WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield (5-3, 0-0 WAC)
Bakersfield went 2-3 last week ... the ‘Runners dropped a pair of road games at UC Santa Barbara, 1-5, and at UC Irvine, 2-3, before winning two of three games at home against Towson ... centerfielder Jordie Hein hit .500 with a .667 slugging, and a .571 on-base percentage in four games last week ... out of the nine hole in the lineup, Hein had six hits (two doubles) in 12 at-bats. He walked once, was hit by a pitch once, and had one sac hit as the ‘Runners went 2-2 in the games in which he played (2-3 overall) ... Steven Gee made his Bakersfield debut by tossing seven innings of shutout baseball as the Roadrunners defeated Towson 8-1 Feb. 22 ... Gee needed 89 pitches as he struck out one and walked two ... Bakersfield had its 10-game home winning streak snapped when Towson defeated the ‘Runners 3-2 Feb. 23 ... Bakersfield will host UC Riverside in a three-game series starting on Feb. 28.
Chicago State (1-5, 0-0 WAC)
Chicago State went 1-2 last week in a three-game series at Savannah State ... the Cougars dropped game one of the series, 7-4, and then rallied to win game two 14-5 ... Chicago State then dropped the series final 7-5 on Sunday ... Nathan Poff led the team at the plate over the three games, hitting .600 with three hits and a run scored ... Sanford Hunt hit .462 with six hits, a triple, one RBI, a walk and a stolen base ... Evan Davis led the team with four RBI over the three-game series ... Ean McNeal picked up a win on the mound, working 5.0 innings with three strikeouts ... Chicago State returns to action on Thursday as the team will play in the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. ... the Cougars will play St. Bonaventure, Nebraska-Omaha and Lehigh at the event.
Grand Canyon (4-4, 0-0 WAC)
GCU went 3-2 last week after playing a single game at Fresno State on Feb. 18 and hosting Hofstra University for a four-game series beginning on Feb. 21 ... in its four-game series at Brazell Stadium, GCU outhit the Pride 48-28 and outscored Hofstra 32-13 ... the Antelopes won their home opener, 8-1, over the Pride on Feb. 21 behind Jorge Perez’s complete game effort ... Chad De La Guerra started at second base in each game last week, and in their series against Hofstra, hit .500 (8-for-16) ... GCU starters Andrew Naderer and Ethan Evanko also picked up wins for the ‘Lopes ... catcher Humberto Aranda made three starts behind the plate and went 6-for-8 (.750) with two runs, two doubles, a triple, and two RBI ... freshman reliever Scott Serigstad tossed 2.2 scoreless innings of relief over two games, collecting 4 strikeouts…GCU now travels to Abilene, Texas to play Kansas State, Missouri State and Abilene Christian.
New Mexico State (6-2, 0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State went 3-1 last week in a four-game series against SIU-Edwardsville ... the team dropped the first game of the series 4-3 before winning the next three contests by scores of 16-12, 12-2 and 4-1 ... Kristoffer Koerper led the Aggies with six RBI, eight hits and two home runs in the four-game series against SIU-Edwardsville this past weekend … he also recorded 15 total bases and an 88.2 slugging percentage … on the season, Koerper has a team leading 14 RBI, 14 hits and four doubles … Billy Conard pitched six and a third innings for the Aggies in a 4-1 win over SIU_Edwardsville this past weekend. He is 1-0 on the season and holds a 0.87 ERA. He has allowed one run on nine hits and struck out eight batters in this two appearances this season … NM State hosts a four-game series against Oakland, Friday, Feb. 28 through Sunday, March 2 at Presley Askew Field in Las Cruces.
North Dakota (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
North Dakota opens its 2014 campaign this week as the team travels to Conway, Ark. to play its first four games of the season ... UND will open its season on Friday against Central Arkansas ... the team will take on Illinois State following its game against UCA ... North Dakota will then play Central Arkansas again on Saturday at 11 a.m., followed by another matchup against Illinois State.
