THIS WEEK IN WAC BASEBALL
WAC baseball officially opens conference play this weekend as six of the league's seven teams will be in action. Louisiana Tech hosts San Jose State, Nevada travels to play New Mexico State, and Hawai‘i hosts Fresno State.
WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (17-12, 0-0 WAC)
In the final weekend of non-conference play the Bulldogs went 3-1 and swept CSU Bakersfield over the weekend and lost to Cal in a mid week game ... the ‘Dogs recorded a batting average of .361 last week ... the team hit eight home runs, four of which were from Jordan Ribera ... the pitching staff combined for an ERA of 5.50 and 34 strikeouts ... Greg Gonzalez had a career-high weekend throwing five innings and striking out seven in the final game against the Roadrunners ... the Bulldogs also defeated Cal Poly 7-5 at home on Tuesday night ... the ‘Dogs now head to Honolulu to play a four-game series against Hawai‘i as the team opens conference play.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (16-12, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai‘i went 3-1 last week with an 8-6 win at San Diego before taking two of three games at home against Gonzaga ... Josh Slaats led the team on the mound last week, pitching 7.0 innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out 10 as he picked up the win over Gonzaga ... Slaats pitched his third home outing in a row without giving up a run, running his home scoreless inning streak to 20.0 innings ... Slaats also pitched his second 10-strikeout outing in his last three starts, tying a career-high ... Slaats received WAC pitcher of the week honors for his performance ... Christian Johnson led UH at the plate, batting .400 over the four games with one run scored, one home run and five RBI.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (15-12, 0-0 WAC)
Tech swept Texas Wesleyan last weekend including two ten run rule games lasting just seven innings … Louisiana Tech also dropped a 10-7 decision to LSU-Shreveport on Tuesday at Fair Grounds Field … Joey Ford has led Louisiana Tech over the last four games, batting .615 with eight hits, two doubles and eight RBI ... Ford has also scored a pair of runs over those four games ... Kyle Roliard has also had a hot bat over the past four games, batting .500 with seven hits, six runs scored, one home run and six RBI ... Trevor Petersen picked up a win last week, going 6.0 innings without giving up a run ... Petersen also tallied four strikeouts while only giving up three hits ... this week, Louisiana Tech opens conference play at home against San Jose State.
Nevada Wolf Pack (15-11, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada swept Seattle in a three-game series in Reno last week ... the Wolf Pack defeated Seattle, 12-10, 17-3 and 5-4 ... Nick Melino led the Pack with a .667 hitting performance during the series, collecting six hits, one double, three runs scored and three RBI ... Kevin Rodland was also impressive, batting .455 with three home runs and 10 RBI ... Shaun Kort’s 63 career doubles ranks 12th in WAC history and his 199 career RBI is 13th ... Gary Powers coached 1,500th career game at Nevada versus Seattle on Saturday which resulted in a 12-10 Wolf Pack victory his 833 in his 28th season in Reno ... Kevin Rodland’s five home runs this season is a career high as he hit three each of the two previous seasons.
New Mexico State Aggies (22-10, 0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State went a perfect 5-0 last week to extend the Aggies’ winning streak to 11 games, just one off the school record of 12 ...
New Mexico State defeated Texas Tech 6-2 before sweeping Houston Baptist in a four-game series in Texas ... Nate Shaver led the team at the plate, hitting .611 with 11 hits, three doubles, one home run and seven RBIs during the week ... Chace Perkins led the team with 11 RBI while hitting .455 with three home runs ... Leo Aguirre hit .565 with 13 hits over the five games with six doubles and seven RBI ... this week, New Mexico State opens conference play at home against Nevada.
Sacramento State Hornets (11-16-1, 0-0 WAC)
Sacramento State has gone 4-2 in its past six games ... the team defeated Albany at home 22-2 before taking two of three games from UC Santa Barbara at home ... the Hornets then defeated San Francisco State 10-3 before dropping a 5-4 decision in 11 innings on Wednesday at San Francisco ... over those six games, Trevor Paine has led the team at the plate, batting .462 with 12 hits, five runs scored, one double, one home run and six RBI ... Kirby Young has led the team over the six games with 11 RBI, while Josh Powers has led the team with eight runs scored ... on the mound, Brandon Creel picked up a victory as he pitched 8.0 innings without giving up a run and while only giving up one hit.
