THIS WEEK IN WAC BASEBALL
Conference play heads into its third week of action this weekend. WAC play features three series this weekend, including New Mexico State at Sacramento State, Hawai‘i at Louisiana Tech and Fresno State at Nevada. San Jose State steps out of conference play this week to face Wichita State on the road.
WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (22-16, 5-3 WAC)
The Bulldogs split their four-game series against Louisiana Tech ... the ‘Dogs lost the first two games of the weekend, but bounced back to win the final two games for the split ... the Bulldogs hit .329 with six doubles, a triple and seven home run ... Greg Gonzalez threw a complete game in his second start striking out a career-high 10 batters and Charlie Robertson struck out a career-high nine batters in his third victory of the year ... Jordan Ribera hit his 15th home run out of the park and is three behind the national leader ... Brennan Gowens went 9-for-17 with a double, a triple and four RBIs for a team high batting average of .529 over the weekend ... Fresno State hits the road for a four-game conference series against Nevada April 23-25.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (19-18, 2-6 WAC)
The Rainbows have gone 2-3 over their last five games ... Hawai‘i dropped its series at Sacramento State last week, 1-3 ... the Rainbows dropped the first two games against the Hornets, 11-6 and 2-3 before picking up a 7-4 victory ... UH then dropped the series finale 9-4 ... Hawai‘i did step out of conference play on April 20 to pick up a 5-2 win over Centenary ... Jeffrey Van Doornum has led the team at the plate over the past five games with a .368 average with two home runs, six RBI, seven hits, four runs scored and one double ... Connor Little and Jesse Moore each picked up wins on the mound this past week for the Rainbows ... this weekend, UH continues road play with a four-game series at Louisiana Tech.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (19-16, 4-4 WAC)
Louisiana Tech split its first WAC road series of the season with a 2-2 split at Fresno State this past weekend ... in the series against Fresno State, Mark Threlkeld led the team as he batted .471 over four games with an impressive .941 slugging percentage and 16 total bases ... Threlkeld also hit two homeruns in game one of the series and scored seven times with five RBI ... on the mound, Jamey Bradshaw upped his quality start streak to nine games in as many chances for the Bulldogs as he went eight strong innings in a 13-7 win over Fresno State ... Bradshaw held Fresno batters to just a .219 batting average in game one of the series while striking out six ... the Bulldogs now prepare to host Hawai‘i in Ruston for a four-game series.
Nevada Wolf Pack (20-13-1, 1-2-1 WAC)
Nevada stepped out of conference play last week and went a perfect 4-0 with an 8-5 win at home over St. Mary’s and a three-game sweep on the road against Seattle ... Brian Barnett led the Pack at the plate as he hit .500 (8-for-16) with 8 runs scored, 4 doubles, a home run and 8 RBI starting all four games in right field as the Pack went 4-0 ... Brock Stassi won his team leading fifth game of the season on the mound, allowing just one run on two hits, struck out six and walked just one in eight innings as the Pack defeated Seattle U., 4-1 on Sunday ... Chris Garcia and freshman Tom Jameson combined to shutout Seattle 22-0 allowing just one hit to the Redhawks ... Nevada’s 22 runs in the victory at Seattle were a season high.
New Mexico State Aggies (27-12-1, 5-2-1 WAC)
New Mexico State went 3-1 in a four-game series at San Jose State last week ... Senior Chris Auten hit .533 (8-of-15) and was errorless as he stepped in for the injured Ben Harty ... in the series opener, Auten was 3-of-5 with two runs scored, an RBI and a home run ... Auten helped lift NM State to a come back from a four-run deficit in game three to win 14-6 as he was 5-for-6 at the dish with five RBI, two runs scored and a grand-slam ...
sophomore Justin Cooper threw 7.1 innings, which is the longest outing for an Aggie pitcher this season ... Cooper picked up the win taking his record to a perfect 3-0 ...
this week, NM State travels to play Sacramento State in a four-game series.
Sacramento State Hornets (14-18-1, 3-1 WAC)
Sacramento State went 3-2 last week, taking three of four games at home from Hawai‘i in Sacramento State’s first WAC series of the season ... Andrew Ayers led the Hornets to the three game to one series victory over Hawai’i, knocking in seven runs over the four game series ... for the week, Ayers hit .450 with eight RBI, leading the Hornets to a 3-2 record ... on the mound, sophomore Jesse Darrah threw 7.2 innings, allowing one run on five hits in the Hornets 3-2 victory over Hawai’i on Friday afternoon ... adding in his one inning start on Tuesday, Darrah allowed just two runs over 8.2 innings, on a pair of solo home runs ... this week, Sacramento State hosts New mexico State in a four-game series.
