WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (13-12, 0-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs won three of five games this last week and are 13-12 on the season … the ‘Dogs beat Cal Poly, 10-9, on Tuesday before winning a three-game series against UC Davis … the Bulldogs also dropped an 8-5 decision at Cal on Tuesday … the Bulldogs won the first two games, 9-2 and 7-6 before losing the final game, 7-2 against UC Davis … Fresno State hit .288 with four home runs and 32 RBIs … the pitching staff combined for 33 strikeouts on the week … Fresno State returns to action on April 2 at Cal State Bakersfield … Defensively, Danny Muno was perfect and helped turn seven double plays in five games … Muno was also perfect in stolen bases with three … Muno hit .421 with three doubles, a home run and five RBIs.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (14-11, 0-0 WAC)
Greg Garcia carried a .429 batting average with seven runs, three RBI, three doubles and a triple last week for Hawai‘i as the team went 3-2 on the team’s first road trip of the season … UH defeated Long Beach State 8-2 before dropping two of three games at Cal State Fullerton … the team wrapped up the road trip on March 29 with an 8-6 win at San Diego … UH now returns home to host Gonzaga … Matt Sisto led UH on the mound … Sisto picked up two wins in two starts this past week, beating Air Force on March 22 before picking up the win at Cal State Fullerton on March 28.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (12-11, 0-0 WAC)
Tech went 3-1 last week with a 2-1 series win over Minnesota and a mid-week win over Grambling ... Saturday’s win over Minnesota was the first ever at Target Field ... now the Bulldogs prepare to face Texas-Wesleyan in a three-game home series this weekend ... Clint Ewing hit the first ever home run at the Twin’s new Target Field Saturday vs. Minnesota to help lead the Bulldogs to a 9-1 win while batting .364 on the week with a .727 slugging percentage and .467 on base percentage as Tech went 3-1 on the week ... Trevor Petersen received WAC player of the week honors after he earned the first ever win at the Twin’s new Target Field as he tossed 6.2 scoreless innings for the Bulldogs vs. Minnesota Saturday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (12-11, 0-0 WAC)
In a three-game series against No. 18 UC Irvine last week, Nevada took the series with a 2-1 advantage ... the Wolf Pack defeated UC Irvine 5-3 and 6-4 in the first two games of the series before dropping the finale 10-3 ... Brock Stassi was named the WAC’s Hitter of the Week after batting .875 with three runs scored, seven hits, one double, three triples, one home run and one RBI ... Nevada collected seven triples in the UC Irvine series, five in game two ... Stassi had 3 triples on the weekend, two in game two ... head coach Gary Powers will coach his 1500th game for Nevada on April 1 against Seattle and is currently 832-663-4 in his 28th season, all at Nevada ... he is the longest tenured coach in Nevada history.
NM State Aggies (18-10, 0-0 WAC)
NThe Aggies hit six home runs and scored a total of 54 runs as a team in a series sweep of Wofford last week … according to Boydsworld.com, NM State leads the nation in slugging percentage (.642), runs (319) and home runs(63) … Leo Aguirre struck out only one time in 17 at-bats as the Aggies swept Wofford in a four-game series this past weekend … Aguirre finished the weekend hitting .706 and a team-leading 12 RBI … eight of those RBI came in the series finale when he went 5-of-6 with two home runs … he also crossed the plate four times himself … junior Dan Ried faced 27 Terrier batters striking out six of them in 6.0 innings of worked … he was consistent as he didn’t give up a single walk, while giving up only two earned runs off eight hits.
Sacramento State Hornets (8-14-1, 0-0 WAC)
Sacramento State went 1-2 against Cal State Northridge last week and then returned home to defeat Albany, 22-2, on Wednesday ... over the past four games, Sacramento State is 2-2 ... the team has been led at the plate by Trevor Bloom, who hit .429 over the four games with six hits, three doubles, two RBI and three walks ... Trevor Paine has also been impressive over the past four games, hitting .400 with six runs scored, two doubles, four home runs and eight RBI ... on the mound, Jesse Darrah led the Horntets last week with a 1-0 record after pitching 8.0 innings while only giving up four hits and two runs ... this week, Sacramento State continues play at home against UC Santa Barbara.
SJSU Spartans (9-13, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State has lost five straight games for the first time since concluding the 2006 season with eight straight defeats ... at 9-13, the Spartans are four games under .500 for the first time since finishing 2004 at 23-31-1 ... SJSU and Pacific tied a 20-plus-year-old NCAA Division I record by combining for 10 double plays on Sunday, March 28, with five apiece ... Spartan right-hander Sean Martin became the first pitcher in recent program and conference memory to go longer than 9.0 innings on the mound, tossing the first 10 full innings in the series finale at UOP, a 3-2 SJSU loss in 11 innings ... Jason Martin’s then-WAC-best 14-game hit streak was snapped with an 0-for-4 effort on Saturday, March 27 ... the Spartans next face a three-game home set with BYU before opening WAC play the following weekend in Ruston, La.
