DENVER – New Mexico State centerfielder Kyle Phillips and pitcher Ryan Beck have been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for March 12-18.
Phillips, a junior from Tacoma, Wash. (Curtis HS), helped the Aggies to four-straight wins last week as he hit a team-high .533 (8-of-15) without striking out. He had a .650 on-base percentage on the week as he also reached base on three walks, twice by being hit by a pitch. Phillips was also very effective in centerfield as he did not allow an error and had 12 putouts. He started the week 3-of-4 at the plate with an RBI and two runs scored in a 6-2 win over in-state rival New Mexico. Phillips tallied three RBI and four runs scored after going 3-of-5 at the plate with two home runs in game one of a doubleheader against SE Missouri State. Through four games last week, Phillips hit .533 with seven runs scored, eight hits, two doubles, two home runs, five RBI and three walks.
Beck, a junior from Fort Collins, Colo. (Fort Collins HS), earned his third win of the year after seven innings of work without allowing any runs to cross the plate. Beck’s ERA fell to 2.00 after the evening and has a team-high 41 strikeouts after posting nine in his win over the Redhawks last week. He also gave up only five hits after facing 25 batters.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Fresno State sophomore catcher Austin Wynns … Hawaii freshman second baseman Stephen Ventimilia … Louisiana Tech sophomore shortstop Ryan Gebhardt … Nevada senior infielder Joe Kohan … Sacramento State freshman infielder/outfielder Rhys Hoskins … San Jose State sophomore infielder Caleb Natov.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Fresno State junior Justin Haley … Hawaii junior Matt Sisto … Louisiana Tech junior Jeb Stefan … Nevada sophomore Bradey Shipley … Sacramento State freshman Brennan Leitao … San Jose State junior Kyle Hassna.