WAC NOTES
NEVADA’S KLEIN AND SACRAMENTO STATE’S MENDONCA NAMED VERIZON WAC BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Nevada outfielder Brooks Klein and Sacramento State pitcher Tanner Mendonca have been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for March 26-April 1.
Klein, a junior from Blue Diamond, Nev. (Western Nevada College), hit .533 (8-for-15) with two runs scored, a double, two triples, a home run and five RBI as the Wolf Pack went 3-1 on the week. In the final game of the week, the junior right fielder hit for the cycle, going a perfect 4-for-4 in Saturday’s 9-3 win over BYU. After being hit by a pitch in the first inning, he singled in the second, doubled in the fifth, hit a two-run homer in the seventh and completed the cycle with an RBI triple in the eighth. In addition, he scored two runs and drove in three in Saturday’s game. Klein began the week going 1-for-5 at UC Davis on Monday. Thursday, he collected two hits in four at bats, had a triple and drove in one. Friday, he was 1-for-2 and drove in the game-winning run as the Pack won 5-4. For the week, his on base percentage was .632 and he had a slugging percentage of 1.067.
Mendonca, a sophomore from Visalia, Calif. (Mt. Whitney HS), recorded his second shutout of the season in a 2-0 complete-game victory over CSU Bakersfield on Friday night. The sophomore allowed just five hits and one walk while striking out seven. Only one runner was able to advance to third base on Friday and Mendonca did not allow more than one hit in any inning. Mendonca has given up more than three runs in just one of his seven starts this season, including three complete games, and has a team-best four wins.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Fresno State sophomore catcher Austin Wynns … Hawaii junior short stop Pi’ikea Kitamura … Louisiana Tech junior second baseman Austin Hedges … New Mexico State junior catcher Zac Fisher … Sacramento State freshman infielder/outfielder Rhys Hoskins.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Fresno State senior Taylor Garrison … Hawaii sophomore Jarrett Arakawa … Louisiana Tech junior Jamie Gilley … Nevada junior Tom Jameson … New Mexico State senior Scott Coffman.
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 (14-14, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State 1-3 at home last week ... the Bulldogs dropped a 7-6 decision to No. 29 California to open the week ... the team then dropped the first two games of a three-game series against New Mexico by scores of 9-3 and 7-1 ... Fresno State rebounded to win the series finale against New Mexico, 4-3 ... Austin Wynns led the Bulldogs at the plate during the four games last week, hitting .467 with seven hits, three doubles and four RBI ... Tyler Linehan had five strikeouts and gave up only one earned run in 6.0 innings pitched last week ... Tom Harlan had 10 strikeouts in 13.0 innings pitched last week for the Bulldogs ... this week, Fresno State opens WAC play at Hawai‘i for a three-game series starting on Thursday.
Hawai‘i Rainbows (17-12, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai‘i went 3-1 in a four-game home series against UC Davis ... the Rainbows opened the series with a 5-3 loss before picking up the next three games by scores of 4-0, 5-4 and 7-1 ... Pi’ikea Kitamura led the Rainbows at the plate, batting .467 with seven hits, four runs scored and a team-best four RBI ... Stephen Ventimilia hit .375 at the plate with six hits, four runs scored and three walks ... Zack Swasey hit .333 with five hits, one double and three RBI ... Jarett Arakawa was impressive on the mound for UH, going 8.0 innings without giving up a run with five strikeouts to pick up a win ... Lawrence Chew also picked up a win, pitching 6.0 innings without giving up an earned run ... UH opens WAC play at home this week against Fresno State.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (15-14, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech went 3-2 last week ... the team opened the week at home with an 8-2 win over Northwestern State ... LA Tech then picked up a 10-9 road win over Grambling State ... the Bulldogs then dropped two of three games at Oral Roberts ... Austin Hedges led the team at the plate over the five games, batting .350 with seven hits, two doubles, two runs scored, one home run and four RBI ... Alex Williams hit .250 with four hits, four runs scored, one home run, four walks and a team-best five RBI over the five games played last week ... Caleb Dudley picked up two wins on the mound last week ... he also picked up his 19th career save in a win over Grambling State on Wednesday night, setting the LA Tech school record for career saves.
Nevada Wolf Pack (15-12, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada went 3-1 last week ... the Wolf Pack opened the week with a 5-4 win at UC Davis ... the team then took two of three games at home against BYU ... the Wolf Pack dropped game one of the BYU series 4-3 before winning the next two by scores of 5-4 and 9-3 ... Brooks Klein was named the WAC Hitter of the Week after batting .533 with eight hits, two runs, one double, two triples, one home run, three walks and five RBI ... he hit for the cylce in a game against BYU and had only one strikeout in 15 at bats ... Joe Kohan also hit .533 last week with four doubles and five RBI ... Tom Jameson picked up a win on the mound, pitching 6.0 innings without giving up an earned run ... Nevada opens WAC play at NM State this week.
New Mexico State Aggies (23-8, 0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State took the week off from competition last week ... the Aggies did play on Tuesday night, defeating rival New Mexico 7-5 at home, extending its winning streak to 14-games ... it’s the third time this season NM State has defeated the Lobos and the fifth-straight victory over UNM dating back to the 2010 season ... starting pitcher Adam Mott stays undefeated and goes to 4-0 as he worked six innings striking out four batters ... senior closer Scott Coffman added another save to his total making it six on the year and 19 on his career ... he went two innings, striking out two batters without giving up a hit or a walk ... The Aggies open Western Athletic Conference play with a three-game series against Nevada starting, Thursday, April 5 ... the game is scheduled to start at 6:05pm (MT).
Sacramento State Hornets (14-15, 0-0 WAC)
Sacramento State went 2-2 last week ... the Hornets opened the week with a 3-1 win at San Francisco ... the team then won the series opener at CSU Bakersfield, 2-0 before dropping the next two games to CSU Bakersfield by scores of 11-4 and 5-2 ... Rhys Hoskins led the Hornets at the plate over the four games, batting .500 with seven hits, two runs scored, one home run and three RBI ... Hoskins had only one strikeout on the week ... Will Soto batted .353 with six hits, two runs scored and two RBI ... Tanner Mendonca earned WAC Pitcher of the Week honors after pitching a nine-inning complete game shutout in a 2-0 win at Bakersfield ... this week, Sacramento State opens WAC play at Louisiana Tech.
San Jose State Spartans (12-13, 0-0 WAC)
The Spartans went 1-1 last week ... the team split a double-header at home against Brown ... the Spartans picked up a 20-8 victory in game one before dropping game two, 6-4 ... Kyle Gallegos led the Spartans at the plate, batting .800 with four hits, three runs scored, two doubles and an RBI ... Ricky Acosta batted .500 with four hits, two runs scored, one double and a team-high eight RBI last week ... Zack Jones picked up a win on the mound for the Spartans, pitching 6.0 innings without giving up an earned run ... Jones also had 13 strikeouts in his outing ... San Jose State also picked up a 6-5 win at San Francisco on Tuesday ... the team continues play this week at Pacific for a two-game series before heading home to host Pacific on Saturday.