WAC NOTES
NEVADA’S STASSI NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Nevada designated hitter Brock Stassi has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for March 23-28.
Stassi, a junior from Yuba City, Calif. (Yuba City HS), hit .875 (7-for-8) to lead Nevada to a 2-1 record against No. 18 UC Irvine. He had three runs scored, a double, three triples, a home run and one RBI over the three games. His slugging percentage for the week was 2.125 and he finished with a .909 on-base percentage. In the series opener, he was 2-for-2 with two runs scored, a triple, a home run and one RBI. On Saturday, he was again perfect, going 4-for-4 with a run scored and two triples. In the finale, he pitched and hit, going 1-for-2 with a double and was intentionally walked twice. In the series he was intentionally walked three times by the Anteaters.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Fresno State junior Danny Muno … Hawai‘i junior Greg Garcia … Louisiana Tech junior Clint Ewing … New Mexico State senior Leo Aguirre … Sacramento State junior Trevor Paine.
LOUISIANA TECH’S PETERSEN NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Louisiana Tech pitcher Trevor Petersen has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for March 23-28.
Petersen, a freshman from Hallsville, Texas (Hallsville HS), earned the first ever win at the Twin’s new Target Field as he tossed 6.2 scoreless innings for the Bulldogs vs. Minnesota Saturday. He also pitched two scoreless innings vs. Grambling earlier in the week.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Fresno State sophomore Josh Poytress … Hawai’i sophomore Matt Sisto … Nevada senior Chris Garcia … New Mexico State junior Dan Reid … San Jose State sophomore Sean Martin.
WAC TEAMS RANK 10th OR BETTER IN 13 TEAM AND 11 INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL STATISTICAL CATEGORIES
Teams from the WAC rank in the top-10 nationally in 13 team statistical categories and 11 individual catergories. New Mexico State leads the WAC, ranking first in the nation in six team categories. The Aggies rank first in the nation in runs (319), hits (381), home runs per game (2.33), home runs (63), slugging percentage (.642) and base on balls (198). Fresno State leads the nation in double plays with 76. Individually, NM State’s Ryan Aguayo leads the nation in runs (43), while Hawai‘i’s Alex Capaul leads the nations in walks allowed per nine innings at 0.36.
HAWAI‘I LEADS WAC WITH RPI RANKING OF 35
Hawai‘i’s early season schedule has already started to get some notice as UH ranks No. 35 in the RPI ratings with the No. 9 strength of schedule on BoydsWorld.com, while ranking No. 36 in the RPI ratings on WarrenNolan.com, with the No. 14 strength of schedule. UH opened the season with eight games vs. ranked teams, hosting No. 10 Oregon State and No. 25 Oregon for four-game series. Stanford, which will host the Rainbows later in the year, is in this week’s poll at No. 28, while The Citadel, who UH split a four-game series with earlier this season, entered the poll at No. 25. The Rainbows’ non-conference schedule ranked 22nd according to the Boyd’s World pre-season rankings. Also ranking in the top-80 in RPI in the conference are New Mexico State (71) and Fresno State (78). As a conference, the WAC holds an RPI ranking of 12.
SAN JOSE STATE TIES NCAA SINGLE GAME DOUBLE PLAYS RECORD
San Jose State and Pacific combined to tie the NCAA Division I record for most double plays by two teams in a single game, when they turned a total of 10, five apiece, on Sunday, March 28, at UOP’s Klein Family Field. The teams now share the record that was originally set more than 20 years ago, when Georgetown (6) and George Mason (4) accomplished it on April 4, 1989. A 3-6-3 twin killing, from first baseman Breyon Canez, to shortstop Zack Jones, and back to Canez, ended the 10th and tied the mark.
LOUISIANA TECH SETS NUMEROUS MARKS AGAINST MINNESOTA IN FIRST-EVER GAME PLAYED AT TARGET FIELD
Louisiana Tech’s match-up against Minnesota on Saturday March 27 was the first ever game played at the Minnesota Twin’s brand new Major League Baseball Stadium, Target Field. Louisiana Tech set numerous Target Field firsts, including the first win, hit, home run, triple, double, RBI, run, walk, double-play, and hit-by-pitch. The game at Target Field was the second-largest crowd ever to attend a college baseball game at 36,056.
NEVADA’S STASSI NAMED COLLEGEBASEBALLINSIDER.COM WEST REGION PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR SECOND TIME THIS SEASON
Nevada junior designated hitter Brock Stassi has added another honor being named the Collegebaseballinsider.com West Region Player of the Week in addition to his Western Athletic Conference Hitter of the Week honor announced on Monday. It marks the second time this season Stassi has earned both honors as he was selected the opening weekend of the season, Feb. 15-21.
