WAC NOTES
NEW MEXICO STATE’S FISHER AND SACRAMENTO STATE’S LEITAO NAMED VERIZON WAC BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
New Mexico State catcher Zac Fisher and Sacramento State pitcher Brennan Leitao have been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for April 2-8.
Fisher, a junior from Fontana, Calif. (A.B. Miller HS), hit .375 (6-for-16) with three runs scored, a home run, three RBI and three walks as the Aggies went 3-1 on the week. Fisher, who leads the WAC with 53 hits and 45 RBI on the year, brought in the tying run on a single through the right side as the Aggies came from behind to defeat Nevada 7-6 in the series finale to help NMSU win the three-game series. Fisher started the week going 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI against in-state rival New Mexico to lead the Aggies to a 7-5 win.
Leitao, a freshman from Irvine, Calif. (Woodbridge HS), posted his second complete game in just five starts this season on Saturday in a 2-1 win at Louisiana Tech. The freshman allowed only one run on five hits in nine innings with two walks and a season-high eight strikeouts. Leitao has allowed two or less earned runs in four of his five starts.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Fresno State sophomore left fielder Aaron Judge … Hawai‘i junior short stop Pi’ikea Kitamura … Louisiana Tech junior second baseman Austin Hedges … Nevada sophomore outfielder Thomas Niebergall … Sacramento State sophomore outfielder Justin Higley.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Fresno State senior Tom Harlan … Hawai‘i freshman Scott Squier … Louisiana Tech junior Caleb Dudley … Nevada sophomore Bradey Shipley … New Mexico State senior Scott Coffman.
NEW MEXICO STATE ENTERS NATIONAL BASEBALL POLLS, HAWAI‘I RECEIVING VOTES
The Aggies are ranked No. 25 this week according to this week’s Baseball America Poll, which was release, April 9. It marks the first time in school history that the Aggies have been ranked in the Baeball America poll. NM State is ranked No. 23 according to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. This is the second consecutive week the Aggies have been ranked and the first time the baseball team has been ranked since 2009, when the Aggies were ranked No. 24 by CBN. New Mexico State is also receiving votes in both the National College Baseball Writers Association poll and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. Hawai‘i is also receiving votes in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.
WAC TEAMS AMONG NATIONAL STAT LEADERS
Teams from the WAC rank in the top-10 nationally in 14 different statistical categories. Individually, WAC players rank in the top-10 in eight categories. As a team, New Mexico State leads the nation in six statistical categories, including scoring (9.8), runs (332), hits (387), doubles (85), walks (215) and on base percentage (0.440). Individually, NMSU’s Zac Fisher holds the highest ranking as he ranks second nationally with 45 RBI this season. Fisher also ranks fourth nationally with 53 hits, seventh nationally at 1.32 RBI per game.
WAC RPI CONTINUES TO RISE
According to WarrenNolan.com, the WAC’s league RPI comes in a No. 12 this week. The WAC is sandwiched between the Southland Conference at No. 10 and the Big Ten at No. 12. New Mexico State holds the WAC’s highest team RPI at No. 22.
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.
WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (15-16, 1-2 WAC)
Fresno State went 1-3 on the road last week ... the Bulldogs opened the week with a 9-5 loss at Santa Clara ... the team then dropped two of three games to open WAC play at Hawai‘i ... in the UH series, Fresno State dropped the opener 8-2, won game two 5-3 and then dropped the finale 3-2 in 10 innings ... Aaron Judge led the Bulldogs at the plate over the four games, batting .500 with eight hits, two runs, two doubles, two RBI and a pair of walks ... Thomas Harlan had the most impressive performance on the mound for the Bulldogs last week, pitching 6.1 innings in a 5-3 win over Hawai‘i ... Harlan did not allow an earned run and only walked one batter ... Fresno State continues WAC play at home against San Jose State this week.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (19-13, 2-1 WAC)
Hawai‘i went 2-1 at home to open league play last week ... the Rainbows took two of the three games from Fresno State ... UH won the opener 8-2 before dropping game two 5-3 ... the team then won the finale 3-2 in 10 innings ... Trevor Padratz led the Rainbows at the plate, hitting .500 with five hits, three runs, one double, two RBI and a walk ... Pi’ikea Kitamura hit .385 over the three games last week with two runs, three doubles, four RBI and a walk ... Scott Squier was impressive on the mound in his appearnace, pitching 6.1 innings while giving up only one run ... Squier tallied five strikeouts in his outing ... this week, UH steps out of league play to host Saint Mary’s in a four-game series starting on Friday.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (16-16, 1-2 WAC)
Louisiana Tech went 2-2 last week ... the Bulldogs opened the week with a 4-1 win over Grambling State ... the team then opened WAC play with a three-game series against Sacramento State, picking up a 7-5 victory in game one ... the Bulldogs then dropped the next two games to the Hornets by scores of 2-1 and 11-6 ... Austin Hedges led the Bulldogs at the plate batting .333 with two runs, five hits and three RBI ... Sam Alvis led LA Tech with a team-high four runs scored over the four games ... Caleb Dudley picked up a pair of saves on the mound last week, pitching 9.0 innings in four appearances ... Dudley gave up only two runs and struck out five ... this week, LA Tech hosts Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday before heading to Nevada for a three-game series.
