DENVER – Dallas Baptist catcher Duncan McAlpine and pitcher Jake Johansen have been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for February 18-24.
McAlpine, a senior from North Richland Hills, Texas (Birdville HS), helped the Patriots to a 4-0 record last week with a win at No. 10 Rice and three wins at home against Mississippi Valley State. McAlpine hit .462 (6-for-13) for the week with six RBI and six runs scored. In the win at 10th-ranked Rice, McAlpine recorded a hit, an RBI and a walk. In the win over Mississippi Valley State on Saturday, McAlpine hit for the cycle as the senior tripled, doubled, singled and then homered in the seventh inning to cap off the feat in the win. He also recorded an impressive .923 slugging percentage on the week with 12 total bases.
Johansen, a junior from Allen, Texas (Allen HS), took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning against Mississippi Valley State and recorded one out before allowing an infield single to the second batter in the ninth. Johansen exited the game Friday with a runner on first and one out in the ninth, but not before recording 10 strikeouts while walking only two batters. He gave up only one hit and allowed no earned runs in the 8-1 victory.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Louisiana Tech junior infielder Ryan Gebhardt … San Jose State senior Tim Quiery … Texas State sophomore designated hitter Cody Lovejoy … UT Arlington junior outfielder Justin Copeland … UTSA senior outfielder Daniel Rockett.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Louisiana Tech sophomore Phil Maton … New Mexico State senior Adam Mott … Texas State junior Kyle Finnegan … UT Arlington junior Brad Vachon … UTSA freshman Nolan Trabanino.