WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (6-1, 0-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs are 4-1 over their last five games ... the team defeated Oregon State 5-4 on Feb. 21 before sweeping Pepperdine in a three-game series (7-3, 7-5, 8-1) ... the Bulldogs then dropped an 11-4 decision against Cal Poly on March 1 ... over the past five games, Austin Wynns has led the team at the plate, batting .412 with seven hits, seven runs scored, one double and two RBI ... Danny Muno has also been impressive at the plate, hitting .357 with five hits, five runs, three doubles, one home run, eight RBI and 10 walks ... on the mound, Tom Harlan has posted a 0.75 ERA in 12.0 innings of work ... he also has six strikeouts with one victory to his credit ... this week, Fresno State travels to play UC Davis for a three-game set, starting Friday.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (3-4, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai‘i is 1-3 in its last four games ... the team dropped a 3-4 decision to Oregon on Feb. 21 before losing two of three games to seventh-ranked Texas ... UH did picked up a 5-4 victory over nationally-ranked Texas in the second game of the series ... Kolten Wong led the team at the plate over the four games, hitting .368 with seven hits, one double, one run, one walk and an RBI ... Zack Swasey hit .357 during the four games with five hits, two doubles and a team-high four RBI ... Blair Walters was impressive on the mound, pitching 7.1 innings without giving up a single run ... Walters had six strikeouts and only gave up five hits in his three appearances ... this week, UH heads out on the road to take on Loyola Marymount in a four-game series.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (6-2, 0-0 WAC)
Tech’s 6-1 start is the best start since 2008 and the best record in February during the Simoneaux era … Alex Williams and Joey Ford have hit safely in all seven games for Tech with Ford recording six multiple hit games … Williams, Will Alvis and Justin Gordey all tallied career-high RBI performances against McNeese State … Tech’s two wins at McNeese State were the first wins in Lake Charles since 2005 … Threlkeld had five consecutive hits against McNeese State with a career-high three doubles … Mike Jefferson faced the minimum through 5.2 innings against McNeese State and had a no-hit bid broken up in the sixth inning … Jeb Stefan (2-0) has allowed just one hit in 4.1 innings of work after returning from shoulder surgery last season.
Nevada Wolf Pack (0-6, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada catcher Michael Turay hit his first home run of the season in Saturday’s game against Loyola Marymount … RHP Mark Joukoff had the best start of his short career Sunday versus Loyola Marymount going six innings and giving up only three runs in a losing effort … RHP Matt Gardner struck out a career high four batters in Sunday’s game … the Wolf Pack’s opener was set for Tuesday against San Francisco State but has been pushed back due to field conditions ... the team’s home opener will now take place on Friday against in-state rival UNLV ... the Wolf Pack will play a three-game series against the Rebels that will take place Friday through Sunday.
NM State Aggies (8-0, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies opened the season with eight consecutive wins and lead the WAC in batting average (.408), slugging percentage (.618), on-base percentage (.508), runs scored (121), hits (128), RBI (117), and home runs (12) ... senior shortstop Ryan Aguayo had a stellar week at the plate with a .611 batting average as he went 11-for-18 in five games last week, with two perfect games at the plate ... he recorded 13 runs, three doubles, two home runs and 15 RBI ... senior right hander Dan Reid worked seven complete innings and was excellent as he gave up only one run to lead the Aggies to a 13-3 win over Buffalo ... this week, New Mexico State travels to Beaumont, Texas to compete in the YMBL Cardinal Classic.
Sacramento State Hornets (3-5, 0-0 WAC)
Sacramento State is 2-4 in its last six games ... the team defeated UC Davis 3-2 on Feb. 21 before dropping a game to Saint Mary’s and three to UC Riverside ... the team then bounced back with a 6-4 victory over UC Davis on March 1 ... Trevor Paine has led the Hornets at the plate over the past six games, collecting five hits, three runs, and a pair of RBI ... in their last game against UC Davis, Brent Hottman hit a bases clearing double, Young belted a two-run home run and reliever Brandon Sandoval made a miraculous catch that started the game-ending double play to claim the 6-4 win ... this week, Sacramento State travels to play Pacific on Wednesday before a three-game series at UC Santa Barbara.