Nevada Wolf Pack (16-15, 1-2 WAC)
Nevada went 1-3 last week ... Nevada opened the week with a 6-5 loss at Pacific ... the Wolf Pack then opened WAC play with a 10-5 win at New Mexico State in the opening contest of a three-game series ... Nevada dropped the final two games at NMSU by scores of 13-6 and 7-6 ... Garrett Yrigoyen led the Pack at the plate with a .417 batting average ... Yrigoyen had a team-high seven runs scored over the four games and tallied five hits, two doubles, a triple and four walks ... he also had three stolen bases ... Kewby Meyer hit .400 with six hits, four runs, four RBI and a pair of walks ... Braden Shipley gave up only two runs in his six-inning appearance to pick up the win on the mound ... Nevada hosts LA Tech this week for a three-game set.
New Mexico State Aggies (25-9, 2-1 WAC)
New Mexico State went 3-1 last week ... the Aggies opened the week with a 7-5 win at home against in-state rival New Mexico ... the Aggies then opened WAC play with a 10-5 loss to Nevada in the opener of a three-game set ... the Aggies rallied two win the final two games against Nevada by scores of 13-6 and 7-6 ... Zac Fisher was named WAC Hitter of the Week after hitting .375 over the four games while recording three runs, one home run, three RBI and three walks ... Scott Coffman picked up a win and a save on the mound for the Aggies ... Coffman pitched four innings in three apearances with five strikeouts and no earned runs allowed ... the Aggies have now won 16 of their last 17 games ... the team ranks No. 23 in the Collegiate Baseball Poll and No. 25 in the Baseball America poll ... NMSU travels to Sacramento State this week.
Sacramento State Hornets (16-16, 2-1 WAC)
Sacramento State went 2-1 last week in a three-game series at Louisiana Tech to open WAC play ... the team dropped the series opener 7-5 before winning the next two games by scores of 2-1 and 11-6 ... Clay Cederquist led the Hornets at the plate with a .500 average, tallying two runs, five hits, one home run, two RBI and a walk ... Justin Higley was impressive at the plate, hitting .333 with four runs, four hits, three doubles, one home run, four RBI and three walks ... Brennan Leitao was named WAC Pitcher of the Week after his complete nine-inning win ... Leitao allowed only one run while recording eight strikeouts ... Sacramento State opens league play at home this week with a three-game series against New Mexico State.
San Jose State Spartans (14-14, 0-0 WAC)
The Spartans went 3-1 last week ... the team opened the week with a 6-5 win at San Francisco ... SJSU then picked up a pair of wins at Pacific by scores of 3-0 and 6-2 ... San Jose State wrapped up the week with a 7-0 loss at home to Pacific ... Andre Mercurio led the team at the plate over the four games, batting .400 with two runs, six hits, one double, four RBI and two walks ... Johnny Melero pitched 5.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts on the week ... Kalei Contrades pitched 4.1 scoreless innings with five strikeouts ... this week, San Jose State opens its WAC schedule at Fresno State for a three-game series ... the Spartans and Bulldogs will open their series on Friday at 6:05 p.m. PT