Northern Colorado (2-5, 0-0 WAC)
Northern Colorado went 2-2 last week ... the team opened the week with a 10-3 setback at nationally-ranked TCU ... the Bears then returned home and went 2-1 in a three-game series with Colorado Mesa ... Northern Colorado played eight games in 10 days to kick off the season, the most since the 2010 season when the Bears also played eight games in 10 days, where they were 3-5 ... freshman Jake Ekman has recorded at least one hit in seven of the eight games this year and has four multiple hit games, twice the total of anyone else on the club ... senior Nick Miller may be struggling at the plate with just a .167 batting average thus far, but his hits have all come at crucial times as he has six RBI in five hits and he’s drawn the team’s two intentional walks of the year ... Northern Colorado returns to play this week in Albuquerque as the Bears will play a four-game series against the Lobos.
Sacramento State (5-4, 0-0 WAC)
Sacramento State’s 1-0 win over No. 21 Texas A&M was the first victory by a WAC team against a ranked opponent this season and was the program’s first win over a ranked team since 2012 ... the series against Texas A&M was the first games in program history against an SEC team ... the Hornets turned seven double plays in four games last week, including three in the 1-0 win on Friday ... freshman Sam Long allowed just one earned run over five innings at Fresno State to win his collegiate debut ... Sacramento State also played its first of seven midweek games this season at Raley Field, the 14,000 seat home of the AAA Sacramento Rivercats, on Tuesday night, defeating Nevada 7-4 ... the team returns to action on Feb. 28 when the team hosts San Francisco ... the Hornets will then travel to play San Francisco on Saturday and Sunday.
Seattle U (5-3, 0-0 WAC)
Seattle U split its four-game weekend series at Cal State Northridge, winning Friday’s and Sunday’s contests with identical 4-2 scores while losing both ends of Saturday’s doubleheader ... after scoring an early run in Friday’s game, Seattle U fell behind 2-1 before a two-run home run from Michael McCann pulled the Redhawks ahead, 3-2 ... an RBI double by McCann in the ninth inning added an insurance run ... Grant Gunning earned his first victory since 2012 after missing the second half of that season as well as the entire 2013 campaign due to rehab from Tommy John surgery ... Sunday, the Redhawks again found themselves behind, 1-0, until a four-run seventh inning put the Redhawks on top ... Mac Acker pitched the first eight innings to earn his first collegiate victory since March 4, 2012, while Brock Carpenter went from designated hitter to pitcher to pick up his first save ... SU heads to St. George, Utah, for a three-game series against BYU.
Texas-Pan American (5-4, 0-0 WAC)
Texas-Pan American went 3-1 last week ... the team picked up back-to-back 1-0 wins for the first time in 42 years with a 1-0 win against Northwestern State and a 1-0 victory over Prairie View A&M ... Alex Howe led the Broncs at the plate over the four games, batting .733 with 11 hits, one double, one triple, four RBI, one walk, one hit by pitch and four stolen bases on five attempts ... Howe earned WAC Hitter of the Week honors for his efforts ... Sam Street earned WAC Hitter of the Week honors after pitching a complete game 9.0 inning shutout in a 1-0 victory over Northwestern State ... Street tallied 11 strikeouts and gave up only two hits in his outing ... Texas-Pan American also dropped an 11-inning 2-1 heart-breaking decision at No. 27 Texas on Tuesday night ... the team continues play on Friday when it begins a three-game series at Lamar.
Utah Valley (2-6, 0-0 WAC)
Utah Valley played five games last week, three of which lasted into extra innings ... the Wolverines were 1-4 on the week, splitting two games at Arizona before getting swept at Pepperdine ... against Arizona on Tuesday, UVU built a 6-0 lead before the Wildcats tied it in the seventh and eventually won it in the 14th inning ... a day later, the Wolverines had a 2-1 lead in the ninth before a solo home run sent that game to extras ... in the 10th, Sean Moysh delivered a two-out double with Craig Brinkerhoff and Spencer Gothberg each added RBI singles in a 5-2 win. Against Pepperdine, a team picked to finish second in the WCC, UVU had an 8-4 lead, with Brinkerhoff hitting a fifth-inning three-run home run, but the Waves came back to tie it and win in the 11th on a three-run home run.
