WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (22-5, 2-2 WAC)
The Bulldogs opened the WAC season splitting a four-game series with San Jose State ... Fresno State is 22-5 on the season and 2-2 in WAC ... the Dogs hit three triples and three home runs over the weekend for a total of 13 extra base hits ... the Bulldogs were 7-for-7 in stolen bases with Pat Hutcheson adding three stolen bases ... the pitching staff recorded 24 strikeouts and allowed 11 earned runs in 32 innings pitche ... Josh Poytress threw the first complete game of the year for the ‘Dogs and Taylor Garrison had a career best outing striking out eight ... the Bulldogs face Nevada at Pete Beiden Field April 15-17 for a four-game WAC series.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (18-14, 4-0 WAC)
Hawai‘i opened WAC play at home with a 4-0 series shutout against Sacramento State ... the team won the games by scores of 16-1, 3-2, 5-3 and 3-2 ... Kolten Wong led the team at the plate batting .500 with four hits, six runs, one double, one home run, seven walks and three RBI ... Jeff Van Doornum was also impressive as he hit .364 during the series with three runs scored, three walks and a team-high five RBI ... Zach Gallager , Matt Sisto, Connor Little and Jarrett Arakawa each picked up a victory on the mound for the Rainbows ... Sisto pitched 7.0 innings while only giving up two hits with seven strikeouts ... this week, Hawai‘i hosts Louisiana Tech for a four-game WAC series April 15-17.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (17-15, 2-2 WAC)
The two shutouts in the New Mexico State series marked the first time that Tech has shutout a conference opponent twice in a series since April 19-20 of 1997 against UTPA … Mark Threlkeld has made 103 consecutive starts now ... Threlkeld and Kyle Roliard had three multi-hit games this weekend ... Alex Williams (4), Mark Threlkeld (5) and Ryan Gebhardt (6) all extended hitting streaks … Kyle Roliard’s walk-off RBI single in the series finale was his second of the season and the third for Louisiana Tech … against New Mexico State, Tech’s primary weekend starters held the nation’s top-ranked offense to just two runs in 20.1 innings of work ... this week, LA Tech travels to play Hawai‘i April 15-17.
Nevada Wolf Pack (10-17, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada went 3-1 last week ... Nevada was the only WAC team not to start conference play ... the Wolf Pack opens league play this week at Fresno State ... Nevada defeated UC Davis 7-4 last week ... the team also took two of three games from Seattle at home ... during the four games last week, Joe Kohan led the Pack at the plate, hitting .400 with six hits, two doubles, one home run, three walks and seven RBI ... Brock Stassi was also impressive at the plate batting .429 with six hits, two doubles and three RBI ... Jeremy Cole picked up two wins on the mound, pitching 12.0 innings with six strikeouts, while giving up only two runs ... Nevada will head to Fresno State for a four-game WAC series April 15-17.
NM State Aggies (24-8, 2-2 WAC)
The Aggies split its conference-opening series at Louisiana Tech, 2-2 last week ... the Aggies won the opener 4-2 before dropping game two 7-0 ... NM State then defeated the Bulldogs 7-5 in game three before dropping the finale 10-0 ... Tyler Forney led the team at the plate, hitting .364 with four hits and a run scored ... Ryan Aguayo hit .300 with three hits, one double, five walks and three RBI ... on the mound, Tyler Mack and Ryan Beck picked up victories ... Mack pitched 7.0 innings with five strikeouts while giving up only one run ... Beck went 8.0 innings while giving up only five hits with three strikeouts to claim his victory ... this week, NM State hosts San Jose State in a four-game WAC series April 15-17.
Sacramento State Hornets (9-24, 0-4 WAC)
Sacramento State was swept in a four-game conference opening series at Hawai‘i last week ... the Hornets dropped the four games by scores of 16-1, 3-2, 5-3 and 3-2 ... David Del Grande led the Hornets at the plate during the series, batting .438 with seven hits, two doubles and a run scored ... Blake Miller hit .625 with five hits and an RBI ... Justin Higley led the team with three runs scored ... Tanner Mendonca had an impressive performance on the mound, pitching 7.0 innings with three strikeouts while only giving up two runs and three hits ... the team steps out of conference play this week to host Air Force in a four-game series starting on April 15.
