WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (18-2, 0-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs earned their sixth sweep over a opponent after beating San Diego 6-0, 3-2 and 7-4. The Dogs hit .237 with eight doubles, a home run and 14 RBIs ... Fresno State broke a school record after winning a 22-inning game that last seven hours and 12 minutes .. the pitching staff recorded an ERA of 1.35 against the Toreros and struck out 33 batters ... eight of ten pitchers that threw over the weekend allowed no runs ... Greg Gonzalez was named the WAC’s pitcher of the week after picking up a win iin 7.0 innings of work while giving up only a single run ... the Dogs conclude the non-conference schedule with a three-game series against San Francisco at Beiden Field April 1-3.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (12-13, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai‘i was swept at home in a four-game series against 13th-ranked Cal State Fullerton ... Cal State Fullerton won the series by scores of 3-0, 4-2, 4-2 and 3-2 ... UH’s Michael Blake led the team at the plate during the series, hitting .286 with four hits, a pair of RBIs, a double and one run scored ... Jeff Van Doornum helped the team with three hits, two walks, a double and a triple ... on the mound, Matt Sisto led UH with a 1.29 ERA, pitching 7.0 innings while only giving up one earned run ... Sisto also had four strikeouts in hist outing ... Hawai‘i also picked up a win on Wednesday night, dowing Wichita State 8-7 in 12 innings in Honolulu ... Hawai‘i will continue play against the Shockers on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (13-12, 0-0 WAC)
Tech’s walk-off win against UTPA on Saturday was the second of the season… the win marked the first time that Tech had overcome a deficit in the ninth to win a game since May 21, 2009 against Hawai’i ... additionally, Kyle Roliard’s walk-off bunt single was the first walk-off hit for the Bulldogs since Roliard accomplished the same feat last season against Texas-Wesleyan … Joey Ford now has 12 multi-hit performances this season including four in the last five games … Mark Threlkeld has made 95 consecutive starts at third … Joey Ford (5), Kyle Roliard (5), Mark Threlkeld (6), Will Alvis (3) and Clint Ewing (4) all extended hitting streaks this weekend ... LA Tech continues play against LSU-Shreveport on Friday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (5-15, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada went 1-2 at Washington last week ... all three contests at UW were one-run contests as Nevada won the first game 2-1 before dropping the next two, 4-3 and 5-4 ... Matt Gardner earned his third save of the season facing just three hitters in the 9th at Washington on Friday ... Gardner has saved three of Nevada’s victories and has yet to allow an earned run this season ... five different Pack pitchers have accounted for a win this season ... Hugo Hernandez led the Pack at the plate in the series, hitting .500 with five hits, one double and an RBI ... Nevada begins a 9-game homestand starting Friday vs. Utah Valley University.
NM State Aggies (19-5, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies went a perfect 4-0 last week in a four-game series at home against Binghamton ... the team defeated Binghamton 18-3, 9-6, 13-5 and 7-3 ... Chuck Howard led the Aggies at the plate with a .545 batting average ... Howard also tallied six hits, six runs, one double, one walk and six RBI ... Wesley Starkes earned WAC hitter of the week after hitting .533 with nine runs, eight hits, one double, one home run, eight RBI and four walks ... on the mound, Trey Ross pitched 4.0 innings of scoreless ball to collect a win ... Ross also had a pair of strikeouts in his outing ... Dan Reid only gave up three hits and one run in 5.0 innings of work to collect a victory ... NM State continues play at home against Northern Colorado this week.
Sacramento State Hornets (6-19, 0-0 WAC)
Sacramento State went 1-2 in a three-game series against Utah Valley last week ... the team dropped the opener 6-0 before picking up a 6-3 win ... the team then fell in the finale, 4-1 ... Andrew Ayers led the team at the plate, hitting .308 with four hits, two RBI, two walks, one run, and one double ... Hunter Adrian hit .286 with four hits, three RBI and a walk ... Brandon Sandoval had an impressive outing on the mound, pitching 4.0 innings without giving up a run ... he also had five strikeouts while only giving up one hit ... Sacramento State also dropped an 8-2 decision to Pacific on Tuesday night ... this week, Sacramento State travels to play Seattle in a series that will take place Friday through Sunday.
SJSU Spartans (17-7, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State went 1-1 in a series against UC Davis at home last week ... the team won the opener 5-2 before dropping the finale 9-1 ... Danny Stienstra led the team at the plate in the two-game series, batting .375 with three hits, two RBI and one run scored ... Tyler Christian hit .333 with a pair of hits, one runs scored and an RBI ... Blake McFarland picked up a win on the hill, going 5.0 innings, giving up only one run with two strikeouts and two walks ... SJSU also swept a two-game series against Brown, winning 9-4 and 11-4 ... Stienstra led the team versus Brown, hitting .375 with three hits, one run and two RBI ... SJSU continues play this week at UC Santa Barbara Friday through Sunday.
WAC NOTES
NEW MEXICO STATE’S STARKES NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Fresno State outfielder Brennan Gowens has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for March 14-20.
Gowens, a junior from Clovis, Calif. (Buchannan HS), helped the Bulldogs to a three-game sweep of Washington State last week. Gowens went 8-for-11 at the plate for a .727 average. He also tallied 10 RBI, six runs, two home runs and a triple. Gowens also recorded a stolen base and had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
The other hitter of the week nominations : Hawai‘i junior Garrett Champion … New Mexico State third baseman Zach Voight.
FRESNO STATE’S GONZALEZ NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
New Mexico State pitcher Dan Reid has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for March 14-20.
Reid, a senior from Nasonworth, New Brunswick (Fredericton HS), picked up his first career complete game as he led the Aggies to an 11-2 won over IPFW last week. Reid did not allow an earned run and gave up only six hits. He faced 35 batters, struck out two and walked three. Reid now has a 2.10 ERA on the year, which is the second best average in the WAC.
The other pitcher of the week nominations : Fresno State sophomore Justin Haley … Hawai‘i freshman Jarrett Arakawa.
NEW MEXICO STATE ON 16-GAME HOME WINNING STREAK
NM State is currently on a 16-game winning streak at home and could tie the record of 17-straight home wins if they are victorious against Northern Colorado, Friday, April 1. The 17-straight home wins record was set in 2003 when the Aggies won at Presley Askew Field between the dates of Jan. 25 and March 16.
FRESNO STATE CONTINUES MOVE UP NATIONAL POLLS
The Bulldogs broke into the Top 10 of Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Top 25 polls. The Dogs are No. 9 in both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball’s polls. Currently, Fresno State is ranked in all four major baseball polls. The Bulldogs moved up five spots to No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches poll. The fourth poll the Bulldogs are ranked in is the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association at No. 15, which is up six spots from last week. New Mexico State and San Jose State are also receiving votes in the national polls.
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.