WAC NOTES
NEVADA’S KOHAN AND FRESNO STATE’S HARLAN NAMED VERIZON WAC BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Nevada second baseman Joe Kohan and Fresno State pitcher Thomas Harlan have been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for February 13-19.
Kohan, a senior from Juneau, Alaska (Juneau-Douglas HS), hit .500 (5-for-10), scored five runs, drove in three and had two doubles with a slugging percentage of .700 and an on-base percentage of .500 as the Pack went 2-1 at New Mexico to open the season. Starting all three games at second base, Kohan did not commit an error in 18 chances. In Friday’s game, Kohan was 2-for-3 with a run scored, sacrifice fly and two RBI in the 5-3 season-opening victory. In Sunday’s game, he was perfect at the plate going 3-of-3 with four runs scored, one walk, two doubles and one RBI. In the top of the eighth inning, he doubled with one out and scored the winning run on a two-out single.
Harlan, a senior from San Bruno, Calif. (Archbishop Riordan HS), pitched a complete-game shutout in a 6-0 win over Butler on Saturday. Harlan struck out a career-high eight batters and gave up only on extra base hit in the 9.0 innings of work. He walked only one of the 31 batters he faced.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Fresno State junior outfielder Daniel Moultrie … Hawai‘i senior third baseman Collin Bennett … Louisiana Tech senior first baseman Alex Williams … New Mexico State junior second baseman Parker Hipp … San Jose State freshman outfielder Andre Mercurio.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Hawai‘i senior Matt Sisto … Louisiana Tech junior Trevor Peterson … Nevada senior Matt Gardner … New Mexico State junior Adam Mott … San Jose State junior David Wayne Russo.
FRESNO STATE’S LINEHAN EARNS LOUISVILLE SLUGGER NATIONAL PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONOR
After a career performance in the Bulldogs season opener against Butler Friday night, sophomore Tyler Linehan was named a “Louisville Slugger” National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, the organization announced Monday morning. Linehan set up the ‘Dogs 3-0 shutout win by striking out a career-high 13 batters in 7.2 innings pitched. He is only the third Bulldog in program history to receive the honor. The last was Dusty Robinson (May 3-9, 2010). This is Linehan’s first national honor. The Sacramento, Calif. native gave up only one extra base hit during the game and walked just two of the career-high 31 batters he faced.
2012 WAC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO MESA’S HOHOKAM STADIUM
After succesful 2010 and 2011 tournaments, 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 third-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. The top six teams from the WAC’s regular season standings will advance to the tournament. The WAC Baseball Tournament is no stranger to the state of Arizona and the City of Mesa. The league’s championship has been played in Arizona 11 times (1963, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, 76, 78, 2010 and 2011) and the event was held in Mesa in 1971, 1973, 2010 and 2011. Mesa has fast become the third largest metropolitan city in the state of Arizona offering a variety of lifestyle and leisure pursuits that are in high demand by visitors and residents alike. Now boasting 460,000 residents, Mesa’s population is greater than such well-known cities as Minneapolis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Miami. Mesa is unique among cities in the Phoenix area as it is embraced by the Sonoran Desert – a playground for sought-after outdoor recreation and one-of-a-kind attractions. As a sports destination, Mesa shines offering some of the nation’s best training facilities for field sports paired with unbeatable year-round weather and award-winning hotels. Mesa has been recognized as one of the country’s most desirable destinations for hosting dynamic sporting events and athletic competitions on all levels: amateur, youth, collegiate, and professional. Hohokam Stadium is best known as the winter home of the Chicago Cubs and is major league baseball’s most popular spring training venue. Boasting one of the largest capacities in the Cactus League, more than 240,000 attendees pass through its gates each March. In addition to hosting Cactus League Spring Training, Hohokam Stadium is also the home of the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League. Hohokam Stadium and adjacent training facility opened in February 1997. The stadium seats 13,030 and includes one practice field and one practice infield.
WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (3-1, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State opened its season at home by taking three of four games from Butler to win the four-game series ... the Bulldogs one game of the series 3-0 before dropping game two 12-9 ... Fresno State then won the next two games by scores of 6-0 and 17-2 ... Daniel Moultrie led the Bulldogs at the plate during the series, hitting .615 with eight hits, one run and a double ... Patrick Hutcheson led the Bulldogs with seven scored runs, while Justin Charles led the team with five RBI ... Thomas Harlan picked up a complete game shutout on the mound with eight strikeouts, while Tyler Linehan pitched 7.2 innings in a win with 13 strikeouts ... this week, Fresno State heads out on the road for games at CSU Bakersfield and Pepperdine.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (1-3, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai‘i is looking to rebound from a difficult opening series against Oregon ... Hawai’i won the season opener behind senior Matt Sisto’s solid pitching performance, but lost the next three games, two of them decisively ... senior Collin Bennett comes in as UH’s leading hitter, batting .500 (6-12) in four starts at third base ... Bennett had a pair of RBI in Friday night’s win, and is tied for the team lead with a .667 slugging percentage having recorded a pair of doubles this past series ... UH is now set to host Wagner College in a five-game series from Feb. 23-26 ... this will be the first meeting between Hawai’i and Wagner in the history of both programs ... the Seahawks, who will be playing their first games of the season, were 18-33 in 2011.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (2-2, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech opened the season with a three-game set at home against Texas Arlington ... the Bulldogs dropped the first two games of the series by scores of 17-10 and 8-2 before winning the finale 8-7 ... Louisiana Tech then went out on the road and defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff 13-8 on Tuesday ... Ryan Gebhardt has led the Bulldogs at the plate over the first four games, batting .400 with a team-high eight hits ... he also has four RBI this season and holds a 21-game hitting streak that dates back to last season ... Alex Williams is batting .350 with seven hits, seven RBI and two home runs through the first four games ... Tech continues road play on Wednesday at UALR before returning home for a three-game series against McNeese State.
Nevada Wolf Pack (3-1, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada holds a 3-1 record to open the season ... the Wolf Pack opened the season on the road at New Mexico where it took two of three games ... the Pack won the opener 5-3, dropped game two 3-2 and won the series finale at New Mexico 9-8 ... Nevada then picked up a 7-3 road win at San Francisco on Feb. 21 ... through the first four games this season, Joe Kohan leads the Pack at the plate, batting .571 with eight hits, six runs scored, four RBI, two doubles and one walk ... on the mound, Braden Shipley has earned the most impressive outing, going 5.0 innings with seven strikeouts without giving up a run ... Nevada hosts Utah Valley in hits home opener on Friday at 2 p.m. PT.
New Mexico State Aggies (3-2, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies opened the season at home with a four-game series against Wake Forest ... NM State won three of those four games to secure its first series win of the year ... the Aggies won game one 5-3 before dropping game two 8-5 ... NM State then won the final two games against Wake Forest, 3-1 and 13-9 ... NM State then traveled to No. 4 Rice where it dropped a 7-5 decision on Tuesday ... through its first five games this season, Bryan Karraker leads the Aggies at the plate, batting .438 with seven hits, six runs scored, three RBI and a double ... on the mound, Ryan Beck has been impressive, working 10.0 innings with 11 strikeouts and only one earned run ... NM State continues play at Rice on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. CT ... the team then returns home for a four-game set with Sacred Heart starting on Feb. 24.
Sacramento State Hornets (1-3, 0-0 WAC)
Sacramento State opened the season with a three-game series at home against Cal State Northridge ... the Hornets dropped game one of the series 6-4 before winning game two 2-0 ... the Hornets then dropped the finale 5-3 ... Sacramento State then dropped a 7-2 decision at home to Saint Mary’s on Feb. 20 ... through its first four games this season, Kyle Moses is leading the team at the plate, batting .533 with eight hits, three runs, one triple, one RBI and a stolen base ... on the mound, Tanner Mendonca has turned in the most impressive performance, pitching a complete game shutout with two strikeouts in a 2-0 victory over CS Northridge ... Sacramento State continues play on Friday when it begins a three-game series against Seattle at home.
San Jose State Spartans (1-2, 0-0 WAC)
The Spartans opened their season with three-straight games against San Francisco ... SJSU dropped the first two games at home by scores of 4-0 and 5-1 before picking up a 7-3 road win at USF ... San Jose State also played UC Davis on Tuesday but the game was suspended with the game tied 3-3 in the top of the 12th inning due to darkness ... through its first three complete games this season, Andre Mercurio leads the Spartans at the plate with a .667 average that includes six hits and two runs scored ... David Wayne Russo picked up SJSU’s win on the mound, pitching 7.0 innings with two strikeouts and only two earned runs ... San Jose State continues play on Feb. 24 with a three-game series at home against UC Santa Barbara.