WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield (6-8, 0-0 WAC)
Bakersfield went 1-2 last week ... the team picked up a 3-1 win at home over Cal State Northridge before dropping a pair of games at Portland by scores of 5-1 and 1-0 ... CSUB’s James Barragan was named WAC Pitcher of the Week for his peformance on the mound against Cal State Northridge ... the junior right-hander pitched a complete game 9.0 inning win ... he gave up only one run and one walk, while striking out seven ... Oscar Sanay hit .364 on the week with four hits, two runs, one double and a walk ... Max Carter hit .333 with a hit and a run scored ... Logan Trowbridge led the team with a pair of RBI on the week ... Bakersfield will continue play this week at home against Gonzaga on Wednesday ... the team will then open WAC play on Friday at home against Grand Canyon for a three-game series.
Chicago State (6-7, 0-0 WAC)
Chicago State went 2-1 last week ... the team split a pair of games at Northwestern State, defeating the Demons 9-3 in the opener, but then falling 7-2 in the second contest ... the team then defeated McNeese State 6-3 ... Jordan Stroschein hit .385 over the three games, compiling five hits, two runs, two doubles and an RBI ... Nathan Poff hit .375 with three hits, two runs, and two RBI ... Ean McNeal pitched a complete game win, going 9.0 innings with a strikeout ... the Cougars open WAC play this week with a three-game series at home against Seattle U.
Grand Canyon (7-8, 0-0 WAC)
After being shutout for the first time this season in their series opener against Omaha, GCU responded by winning the next three contests and outscoring the Mavericks 28-4 ... David Walker led the offensive efforts for the ‘Lopes by collecting 8 hits, scoring 6 runs, and grabbing 5 stolen bases ... Humberto Aranda continued his tear at the plate, going 5-for-9 in two starts behind the plate ... starters Andrew Naderer, Ethan Evanko, and Coley Bruns each picked up wins over the weekend, allowing just three runs as the GCU pitching staff held the Mavericks scoreless for a stretch of 22.0 straight innings ... freshman reliever Scott Serigstad picked up his first career save in GCU’s 5-2 win in the series finale ... the ‘Lopes will now officially make their return to the WAC when they travel to take on preseason favorite Bakersfield beginning with a 6 p.m. matchup on Friday, March 14.
New Mexico State (7-9, 0-0 WAC)
The NM State baseball team will be on the road for the second straight weekend March 14-16 for a four-game series against UC-Davis in Davis, Calif. Friday’s game is slated for 3:00 p.m. (MT), while Saturday’s doubleheader begins as 1 p.m. (MT), followed by game two at approximately 5 p.m. ... he final game of the series is set for 1 p.m. (MT) on Sunday ... he Aggies are currently 7-9 on the season and have lost four straight ... the Aggies went 0-4 last week at Texas Tech ... the team lost by scores of 5-3, 15-2, 8-7 and 14-4 ... Derek Umphres hit .467 with seven hits, four runs scored, two RBI and a walk ... Kyle Kilgore hit .462 during the four-game series with six hits, three runs, two doubles, a home run, two RBI and a walk ... Joseph Koerper hit .429 with six hits, two runs, one double, three RBI and three walks.
North Dakota (0-8, 0-0 WAC)
North Dakota went 0-4 at Saint Louis this past week ... enior Zack Trygstad hit his first triple of the season and moved into a tie for second all-time at UND for career triples, just one shy of the mark set 13 years ago by Aaron Larsen ... UND opens WAC plays this week against Utah Valley ... freshman Zach Muckenhirn continues to shine in his first collegiate season, leading UND starters with a 2.31 ERA in 11.2 IP and a team-high 11 K ... Zack Trygstad had a three-hit day at Saint Louis and totaled a team-high five hits on the weekend in the series ... he hit his first triple of the season and moved into second place on the all-time list at UND for career triples, one shy of the record ... UND opens WAC play at Utah Valley this week.
Northern Colorado (2-10, 0-0 WAC)
Northern Colorado went 2-2 last week at home against North Dakota State ... the Bears won the opener 3-1 before dropping the next two games by scores of 8-4 and 3-7 ... Northern Colorado then won the series finale 8-6 ... Andrew Coffman hit .667 during the series with six hits, one run, one triple, and three RBI ... Colby Harrison was also impressive at the plate, batting .500 with six hits, one double, three runs, one RBI and a hit-by-pitch ... Josh Tinnon worked 6.0 innings on the mound without giving up an earned run to claim a win ... Tinnon tallied four strikeouts and gave up only four hits ... Yan Fortin also picked up a win on the mound, working 2.1 innings without giving up a run ... Northern Colorado plays on Tuesday and Wednesday at Nebraska ... the team then travels to play Kansas State on Friday through Sunday.