NEW MEXICO STATE’S AGUAYO NAMED TO NATIONAL SHORTSTOP OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
New Mexico State shortstop Ryan Aguayo was named to the 2010 Brooks Wallace Award watch list, Tuesday, March 23, which was released by the College Baseball Foundation. The Wallace Award, sponsored by Mizuno, goes to the nation’s top shortstop and will be presented on July 2, 2010, in Lubbock, Texas as a part of the College Baseball Awards show. Aguayo (Pico Rivera, Calif.) is currently second on the team with a .414 batting average, while he is currently on an eight-game hitting streak. His play on defense is just as good as he has come up with 80 assists while committing just nine errors to come up with a fielding percentage of .929. He has played in all 23 games this season and has started 21 of those 23 games.
THREE WAC PLAYERS NAMED CANDIDATES FOR LOWES SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Louisiana Tech’s Devon Dageford, New Mexico State’s Mike Sodders and San Jose State’s Corey Valine have been selected as three of just thirty student-athletes in the nation to be a candidate for the 2010 baseball Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School™, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: classroom, community, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards that a senior season can bring.
ROCKY WARD BECOMES ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACH AT NM STATE
New Mexico State head baseball coach Rocky Ward recently became the all-time winningest coach at NM State surpassing Jim Kwasny who tallied 300 wins from 1969-82. Ward, who is in his 12th season as Aggie head coach, picked up win No. 301 when his team defeated
Akron 8-3 in game one of a doubleheader, Saturday, Feb. 27 at Presley Askew Field.
HAWAI‘I’S LINSKY REGISTERS THREE SAVES IN THREE STRAIGHT GAMES
Lenny Linsky posted three saves in three consecutive games during the weekend series vs. Oregon (Feb. 25, 26, 28), becoming the first player in program history to accomplish that feat. Linsky pitched two perfect innings in the series opener, striking out three for the save. He then allowed a hit in a one-inning save on Feb. 26 before retiring the final two batters in the first game of the doubleheader on Feb. 28.
THREE WAC PLAYERS ON 2010 NCBWA PRESEASON TEAM
Three WAC baseball players have been named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Pro-Line Athletic Preseason All-America team. Louisiana Tech’s Devon Dageford and New Mexico State’s Mike Sodders each earned fi rst team honors, while Fresno State’s Dusty Robinson was named to the third team.
SACRAMENTO STATE’S JOHN SMITH TO STEP DOWN AS HEAD BASEBALL COACH FOLLOWING 2010 SEASON
Sacramento State head baseball coach John Smith has announced that he will be retiring at the end of the 2010 season, which will be his 32nd season at the helm of the program. In his 31 years as the head coach at Sacramento State, Smith has compiled 861 victories in the Green and Gold. Since taking over the program in November of 1978, Smith has produced 16 winning seasons, including 11 years with at least 30 wins and four years with at least 40 victories. A two-time American Baseball Coaches Association West Region Coach of the Year, Smith led the Hornets to the Division II College World Series in 1986 and 1988. The 1986 club defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills in the West Regional before posting a 2-2 record at the CWS. The 1988 team made it to the doorstep of the National Championship, before falling in the title game to Florida Southern, 5-4.
2010 WAC TOURNAMENT HEADS TO MESA’S HOHOKAM STADIUM
The WAC has awarded the City of Mesa the WAC Baseball Tournament for 2010, 2011 and 2012, WAC Commissioner Karl Benson announced this past May. The event will be played at Mesa’s Hohokam Stadium, the Chicago Cubs Spring Training home. The City of Mesa, Mesa Convention & Visitors Bureau and Phoenix Regional Sports Commission worked in tandem to secure the event which features Hawai‘i, Fresno State, Louisiana Tech, Sacramento State, Nevada, New Mexico State and San Jose State. 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. Mesa has fast become the third largest metropolitan city in the state of Arizona off ering a variety of lifestyle and leisure pursuits that are in high demand by visitors and residents alike. Now boasting 460,000 residents, Mesa’s population is greater than such well-known cities as Minneapolis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Miami. Mesa is unique among cities in the Phoenix area as it is embraced by the Sonoran Desert – a playground for sought-after outdoor recreation and one-of-a-kind attractions. As a sports destination, Mesa shines off ering some of the nation’s best training facilities for field sports paired with unbeatable year-round weather and award-winning hotels. Mesa has been recognized as one of the country’s most desirable destinations for hosting dynamic sporting events and athletic competitions on all levels: amateur, youth, collegiate, and professional. Hohokam Stadium is best known as the winter home of the Chicago Cubs and is major league baseball’s most popular spring training venue. Boasting one of the largest capacities in the Cactus League, more than 240,000 attendees pass through its gates each March. In addition to hosting Cactus League Spring Training, Hohokam Stadium is also the home of the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League. Hohokam Stadium and adjacent training facility opened in February 1997. The stadium seats 13,030 and includes one practice field and one practice infield.