SJSU Spartans (21-11, 2-2 WAC)
San Jose State split a four-game series against ninth-ranked Fresno State last week ... the Spartans won the opener 3-1 before falling in game two 5-1 ... SJSU then picked up a 4-3 win in game three and then lost the finale 5-3 ... Tim Quiery hit .400 in the series with four hits, one triple and two RBI ... Danny Stienstra hit .357 with five hits, two runs, a walk and a pair of RBI ... Jason Martin hit .308 with four hits, two walks and two runs scored ... Esteban Guzman earned WAC Pitcher of the Week honors after going 7.0 innings with 13 strikeouts, while only giving up one run for a win on the mound ... Roberto Padilla also picked up a victory on the mound after going 8.1 innings while only giving up a run with seven strikeouts ... SJSU continues play this week at New Mexico State for a four-games series April 15-17.
WAC NOTES
NEVADA’S KOHAN NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Nevada infielder Joe Kohan has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for April 4-10.
Kohan, a junior from Juneau, Alaska (Juneau-Douglas HS), helped the Wolf Pack to a 3-1 record last week with a win over UC Davis and two wins against Seattle. Kohan hit .400 (6-for-15) with three runs scored, three walks, two doubles, a grand slam and seven RBI. He had two hits in each of the first three games of the week. In the second game of the Seattle series, Kohan hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to pull the Pack within a run as the team rallied for the 11-10 victory. He started all four games at second base and did not commit an error. He had an on base percentage of .500 with a .733 slugging percentage on the week.
The other hitter of the week nominations
: Fresno State junior Dusty Robinson … Hawai‘i junior Kolten Wong … Louisiana Tech junior Kyle Roliard … New Mexico State junior Tyler Forney.
SAN JOSE STATE’S GUZMAN NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
San Jose State pitcher Esteban Guzman has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for April 4-10.
Guzman, a junior from Fairfield, Calif. (Angelo Rodriguez HS), earned his fourth win of the year on Saturday against ninth-ranked Fresno State. Guzman tossed seven innings while giving up only one run to earn a 4-3 victory against the Bulldogs. His 13 strikeouts more than doubled his previous career high and the 7.0 innings pitched tied the longest outing of his career. Guzman had at least one strikeout every inning he worked. In four innings, he struck out two and in the fifth inning he struck out the side. Of the 29 batters he faced, 20 saw first pitch strikes and 14 of those 20 made outs. Guzman went to a three-ball count only three times and only one of those batters was walked.
The other pitcher of the week nominations
: Fresno State junior Josh Poytress … Hawai‘i senior Zach Gallagher … Louisiana Tech sophomore Jeb Stefan … Nevada senior Jeremy Cole … New Mexico State sophomore Tyler Mack.
WAC TEAMS AMONG NATIONAL STAT LEADERS
The WAC boasts some of the nation’s top stats leaders. Teams from the WAC rank top-10 nationally in 11 different team categories. 15 Individual players from the WAC rank in the top-10 in different national stat categories. New Mexico State holds the highest team ranking as it ranks second nationally in five different statistical categories, including batting average (.343), scoring (9.8), runs (315), sacrifice flies (29) and walks (212). Individually, New Mexico State’s Wesley Starkes ranks second nationally in runs per game at 1.39. NMSU’s Tanner Waite ranks second nationally in on base percentage at .574. New Mexico State’s Parker Hipp ranks second nationally in two categories, including RBI (48) and RBI per game (1.55).
FRESNO STATE RANKS 13TH IN LATEST NATIONAL POLLS
Currently, Fresno State is ranked in all four major baseball polls. The Bulldogs are No. 13 in both Baseball America and and USA Today Coaches Poll. The Bulldogs stayed at No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches poll. Fresno State is ranked 14th in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and College Baseball Newspaper. New Mexico State, which entered the Collegeiate Baseball Newspaper poll last week at No. 28, dropped out of the poll.
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.