Wheeler hit a pair of home runs as did Derrick Chung ... Chris Baek picked up the win on the mound for Sacramento State, going 5.0 innings without giving up a run.
SJSU Spartans (32-16, 8-6 WAC)
San Jose State was only able to play two out of a scheduled four games at Sacramento State over the weekend, due to rain, splitting those two contests and going 3-1 for the week ... the Spartans rallied from a 9-3 deficit late with two runs in eighth and five more in the ninth, to win Sunday’s meeting with the Hornets, 10-9 ... each of the last four wins for San Jose State have come in come-from-behind fashion ... the Spartans play back-to-back five-game weeks to conclude the regular season ... they continued the current road stretch at 2008 CWS participant Stanford on Tuesday, falling 9-8, before travelling to Las Cruces, N.M., for a critical four-game set at New Mexico State over the weekend.
WAC NOTES
LOUISIANA TECH’S DAGEFORD NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Louisiana Tech outfielder Devon Dageford has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for Apr. 27 ? May 3.
Dageford, a junior from Beatrice, Neb. (Beatrice HS), helped the Bulldogs to a 5-0 road record last week with four wins at Hawai?i and another at Sacramento State. Dageford batted .500 (10-for-20) with six runs scored, six RBI, two home runs, three doubles, one triple, two walks and a stolen base. Dageford just missed achieving the cycle at Hawai?i on Saturday as he went 3-for-5 at the plate with a home run, triple and a double with three RBI. Dageford finished the week with a 1.050 slugging percentage and a perfect fielding percentage.
The other hitter of the week nominations were Fresno State junior first baseman Alan Ahmady, Nevada freshman designated hitter/outfielder Nick Melino and New Mexico State junior infielder Wade Reynoso.
LOUISIANA TECH’S STEFAN NAMED WAC CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Louisiana Tech right-handed pitcher Jeb Stefan has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for Apr. 27 ? May 3.
Stefan, a freshman from Lafayette, La. (Acadiana HS), threw 7.2 innings in a series-opening win at Hawai?i. Stefan struck out a career-high 12 batters and forced a double play to earn the victory. Stefan held the Rainbows hitless through the first four innings. He allowed only five hits and one run to pick up his fourth win of the season.
The other pitcher of the week nominations were Fresno State senior Holden Sprague, Nevada junior Chris Garcia and New Mexico State junior Jared Jordan.
2009 WAC 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.
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 6, 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 25, followed by San Jose State at 98.
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 FIVE NCAA STATISTICAL CATEGORIES
As of May 3, New Mexico State ranks fifth or better in nine team statistical categories. The Aggies lead the nation in scoring (11.7), runs (563), home runs (104), slugging percentage (.624) and base on ball (347). NMSU also ranks second in the nation in hits (624) and home runs per game (2.17). Individually, NMSU’s Bryan Marquez leads the nations in RBI with 79 and RBI per game at 1.68.
HAWAI?I STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE NOW RANKS NINTH IN THE NATION
UH’s strength of schedule is ranked ninth on the WarrenNolan.com website. Hawai?i has an RPI of 25 according to the website. Nine of UH’s 17 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 21 home runs this season and 49 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 honord 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 819-643-4. 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 717-536-6 in charge at his alma mater. Fresno State head coach Mike Batesole is now just three wins shy of his 500th. Batesole currently holds a 497-348-1 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.