THIS WEEK IN WAC BASEBALL
Hawai‘i (33-26) will play in the Tempe, Ariz., regional in the NCAA Tournament, facing San Diego (36-20) in their first game on Friday, June 4, at Packard Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University. Arizona State (47-8), the tournament’s overall No. 1 seed, is the host of the regional, and will face Milwaukee (33-24) in their first round game. The Rainbows faced the Toreros once during the regular season, winning 8-6 in a game that featured a grand slam by Christian Johnson. Hawai‘i earned the No. 3 seed in the regional after winning the Western Athletic Conference Tournament with a 9-6 victory over Fresno State Sunday.
WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (38-25, 16-8 WAC)
The Bulldogs went 3-2 at this year’s WAC Tournament in Mesa ... the team, going 2-0 against San Jose State and 1-2 against Hawai‘i ... the team dropped a 9-6 decision to Hawai‘i in the championship game of the WAC Tournament ... Bobby Coyle led the Bulldogs at the tournament, going 12-for-23 at the plate with a .522 average ... Coyle also registered one home run, seven runs scored, four doubles and seven RBI ... Danny Muno was also impressive at the tournament, batting .435 with nine runs, two doubles, one triple, two home runs and six RBI ... Muno batted for the cycle in a game against UH ... Charlie Robertson pitched 7.0 innings while only giving up one run with five strikeouts to pick up a win at the tournament.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (33-26, 12-12 WAC)
Hawai‘i won its first WAC postseason championship since 1992 ... UH went 4-1 at the WAC Tournament ... the Rainbows won their first three games before falling to Fresno State ... UH then came back and won the title with a 9-6 win over Fresno State on championship Sunday ... Kolten Wong picked up tournament MVP honors as he batted .500 with 10 runs scored, one double, one triple, three home runs, eight RBI and six walks ... Collin Bennett hit .565 with eight runs, seven doubles and six RBI ... UH had three pitchers give up only two runs or less each ... Lenny Linsky led the way as he pitched 5.1 innings with one save and one win as he struck out five while only giving up one run.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (27-30, 11-13 WAC)
Louisiana Tech dropped out of the tournament after losing its first two games ... the Bulldogs dropped an 8-7 decision to Hawai‘i on a walk-off home run before falling 3-1 to Nevada ... Clint Stubbs led the team with a .571 average at the plate with two runs, one double, one triple and an RBI ... Clint Ewing hit .375 with two runs, one home runs and two RBI ... Mike Jefferson led Louisiana Tech on the mound, going 6.2 innings while only giving up one run ... Jefferson also compiled nine strikeouts in his one appearance.
Nevada Wolf Pack (36-22-1, 14-9-1 WAC)
Nevada ended its season at the WAC tournament with a 2-2 record in Mesa ... the Pack dropped a 6-0 decision to San Jose State in the first game of the tournament before winnings its next two, 3-1 vs. LA Tech and 5-4 vs. NM State ... Nick Melino fronted Nevada at the plate, batting .417 with three runs, one double, one home run, four RBI and four walks ... Tom Jameson was selected to the all-tournament team as the freshman nearly threw a perfect game, going 8.0 innings with four strikeouts while only giving up a single hit and one walk ... Jesse Rasner pitched 6.1 innings with four strikeouts while giving up one run.
New Mexico State Aggies (36-23-1, 14-9-1 WAC)
New Mexico State dropped its first two games at the WAC tournament, falling 13-7 to Hawai‘i before taking a 5-4 loss to Nevada ... Nate Shaver led the Aggies at the plate, batting .700 with four runs, one double, one triple and one RBI ... Shaver was named to the all-tournament team for his efforts ... Ben Harty led the team with four RBI and a pair of doubles ... Daniel Simon and Ryan Beck each went 5.1 innings for New Mexico State ... Simon collected six strikeouts with only two earned runs scored, while Beck compiled four strikeouts with only a pair of earned runs.