San Jose State Spartans (11-15, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State opens defense of its 2009 Western Athletic Conference title in earnest this weekend, with a four-game series against Louisiana Tech in Ruston, La. ... the Spartans went a perfect 5-0 against the Bulldogs a year ago ... they first begin a season-long six-game road stretch at USF in mid-week, concluding the annual home-and-home set between area rivals, having topped the Dons at home last month, 5-3 ... San Jose State snapped a seven-game losing skid, its longest since ending the 2006 campaign with eight straight defeats, by rallying to top BYU, 5-3, on Saturday, April 3 ... that result marked Sam Piraro’s 1000th win over a 33-year head-coaching career at all levels.
WAC NOTES
NEW MEXICO STATE’S AGUIRRE NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
New Mexico State’s Leo Aguirre has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for March 29-April 4.
Aguirre, a senior from Austin, Texas (James Bowie HS), hit .565 (13-for-23) to lead New Mexico State to a 5-0 record with wins over Texas Tech and Houston Baptist. Aguirre did not strike out once in 23 at-bats last week. After going 3-for-3 against Texas Tech and 10-for-20 in a three-game series at Houston Baptist, Aguirre now leads the WAC with a .444 batting average. On the week, Aguirre posted six doubles, seven RBI and seven runs scored to go along with a .826 slugging percentage and a .630 on-base percentage. Playing first base for most of the week, Aguirre was able to stay error free in helping the Aggies commit only five errors in five games played last week.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Fresno State junior Bobby Coyle … Hawai‘i senior Christian Johnson … Louisiana Tech sophomore Kyle Roliard … Nevada senior Kevin Rodland … Sacramento State senior Josh Powers.
HAWAI‘I’S SLAATS NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Hawai‘i’s Josh Slaats has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for March 29-April 4.
Slaats, a junior from San Ramon, Calif. (California HS), pitched 7.0 innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out 10. Slaats pitched his third home outing in a row without giving up a run, extending his home scoreless inning streak to 20.0 innings. The junior also pitched his second 10-strikeout outing in his last three starts, tying a career high. On the season, Slaats is now 3-1 with a 1.03 ERA, striking out 41 in 35.0 innings pitched.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Fresno State junior Greg Gonzalez … Louisiana Tech senior Jamey Bradshaw … Nevada freshman Tom Jameson … New Mexico State senior Justin Cooper … Sacramento State freshman Brandon Creel.
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.
NEW MEXICO STATE LEADS NATION IN HOME RUNS, SIX OTHER NCAA STAT CATEGORIES
Teams from the WAC rank in the top-10 nationally in 14 team statistical categories and 14 individual catergories. New Mexico State leads the WAC, ranking first in the nation in seven team categories. The Aggies rank first in the nation in runs (376), hits (448), doubles (89), home runs per game (2.25), home runs (72), walks (235) and double plays (38). Fresno State leads the nation in double plays per game at 1.32 per game. Individually, NM State’s Ryan Aguayo leads the nation in runs with 51.
HAWAI‘I LEADS WAC WITH RPI RANKING OF 44
Hawai‘i’s early season schedule has already started to get some notice as UH ranks No. 44 in the RPI ratings with the No. 15 strength of schedule on BoydsWorld.com, while ranking No. 46 in the RPI ratings on WarrenNolan.com, with the No. 35 strength of schedule. Also, according to WarrenNolan.com, 21 of UH’s 28 games thus far have come against teams in the top 54 of the RPI, only excluding Air Force and Gonzaga. UH opened the season with eight games vs. ranked teams. UH is one of three teams in the WAC with top100-RPIs at 44, followed by Fresno State (71) and New Mexico State (87).
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.