WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (28-7, 8-3 WAC)
The Bulldogs went 3-2 last week, after losing a midweek to Cal Poly and winning the series 3-1 against Sacramento State ... the Bulldogs recorded 17 hits for extra bases, including six home runs in five games ... Dusty Robinson became the first WAC player to hit double digit mark in homers ... Robinson blasted his 10th home run of the year against the Hornets ... Fresno State hit .287 last week and recorded 24 RBIs ... five Bulldogs hit over .300 for the week ... the pitching staff had a 1.96 ERA for the week and struck out 33 batters ... Fresno State outscored its opponents 24-9 in five games ... the Bulldogs host Hawai’i April 29 – May 2 in a four-game series at Beiden Field.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (22-17, 7-1 WAC)
Hawai‘i went 1-2 at home against Valparaiso last week ... the team dropped the series opener 8-7 before winning game two by a score of 9-8 ... the Rainbows lost the series finale 7-2 on Saturday ... Kolten Wong led the Rainbows in the series, batting .583 with seven hits, three runs scored, one double, one triple, two walks and five RBI .... Wong had 12 at bats during the series and did not strike out once ... Breland Almadova led UH with four runs scored during the series ... he also had three RBI ... Zach Gallagher had an impressive performance on the mound for UH, going 7.0 innings with four strikeouts ... Gallagher gave up only one earned run and one walk ... this week, Hawai‘i travels to Fresno State for a four-game WAC series, April 29-May 2.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (19-21, 4-8 WAC)
Louisiana Tech went 1-3 in a four-game series at San Jose State last week ... Tech dropped the first game of the series 18-0 before bouncing back to win game two 5-4 ... the Bulldogs then dropped game three 3-2 and game four 4-0 ... Colby Johnson led the Bulldogs at the plate, hitting .500 with five hits, two runs scored, two walks and one RBI ... Kyle Roliard hit .357 during the series with five hits, two runs scored, one walk and one RBI ... Caleb Dudley recorded the win on the mound for Louisiana Tech, pitching 6.0 innings with five strikeouts as he gave up only one run and one hit during his outing ... this week, Louisiana Tech steps out of conference play to host Grambling State on Tuesday before hosting Nevada in a four-game set.
Nevada Wolf Pack (15-20, 4-3 WAC)
Nevada swept its second series of the season and first four-game WAC series taking all four games from New Mexico State ... the Wolf Pack won by scores of 9-0, 4-0, 10-3 and 8-3 ... Tom Jameson and Jeremy Cole each tossed complete game shutouts as the Pack won the first two games of the series from NMSU 9-0 and 4-0 ... Nevada’s current four-game win streak equals its longest of the season ... all four of Nevada starting pitchers earned win in the NMSU series ... 2009 WAC Pitcher of the Year Brock Stassi earned his first win of the season vs. NMSU .... Stassi also led the Pack at the plate, batting .563 in the series with nine hits, two doubles, four runs and four RBI ... Nevada travels to play Louisiana Tech in a four-game series this week.
NM State Aggies (27-13, 5-7 WAC)
The Aggies were swept in a four-game series at Nevada this past week ... NM State dropped the four games by scores of 9-0, 4-0, 10-3 and 8-3 ... Wesley Starkes led the Aggies at the plate with a .500 batting average ... Starkes also had six hits, one run and a pair of walks during the series ... Zac Fisher hit .333 at the plate with a home run and a pair of RBI ... Scott Coffman led the Aggies on the mound, pitching 4.0 scoreless innings while collecting three strikeouts ... Coffman only gave up one hit in his outing ... Randy Montoya pitched three scoreless innings for NM State with three strikeouts ... this week, NM State travels to play Seattle in a four-game series April 28-30.
Sacramento State Hornets (13-28, 1-7 WAC)
Sacramento State went 1-3 at home against Fresno State this past week ... the Hornets dropped the first two games of the series 2-0 and 7-3 before winning game three 2-1 ... the Hornets then dropped the finale 12-4 ... the win in game three of the series marks Sacramento State’s first league win of the season ... Derrick Chung hit .417 during the series, recording five hits, two runs, one double, three RBI and three walks ... Kirby Young hit .412 during the series with seven hits, one double and three RBI ... Eli Davis led the Hornets with three runs scored ... Brandon Sandoval pitched 6.0 innings while only giving up one run ... Sandoval also had four strikeouts ... Brandon Creel was credited with a win on the mound ... the Hornets host San Jose State this week.
SJSU Spartans (26-15, 6-6 WAC)
San Jose State went 3-1 at home against Louisiana Tech this past week ... the Spartans won game one of the series 18-0 before dropping game two 5-4 ... SJSU then won the final two games by scores of 3-2 and 4-0 ... Danny Stienstra led the Spartans at the plate, batting .462 with six hits, four runs, one home run, three RBI and three walks ... Jacob Valdez hit .333 during the series with five hits, two runs, one triple, five RBI and one walk ... Blake McFarland registered a complete game five-hit shutout with nine striektouts ... Roberto Padilla was also impressive, pitching 6.0 innings witout giving up a run with nine strikeouts ... this week, San Jose State travels to play Sacramento State in a four-game series April 29-May 2
WAC NOTES
NEVADA’S STASSI NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Nevada’s Brock Stassi has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for April 18-24.
Stassi, a senior from Yuba City, Calif. (Yuba City HS), hit .562 (9-for-16) with four runs scored, four RBI, two doubles and was intentionally walked twice as Nevada swept a four-game WAC series from New Mexico State. Stassi finished the week with a .688 slugging percentage and a .611 on base percentage. The senior had multiple hits in all four games starting three contests at first base and the final game on the mound before moving to designated hitter. Stassi also earned his first win of the season on the mound, pitching 5.0 innings with four strikeouts.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Fresno State freshman Danny Muno … Hawai‘i junior Kolten Wong.
FRESNO STATE’S GONZALEZ NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Fresno State’s Greg Gonzalez have been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for April 18-24.
Gonzalez, a senior from San Bruno, Calif. (Skyline CC), earned his first complete game shutout of the season. Gonzalez threw nine scoreless innings in a 2-0 road win over Sacramento State. The senior tied a career high with 12 strikeouts and only allowed four hits and two walks. Gonzalez had a no-hitter going through the first five innings of the contest. He is now 7-0 on the mound in 10 starts this season. He currently leads the WAC with 77 strikeouts and holds a 1.31 ERA in 68.2 innings pitched.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Nevada sophomore Tom Jameson … Hawai‘i senior Zach Gallagher … San Jose State senior Blake McFarland.
FRESNO STATE RANKS 13TH IN LATEST NATIONAL POLL
Currently, Fresno State is ranked in all four major baseball polls. The Bulldogs are No. 13 in the Baseball America poll. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches poll and No. 16 in the Collegieate Baseball Newspaper. Fresno State was ranked No. 14 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association April 18 poll. The latest NCBWA poll was not available at the time of this release.
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.
WAC TEAMS AMONG NATIONAL STAT LEADERS
As of April 17, the WAC boasts some of the nation’s top stats leaders. Teams from the WAC rank top-10 nationally in 11 different team categories and 12 individual categories. New Mexico State holds the highest team ranking as it leads the nation in batting average at .352. The Aggies also rank second nationally in four different statistical categories, including scoring (10.1), runs (363), walks (234) and sacrifice flies (34). Individually, New Mexico State’s Wesley Starkes ranks second nationally in runs per game at 1.41. NMSU’s Parker Hipp is also second nationally in RBI/game at 1.55, while teammate Tanner Waite ranks second in the nation in on base percentage at 0.579.