WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield (8-11, 1-2 WAC)
Taylor Aikenhead tossed a complete game four-hitter against Grand Canyon in the series opener vs. the Antelopes. Aikenhead did not give up an earned run while striking out six (walking four) ... Soloman Williams hit .385 with a .538 slugging percentage and two RBI’s in the four games last week. He did not commit an error in 47 chances at first base during the week ... Chance Gusbeth hit .375 with three RBI’s and threw a runner out at the plate from his right field position during the week ... Aikenhead earned WAC Pitcher of the Week honors for his performance last week.
Chicago State (7-8, 0-0 WAC)
Chicago State did not play last week because its WAC season-opening series against Seattle U was cancelled due to weather ... the team did open its home slate this week against Valparaiso on Tuesday, falling to Valpo 7-1 in the first game ever played at its new season ... the Cougars did not have to wait long to pick up their first-ever win in their new stadium as the Cougars defeated Illinois-Chicago 14-12 on Wednesday ... the team will continue play this week ... the Cougars take on Holy Cross (Ind.) on Thursday at Cougar Stadium ... first pitch will be 5 p.m., an hour earlier than initially announced at the start of the season.
Grand Canyon (10-9, 2-1 WAC)
The Antelopes won two of three games at Bakersfield, the WAC preseason favorite ... it marked their official return to the WAC, a conference they also played in from 1995-98 ... GCU lost the first game, 4-2, and bounced back to win the next two by scores of 5-4 and 9-2 ... Humberto Aranda was hot at the plate for GCU, batting .462 in three starts, two of which came from behind the plate ... Chad De La Guerra hit .300 for the weekend, while David Walker went 5-for-11 (.455) for the ‘Lopes ... Andrew Naderer picked up the win on Saturday after tossing 7.0 strong innings, while Coley Bruns improved to 3-0 with a complete game victory on Sunday ... GCU will now play four straight non-conference games ... GCU defeated Arizona 3-1 on Tuesday night ... the ‘Lopes now play three at UC Irvine beginning on Friday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m.
New Mexico State (8-12, 0-0 WAC)
The New Mexico State baseball team heads to Edinburg, Texas for the opening of WAC play against Texas-Pan American, March 21-23 ... the Aggies are 8-12 on the season ... all three games of the series will be broadcast on KSNM 570 AM with Jeff Matthews bringing the call back to Las Cruces ... the Aggies are 13-5 against the Broncs all-time, sweeping a four-game series with Texas Pan American in 2012 ... NM State went 1-3 last week against UC Davis ... the Aggies won the opener 6-4 before dropping the next three games by scores of 5-1, 4-0 and 6-5 ... Derek Umphres led the Aggies at the plate, hitting .353 with six hits, one run, one double and four RBI ... Kent Blackstone hit .308 with four hits, four runs scored, two doubles, a triple and four walks.
North Dakota (2-10, 2-1 WAC)
North Dakota earned its first WAC series win by taking two of three at Utah Valley this week ... North Dakota scored 10 runs and had 16 hits in each of the final two games of the series ... Junior Tyler Follis had the team’s first four-hit game in the Sunday win ... he also drove in four runs in that game ... junior Jeff Campbell homered and picked-up a complete-game win in the 10-4 Sunday win ... Zach Muckenhirn earned the team’s first win on the mound, firing eight innings of four-hit baseball, allowing just one run and striking out eight on Saturday ... Muckenhirn sports a team-best 1.83 ERA (among starters) with 19 K in three starts ... Ryan Reese extended his reached base streak to eight straight games ... Reese leads the team with 13 hits, eight RBI and a .463 on-base percentage in the early going ... UND also dropped at 16-6 decision at UNLV on Wednesday night.