Sacramento State (7-9, 0-0 WAC)
Sacramento State defeated No. 24 Fresno State for the second time this season ... it was also the Hornets second win this year against a ranked opponent (Texas A&M) ... freshman Sam Long is 1-0 with a 2.50 ERA in three midweek starts and one relief appearance, with the team going 3-0 in games he has started ... the Hornets scored just five runs in four games last week and four of the five runs were unearned, as the team scored just one run during the week without the aid of an opponent error ... Sacramento State was outscored 23-3 over three weekend games (2 at UC Riverside, 1 vs. West Virginia) ... Sacramento State continues play this week as the team hosts Minnesota for a three game set starting on Friday.
Seattle U (6-10, 0-0 WAC)
Seattle U went 1-4 against two highly ranked opponents over the past week ... first, the Redhawks were swept in a doubleheader by the Oregon Ducks in Eugene, Ore., 10-2 and 4-3 ... in the second game of the twinbill, the Redhawks came back from an early three-run deficit to tie the game at 3-3, but then gave up one run to Oregon in the eighth inning ... after 13 consecutive road games to start the season, Seattle U finally played three home games, but due to field conditions, none of them came on the normal home field of Bannerwood Park ... after losing the series opener to Cal Poly, 4-0, the Redhawks came back from a 7-1 deficit with 10 runs in the sixth inning, the second time this season they put double-digit runs up in a single inning ... Seattle U is scheduled to host a two-game midweek series against Portland before starting the conference season with a three-game weekend series at Chicago State.
Texas-Pan American (9-7, 0-0 WAC)
Texas-Pan American went an impressive 3-1 last week ... the Broncs opened the week with a 6-5 setback at UTSA but then rallied to win three straight over Arlington Bapist by scores of 7-4, 5-2 and 4-2 ... Jesus Garcia posted his first-career three-hit game on Friday, going 3-for-5 with first triple, an RBI and a run scored ... Garcia followed that up with another three-hit game in game two on Saturday, going 3-for-4 with a career-high three stolen bases, one walk, two RBI and one run scored ... Kyle Tokunaga threw 60 of 93 pitches (64.5 percent) for strikes ... after giving up a single with two outs in the first, he retired 11-straight ... he then issued first walk with one out in the fifth and got a double play ... Tokunaga pitched a career-high seven innings (hadn’t gone more than 1.1 in a game this year) in the first start of the season ... UTPA plays at Texas A&M on Tuesday and Wednesday before traveling to play Oklahoma State for three games.
Utah Valley (4-11, 0-0 WAC)
Behind it’s best offensive day of the season, Utah Valley avoided a sweep at Long Beach State with a 13-8 win in the series finale on Sunday ... Jordy Hart was 5-for-5 with a three-run home and 5 RBIs while Craig Brinkerhoff had a pair of doubles on a three-hit day ... Hart reached base six times on the day ... the Wolverines had a season-high in runs and hits (16) in the win with sophomore Danny Beddes getting the win on the mound ... on Monday the Wolverines ended a stretch of 16 straight road games to start the season at Cal State Northridge ... his week UVU opens WAC play by hosting North Dakota, a program that the Wolverines competed in the Great West Conference with ... UND upset Utah Valley in last season’s GWC Tournament.
WAC NOTES
GRAND CANYON’S WALKER NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Grand Canyon outfielder David Walker has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week, respectively for March 3-9.
Walker, a junior from Gilbert, Ariz. (Perry HS), hit .533 (8-for-15) on the week with six runs, three RBI, one double, three walks and four stolen bases over a four-game series against Omaha. After going hitless in the series opener, Walker collected two hits in the second game and then went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs scored in the third contest. He was 2-for-3 with a run scored in the series finale, which included a season-best three stolen bases. Walker currently has reached base in six straight games, which is the longest current streak on the team.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Chicago State junior outfielder Jordan Stroschein … New Mexico State sophomore infielder Derek Umphres … North Dakota senior infielder/designated hitter Zack Trygstad … Northern Colorado senior catcher Andrew Coffman … Sacramento State senior center fielder David Del Grande … Seattle U sophomore outfielder Landon Cray … Texas-Pan American junior infielder Jesus Garcia … Utah Valley junior outfielder Jordy Hart.
BAKERSFIELD’S NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Bakersfield right-hander James Barragan has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for March 3-9.
Barragan, a junior from Bakersfield, Calif. (Stockdale SH), recorded his first career 9.0 inning complete game victory as he limited Cal State Northridge to four hits in Tuesday’s 4-1 Bakersfield win. Barragan gave up only one run as he struck out seven while only walking one. He faced just four above the minimum (31) as he needed 126 pitches for the win.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Chicago State junior Ean McNeal … Grand Canyon sophomore Andrew Naderer … New Mexico State senior Christopher Bradley … Northern Colorado senior Josh Tinnon … Sacramento State sophomore Sutter McLoughlin … Texas-Pan American senior Kyle Tokunaga.
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.