Sacramento State Hornets (18-35-1, 7-17 WAC)
The Sacramento State baseball team completed the 2010 season and played the final game of the John Smith era on Sunday, May 23 at Beiden Field in Fresno, dropping an 8-4 decision to the Fresno State Bulldogs ... coach Smith retires after 32 seasons at the helm of the Sacramento State program ... Smith has produced 11 seasons with at least 30 wins and four years with at least 40 wins ... his teams have advanced to the NCAA West Regionals on four occasions and to the College World Series twice, finishing second in the nation in 1988 ... under Coach Smith, 83 Hornets have signed professional contracts, 44 have earned all-conference honors since 1993, and 16 have earned All-America honors.
San Jose State Spartans (23-37, 9-15 WAC)
San Jose State went 2-2 at the WAC Tournament in Mesa, Arizona ... the team defeated Nevada 6-0 in its opener before dropping a 12-10 decision to Fresno State ... the team then defeated Nevada 7-6 and then lost again to Fresno State, 13-1 ... Tim Quiery hit .438 at the plate with four runs, two doubles, five RBI and a pair of walks ... Karson Klauer also hit well, batting .313 with three runs, two home runs and six RBI ... Zack Jones hit a walk-off home run to defeat Nevada 7-6 ... Blake McFarland led SJSU on the mound, pitching 8.0 innings without giving up a single run ... McFarland gave up only six hits and had four strikeouts as he was named to the all-touranment team.
WAC NOTES
HAWAI‘I CLAIMS 2010 WAC TOURNAMENT BASEBALL TITLE
Hawai‘i (33-26) won its first conference tournament title in 18 years, defeating the Fresno State Bulldogs (38-25) 9-6 in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game at Hohokam Stadium Sunday. Sam Spangler (5-6) got the win, allowing just one run in 3.1 innings while Lenny Linsky picked up his 12th save of the season, allowing no earned runs in 2.2 innings. Derek Benny (1-3) took the loss for Fresno State. This is the first WAC title for the Rainbows since 1992 and clinches UH’s first appearance in an NCAA Regional since 2006.
All-Tournament Team
David Freitas, C, Hawai‘i
Kolten Wong, INF, Hawai‘i
Danny Muno, INF, Fresno State
Jordan Ribera, INF, Fresno State
Karson Klauer, INF, San Jose State
Collin Bennett, OF, Hawai‘i
Nate Shaver, OF, New Mexico State
Brennan Gowens, OF, Fresno State
Tom Jameson, P, Nevada
Blake McFarland, P, San Jose State
Bobby Coyle, DH, Fresno State
MVP: Kolten Wong, Hawai‘i
2010 WAC ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS ANNOUNCED
The Western Athletic Conference released its 2010 all-WAC baseball teams and postseason awards as selected by the league’s head coaches. Fresno State junior first baseman Jordan Ribera was named the Player of the Year and Nevada junior Brock Stassi earned Pitcher of the Year honors. The Freshman of the Year award went to San Jose State’s Zack Jones. Fresno State’s Mike Batesole was named WAC Coach of the Year.
