WAC NOTES
NEW MEXICO STATE’S SNOWLEY AND FRESNO STATE’S HARLAN NAMED VERIZON WAC BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
New Mexico State infielder Kurt Snowley and Fresno State pitcher Tom Harlan have been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for March 19-25.
Snowley, a senior from Milwaukie, Ore. (Rex Putnam HS), helped to extend the Aggies winning streak to 12 games after he hit .524 (11-of-21) in five games played last week. The most impressive of Snowley’s stats from last week might be that he struckout only once in 21 at bats. Snowley also tallied a .714 slugging percentage on the week and marked two walks while being hit by a pitch once to attribute to his .560 on-base percentage on the week. His on-best percentage helped the Aggies move into the top-spot nationally with a team on-base percentage of .443. In a 7-4 victory over No. 5 Arizona, Snowley went 3-of-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. They very next day against the Wildcats, Snowley posted a 3-of-6 showing to go along with a double, two runs scored and an RBI. He went 4-of-5 in an 11-9 win over UTPA in game one of a doubleheader. That day he tallied his eighth double of the season.
Harlan, a senior from San Bruno, Calif. (Archbishop Riordan HS), pitched 8.0 scoreless innings and struck out 10 batters without allowing a run last week. Harlan made two appearances and posted a 1-0 record, along with his first save of the season (fourth save of his career). In his start, Harlan recorded six strikeouts in 6.0 innings as Fresno State downed Kent State 14-2. In his relief appearance, Harlan earned the save as he pitched the final two innings, recording four strikeouts to secure a 2-1 win over UC Riverside for Fresno State.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Fresno State sophomore outfielder Aaron Judge … Hawai‘i freshman designated hitter Trevor Podratz … Louisiana Tech junior second baseman Austin Hedges … Nevada junior outfielder Brooks Klein … Sacramento State freshman infielder/outfielder Rhys Hoskins … San Jose State junior outfielder Nick Schulz.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Hawai‘i freshman David Longville … Louisiana Tech freshman Phil Maton … Nevada senior Tom Jameson … New Mexico State junior Michael Ormseth … Sacramento State sophomore Hunter Greenwood … San Jose State junior Mike Aldrete.
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 (13-11, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State went 3-1 last week at home ... the team swept Kent State in a two-game series by scores of 14-2 and 5-2 before splitting a pair of games against UC Riverside by scores of 1-5 and 2-1 ... Aaron Judge led the team at the plate over the four games, hitting .417 with four runs, four walks and an RBI ... Austin Wynns hit .333 with two runs, three doubles and four RBI ... Chris Mariscal also had four RBI over the four games ... Tom Harlan was named WAC Pitcher of the Week after pitching 8.0 scoreless innings in two appearances to pick up a win and a save ... Harlan had 10 strikeouts in his eight innings ... Fresno State also dropped a game at home against Cal on Tuesday night.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (14-11, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai‘i was swept by Gonzaga on the road last week ... the Rainbows dropped game one 4-1, game two 4-0, game three 7-6 and game four 9-3 ... it marked UH’s first road games of the season ... Trevor Padratz led UH at the plate, batting .375 over the four games with six hits, two runs, one double, one home run and five RBI ... Pi’ikea Kitamura batted .333 with five hits, one run and a walk ... Collin Bennett also hit .333 over the four games with two runs, five hits, two doubles, one RBI and one walk ... this week, Hawai‘i returns home to host UC Davis on Thursday-Saturday for a four-game series.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (12-12, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech went 1-2 last week in a three-game series at home against Dallas Baptist ... LA Tech won the opener 2-1 before dropping the next two games by scores of 7-3 and 11-3 ... Austin Hedges went 5-for-10 (.500) at the plate during the series with two runs, one double, two walks and a pair of RBI ... Phil Maton picked up the win on the mound for the Bulldogs during the week ... Maton pitched 6.1 innings while giving up only two hits and one earned run ... Maton also had six strikeouts ... LA Tech also played on Tuesday night this week, defeating Northwestern State 8-2 at home ... LA Tech travels to play Grambling State on Wednesday before playing at Oral Roberts March 30-April 1.
Nevada Wolf Pack (13-10, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada took two of three games from Loyola Marymount at home last week ... the Wolf Pack dropped game one of the series 7-1 before winning the next two games by scores of 3-2 and 6-3 ... Brooks Klein hit .500 on the week, going 6-for-12 at the plate with three runs, one double, one triple, one home run and three RBI ... he also had a walk ... Jamison Rowe hit .375 at the plate with two runs and a walk ... Kewby Meyer hit .300 with one run, three hits and an RBI ... Tom Jameson picked up the win on the mound for the Wolf Pack, pitching 8.0 innings with one earned run and five strikeouts ... Nevada also picked up a 5-4 run at UC Davis .. the team continues play at home this week against BYU for a three-game set.
New Mexico State Aggies (22-8, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies have now won 13 straight games heading into this week’s play against Texas Tech ... NM State leads the nation in on-base percentage, games played, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, total bases, RBI and walks ... the Aggies went 6-0 last week with a pair of wins at No. 5 Arizona (7-4 and 13-8) before a four-game sweep at home against Texas-Pan American ... Kurt Snowley led the team over the five games, batting .524 with eight runs, four doubles, six RBI and two walks ... Snowley was named the WAC’s Hitter of the Week for his performance ... Bryan Karraker had a team-high 14 RBI over the six games with seven runs, a double and a home run ... as a team, NMSU hit .385 at the plate in the five games last week ... NM State also picked up a 7-6 win at Texas Tech on Tuesday night ... the team has the rest of the week off.
Sacramento State Hornets (12-13, 0-0 WAC)
Sacramento State went 4-2 last week ... the Hornets defeated Dartmouth 1-0 on Monday night to start the week ... the team then defeated Pacific 6-3 at home, won at Utah 6-2 and at Utah Valley 13-3 ... the team then dropped its final two games at Utah Valley by scores of 10-6 and 13-8 ... Clay Cedarquist led the Hornets at the plate over the six games, batting .579 with five runs, 11 hits, two doubles, one home run and five RBI ... Rhys Hoskins hit .429 with six runs, 12 hits, three doubles, two home runs, one walk and eight RBI ... Zach Morgan pitched 7.0 innings in his start without giving up a run ... Morgan tallied three strikeouts in his outing ... this week, Sacramento State travels to play San Francisco and CSU Bakersfield.
San Jose State Spartans (10-12, 0-0 WAC)
The Spartans went 1-2 in a three-game series at home against Seattle U last week ... the team dropped game on 9-4 before picking up a win in game two by a score of 2-1 ... the Spartans dropped the series finale 6-4 ... Nick Schulz hit .375 with three hits, one run, one double, one walk and two RBI ... he also reached base by being hit twice ... Jacob Valdez had a team-high three RBI on the week, while Andre Mercurio had a team-high four runs ... this week, San Jose State hosts a double header against Brown on Wednesday.