WAC NOTES
TEXA-PAN AMERICAN’S HOWE NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Texas-Pan American right fielder Alex Howe has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter for February 17-23.
Howe, a senior from Unanderra, Australia (Edmund Rice College), led the Broncs to a 3-1 record last week. Howe hit .733 (11-for-15) on the week with three runs, four RBI, one double, one triple, four stolen bases and a walk. Howe stood out in Sunday’s 9-3 win over Prairie View A&M, reaching base all four times. He went 3-for-3 with a walk, double, triple, two RBI, two runs scored and two steals. He tripled to start the game before scoring the Broncs’ first run. He also drove in the Broncs’ second run with a single in the second inning. Howe then doubled to drive in a run and then stole third so he could score on a groundout in the fourth inning. He reached base with a walk in the four-run fifth inning.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Bakersfield junior center fielder Jordie Hein … Chicago State junior outfielder Jared Patterson … Grand Canyon junior infielder Chad De La Guerra … New Mexico State senior first baseman Kristoffer Kierper … Northern Colorado freshman outfielder Jake Ekman … Sacramento State senior outfielder David Del Grande … Seattle U freshman infielder Michael McCann … Utah Valley sophomore outfielder Craig Brinkerhoff.
TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN’S STREET NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Texas-Pan American right-hander Sam Street has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for February 17-23.
Street, a senior from Melbourne, Australia (St. Leonard’s College), pitched a complete game two-hit shutout in a 1-0 win over Northwestern State. Street struck out 11 while forcing 11 groundouts. He retired the first 11 batters and 26 of the first 27 batters he faced. Street threw 86 of his 130 pitches for strikes (66.2 percent). He had just three three-ball counts all night, and none in the first six and two thirds innings. The win marked Street’s ninth-career complete game and fourth career shutout.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Bakersfield freshman Steven Gee … Grand Canyon junior Jorge Perez … New Mexico State junior Billy Conrad … Northern Colorado senior Dan Talley … Sacramento State junior Ty Nichols … Seattle U senior Mac Acker … Utah Valley senior Andrew Freter.
TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN RECORDS BACK-TO-BACK 1-0 SHUTOUT VICTORY FOR FIRST TIME IN 42 YEARS
Texas-Pan American recorded back-to-back 1-0 shutout victories for the first time in 42 years as the Broncs defeated Northwestern State 1-0 and Prairie View A&M 1-0 this season. The last time the Broncs recorded back-to-back 1-0 shutout wins was at Baylor 42 years prior. It marked the third time in program history and the first time at home, having also swept Indiana in a doubleheader 1-0 in each game on Marcy 25, 1967 in San Antonio. It was the first time the Broncs have won consecutive 1-0 games against two different opponents.
WAC TOURNAMENT HEADS TO MESA, ARIZONA’S CUBS PARK
The WAC has awarded Mesa, Ariz. the WAC Baseball Tournament for the 2014 season. The event will be played at the Chicago Cubs new Spring Training complex in Mesa. Visit Mesa, the destination marketing organization for the city, worked to secure the event which will feature the WAC’s top six baseball teams in May. In May of 2014, the City of Mesa will 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 12 times (1963, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, 76, 78, 2010, 11, 12) and the event was held in Mesa in 1971, 1973, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The $99 million new winter home of the Chicago Cubs is major league baseball’s newest stat-of-the-art spring training venue. The stadium will feature a 15,000 seat ballpark reminiscent of historic Wrigley Field; a state-of-the-art team clubhouse facility; a cluster of top-notch baseball practice fields; pristine youth soccer fields and a sparkling public lake that will boast an exciting new design.