San Jose State Spartans (14-21, 3-5 WAC)
San Jose State went 1-4 last week with a 2-1 loss at UC Davis before dropping three of four games at home to New Mexico State ... Alex Sofranac and Craig Hertler each hit .500 at the plate over the five games ... Sofranac registered eight hits with one double, one triple, four runs scored and four RBI ... Hertler collected a pair of RBI, one walk, was hit by a pitch twice and scored four runs ... Blake McFarland improved his record to 5-1 on the mound and continued his apparent role as staff stopper, leading the way to San Jose State snapping a three-game slide with an 11-6 home win over New Mexico State on Saturday ... the junior tossed the first eight innings, allowing five runs on eight hits and one walk, with five stikeouts.
WAC NOTES
NEVADA’S BARNETT NAMED VERIZON WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Nevada’s Brian Barnett has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for April 12-18.
Barnett, a junior outfielder/infielder from Reno, Nevada (Western Nevada/McQueen HS), hit .500 (8-for-16) to lead Nevada to a perfect 4-0 record last week. Barnett led the Wolf Pack to an 8-5 win over St. Mary’s and a three-game sweep at Seattle. Barnett recorded eight runs, four doubles, a home run and eight RBI while starting all four games in right field. He registered a .938 slugging percentage and had an on base percentage of .579. Barnett had three multi-hit games.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Fresno State sophomore Brennan Gowens … Hawai‘i junior Jeffrey Van Doornum … Louisiana Tech sophomore Mark Threlkeld … New Mexico State senior Chris Auten … Sacramento State freshman Andrew Ayers.
NEVADA’S STASSI NAMED VERIZON WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Nevada’s Brock Stassi has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for April 12-18.
Stassi, a junior from Yuba City, Calif. (Yuba City HS), won his team leading fifth game of the season, allowing just one run on two hits with six strikeouts in 8.0 innings pitched in a 4-1 victory against Seattle. The lone run allowed came in the first inning as he then pitched 7.1 shutout innings. He retired 11 batters in a row and 15 of the final 16 that he faced with the only runner reaching on an error. Stassi faced just three hitters in an inning five times. Only four batters reached base in his eight-inning performance.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Fresno State sophomore Charlie Robertson … Hawai‘i sophomore Jesse Moore … Louisiana Tech senior Jamey Bradshaw … New Mexico State sophomore Justin Cooper … Sacramento State sophomore Jesse Darrah … San Jose State junior Blake McFarland.
FRESNO STATE’S GONZALEZ THROWS NO-HITTER, EARNS LOUISVILLE SLUGGERS AND NCBWA PRO-LINE NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Greg Gonzalez was lifted into the limelight after throwing a no-hitter Saturday night. He was named the Louisville Sluggers and the NCBWA Pro-Line National Player of the Week. Gonzalez made history at Les Murakami Stadium, becoming the seventh Bulldog in Fresno State history to throw a no-hitter. In his first career start, the junior threw a complete game shutout over Hawai’i. Gonzalez silenced the Rainbow batters throwing his first career no-hitter. The last no-hitter by a Bulldog pitcher was in 1976 by Rob Cruess against Sacramento State. Gonzalez tied his career-high of seven strikeouts and threw seven innings, his longest outing of the season. Two walks stood between Gonzalez and a perfect game. The righty-handed pitcher faced just over the minimum of 22 batters and sat down 17 in order. He was named Baseball America’s Pitcher of the Night.
NEW MEXICO STATE LEADS NATION IN HITS, THREE OTHER NCAA STAT CATEGORIES
As of April 18, teams from the WAC rank in the top-10 nationally in 13 team statistical categories and six individual catergories. New Mexico State leads the WAC, ranking first in the nation in four team categories. The Aggies rank first in the nation in runs (445), hits (537), walks (276) and double plays (46).
SAN JOSE STATE’S PIRARO REACHES 1,000 WINS
Now in his 36th season, Sam Piraro achieved his latest milestone of 1,000 career head-coaching wins with a 5-3 home decision over BYU on Saturday, April 3. Piraro produced a 74-43 mark with the San Jose State junior varsity squad in three seasons (1974-76). In seven seasons (1980-86) at Mission College in Santa Clara, Calif., he went 190-70. In 23 campaigns as the Spartan head coach, Piraro is 737-555-6.
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. Linsky currently ranks 12th nationally with six saves this season.
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.