FIRST TEAM All-WAC
Bobby Coyle, DH, Jr., Fresno State
Greg Gonzalez, SP, Jr., Fresno State
Jordan Ribera, 1B, Jr., Fresno State
Dusty Robinson, OF, So., Fresno State
Greg Garcia, SS, Jr., Hawai‘i
Lenny Linsky, RP, So., Hawai‘i
Jeffrey Van Doornum, DH, Jr., Hawai‘i
Kolten Wong, 2B, So., Hawai‘i
Devon Dageford, OF, Sr., Louisiana Tech
Mark Threlkeld, 3B, So., Louisiana Tech
Shaun Kort, 1B, Sr., Nevada
Brock Stassi, SP, Jr., Nevada
Leo Aguirre, 1B, Sr., New Mexico State
Blake McFarland, SP, Jr., San Jose State
Corey Valine, 3B/UTI, Sr., San Jose State
SECOND TEAM All-WAC
Danny Muno, 2B, Jr., Fresno State
Josh Poytress, SP, So., Fresno State
Garrett Weber, SS, Jr., Fresno State
Josh Slaats, SP, Jr., Hawai‘i
Clint Ewing, C, Jr., Louisiana Tech
Joey Ford, 2B, Jr., Louisiana Tech
Alex Williams, DH, So., Louisiana Tech
Brian Barnett, OF, Jr., Nevada
Jeremy Cole, SP, Jr., Nevada
Tyler Graham, RP, Sr., Nevada
Nick Melino, OF, So., Nevada
Brock Stassi, UTI, Jr., Nevada
Ryan Aguayo, SS, Jr., New Mexico State
Trevor Paine, DH, Jr., Sacramento State
Josh Powers, 1B, Sr., Sacramento State
Player of the Year: Jordan Ribera, Jr., Fresno State
Pitcher of the Year: Brock Stassi, Jr., Nevada
Freshman of the Year: Zack Jones, San Jose State
Coach of the Year: Mike Batesole, Fresno State
FRESNO STATE WINS 2010 WAC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP
Fresno State baseball clinched their fourth WAC regular season title in the last five years. The Bulldogs wrapped up WAC play with a 16-8-0 record, finishing a game and a half ahead of both New Mexico State and Nevada, who tied for the second spot.
TWO WAC PLAYERS EARN ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN HONORS
Louisiana Tech catcher Clint Ewing and San Jose State senior senior Karson Klauer were named to ESPN The Magazine’s Academic all-American third team. Ewing has excelled off the field as he currently holds an amazing perfect 4.0 GPA in civil engineering. Klauer has maintained a 3.91 grade-point average in business administration, with a concentration in management.
FRESNO STATE’S RIBERA NAMED DICK HOWSER TROPHY SEMIFINALIST
The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, working in conjunction with the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce and the College Baseball Foundation, has released the list of 25 semifinalists for the 2010 Dick Howser Trophy, given to the top player in collegiate baseball. Fresno State first baseman Jordan Ribera is one of the 25 semifinalists being listed in 2010.
FRESNO STATE’S ROBINSON EARNS LOUISVILLE SLUGGER NATIONAL PLAYER OF WEEK HONOR FOR MAY 3-9
Robinson, a sophomore from Bakersfield, Calif. (Centennial HS), hit .571 (12-for-21), helping the Bulldogs to a four-game series sweep at New Mexico State. Robinson recorded 11 runs, 12 hits, 12 RBI, four home runs, four walks, two doubles and a triple last week. Robinson is the third Bulldog to earn a national honor in 2010.
FIVE WAC PLAYERS EARN ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
Louisiana Tech’s Clint Ewing and New Mexico State’s Chris Auten have been named to the Distric VI academic all-district first team. LA Tech’s Devon Dageford earned district VI second team honors. San Jose State’s Karson Klauer and Jason Martin each earned District VIII first team honors.
NM STATE’S AGUIRRE NAMED COLLEGEINSIDER.com NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR APRIL 26-MAY 2
Aguirre went 10 for 17 (.588) in a four-game sweep of Louisiana Tech with four home runs, including a grand slam. Aguirre scored seven and drove in 13. He had an on-base percentage of .600 and slugging percentage of 1.294. Aguirre went 4 for 6 in the finale against the Bulldogs with two homers and seven RBI.
FRESNO STATE’S RIBERA EARNS NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS FOR WEEK OF APRIL 19-25
Fresno State first baseman Jordan Ribera was named the National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper for the week of April 19-25. Ribera, a junior from Fresno, Calif. (Clovis West HS), hit .625 (10-for-16), helping the Bulldogs to a pair of wins at Nevada last week. Ribera scored seven runs with two doubles, five home runs, nine RBI and a 1.688 slugging percentage over four games last week. Ribera is the second Bulldog to earn an National Player of the Week honor from Collegiate Baseball and third Bulldog to earn a WAC honor. He is the first Bulldog hitter to be honored.
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 743-566-6.
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 TWICE 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.
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.
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.
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.