SJSU Spartans (7-1, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State is off to an impressive 7-1 start after going 6-1 over the past week ... over the past seven games, SJSU has defeated Saint Mary’s (twice), UC Davis, Albany and No. 2 UCLA (2-of-3) ... over those seven games, Zach Jones has led the team at the plate, hitting .360 with nine hits, one double, one triple, two RBI and four walks ... Roberto Padilla was awarded this week’s WAC Pitcher of the Week honor as he pitched a complete game 5-3 win over No. 2 UCLA ... he made a total of 128 pitches, six strike outs and defeated preseason All-America honoree Trevor Bauer ... Padilla is now 2-0 ... this week, San Jose State hosts Santa Clara on Friday, travels to Santa Clara on Saturday and hosts Santa Clara on Sunday.
WAC NOTES
NEW MEXICO STATE’S AGUAYO NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
New Mexico State shortstop Ryan Aguayo has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for February 21-27.
Aguayo, a senior from Pico Rivera, Calif. (Servite HS), helped the Aggies to a 5-0 record last week with wins over New Mexico and Buffalo. Aguayo went 11-for-18 (.611) at the plate with 15 RBI and 13 runs scored. On the week, he posted three doubles, two home runs and six walks. He set a career high with eight RBI in a single game on Feb. 27 against Buffalo, while going a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate. Aguayo currently leads the WAC in hits (18), runs scored (16), RBI (17) and doubles (5).
The other hitter of the week nominations: Fresno State junior Dusty Robinson … Louisiana Tech junior Mark Threlkeld … Nevada junior Carlos Escobar … Sacramento State senior James Chamberlin … San Jose State senior Danny Stienstra.
SAN JOSE STATE’S PADILLA NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
San Jose State pitcher Roberto Padilla has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for February 21-27.
Padilla, a junior from Union City, Calif. (James Logan CC), registered a complete game 5-3 victory against No. 2 ranked UCLA in Los Angeles. He scattered five hits, allowing two in the second and three in the fifth. Padilla surrendered four walks, but none came around to score and he had three one-two-three innings. He made a total of 128 pitches and recorded five striketouts
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Fresno State junior Charlie Robertson … New Mexico State senior Dan Reid.
WAC TEAMS OFF TO STRONG START, TWO WAC TEAMS NATIONALLY RANKED
After just two weeks of play, WAC baseball teams are a combined 33-19 (.635). The WAC’s current top four teams have just four combined losses. New Mexico State leads the league with a perfect 8-0 record, followed by San Jose State (7-1), Fresno S tate (6-1) and Louisiana Tech (6-2). Fresno State is currently ranked in three national polls, coming in at No. 21 in the Collegiate Baseball Poll, No. 24 in Baseball American and No. 29 in the NCBWA poll. San Jose State is No. 30 in the Collegiate Baseball poll.
FRESNO STATE PICKED BY COACHES
Fresno State has been selected as the favorite to win the 2011 WAC regular season baseball crown in a vote by the league’s seven head coaches. Fresno State received 32 points and four first place votes after a 38-25 season last year. The Bulldogs have won the WAC regular season title four out of the past five seasons. Hawai‘i, last year’s WAC Tournament champion, ranked second with 30 points and two first place votes. UH was followed by Nevada with 25, San Jose State with 24, New Mexico State with 16 points, Louisiana Tech with 14, and Sacramento State with six.
2011 PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAM SELECTED
The coaches avoted on a preseason all-WAC team with Fresno State leading the way as it placed seven players on the team. Hawai‘i junior second baseman Kolten Wong was named the preseason player of the year, while San Jose State senior Blake McFarland was picked the preseason pitcher of the year.
2011 WAC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO MESA’S HOHOKAM STADIUM
After a succesful 2010 tournament, the WAC baseball tournament will return to Mesa, Arizona this 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 for a second-straight season, which features Hawai‘i, Fresno State, Louisiana Tech, Sacramento State, Nevada, New Mexico State and San Jose State. The City of Mesa will once again host the double-elimination tournament with the winner earning the WAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.