Northern Colorado (5-16, 0-0 WAC)
Northern Colorado went 1-4 last week ... the Bears split a two-game series at Nebraska, falling 10-2 before picking up a 9-2 in in the second matchup ... Northern Colorado then went 0-3 at Kansas State, dropping the three games by scores of 10-1, 24-3 and 11-0 ... Jake Ekman led the team at the plate over the five games last week, batting .385 with five hits, three runs, one double, two RBI and a walk ... Brandon Vaughn hit .313 with five hits, two runs, one double, three RBI and a pair of stolen bases ... Lucas Corrick picked up the win on the mound last week ... he made two appearances and worked 3.1 innings while giving up only four hits, one run and no walks ... this week, Northern Colorado travels to play Sacramento State in a three-game WAC series that starts on Friday.
Sacramento State (9-11, 0-0 WAC)
After totaling just one run in four straight games Sacramento State struck for 9 total runs on Saturday and Sunday ... Clay Cederquist’s homerun on Sunday was the team’s first since March 2 and its first at John Smith Field this season ... sophomore reliever Sutter McLoughlin has not allowed a run over 13.0 innings this season and freshman reliever Sterling Humphry has not allowed a run over 7.1 innings ... the Hornets are in the midst of a nine-game home stand covering two and a half weeks ... the Hornets went 1-2 against Minnesota at home last week ... the team dropped the opener 2-1 and then rallied to win game two 6-2 before dropping the finale 5-3 ... Scotty Burcham hit .417 at the plate during the three-game series with five hits, one run, three doubles and two RBI ... David Del Grande hit .333 with three hits, two runs, two doubles and an RBI.
Seattle U (7-11, 0-0 WAC)
Seattle University split a midweek series to Portland at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue ... the Redhawks lost the first game Tuesday, 6-0, leaving nine runners on base, including six runners in scoring position ... Seattle U fell behind in Wednesday’s game, 4-1, but scored single runs in four of the last five innings for a comeback 5-4 victory ... the Redhawks finished with 16 hits, most in a single game so far this season, led by Chase Fields and Cash McGuire with three hits apiece ... the bullpen was solid for the Redhawks in both games, allowing just one earned run in 11 2/3 innings of work ... the weekend series at Chicago State was postponed due to accumulation of snow, and it is unknown if and when the games would be rescheduled ... the Redhawks are off this upcoming week for winter quarter finals.
Texas-Pan American (10-13, 0-0 WAC)
Texas-Pan American went 1-3 last week ... the Broncs droppped a pair of games at No. 23 Texas A&M by scores of 13-0 and 6-2 ... the Broncs then traveled to play No. 15 Oklahoma State, where the team took a 3-1 victory in game one before dropping game two 4-3 ... Victor Garcia Jr. hit .364 over the four games with four hits, an RBI and one hit-by-pitch ... Alex How hit .308 with four hits, two RBI, a walk and two stolen bases ... Sam Street picked up the win on the mound against Oklahoma State ... Street pitched 8.2 innings while giving up only one run ... he had four strikeouts in the victory ... Texas-Pan American also dropped a two-game series at Texas A&M Corpus Christi this week by scores of 8-7 and 12-5 ... the team continues play this week at home against New Mexico State for a three-game WAC series.
Utah Valley (5-15, 1-2 WAC)
Utah Valley opened WAC play in its first home series of the season against North Dakota ... in the opener, Sean Moysh’s eighth-inning, two-run home run broke a 5-5 tie as the Wolverines went on to win 8-5 ... UND got the best of UVU in the final two games though, winning 10-1 and 10-4 to take the series ... the Wolverines are back in action Tuesday in the first of four in-state midweek games this season when they make the short trip north to face Utah. Utah Valley will travel to Dallas Baptist this weekend for a three-game series before a Tuesday midweek at UNLV on March 25 ... the Wolverines resume WAC play next week at home against Bakersfield (March 28-30).
WAC NOTES
NORTH DAKOTA’S REESE NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
North Dakota third baseman Ryan Reese has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for March 10-16.
Reese, a junior from Lino Lakes, Minn. (Iowa Central CC), hit .500 (6-for-12) on the week with two runs, five RBI and two doubles over a three-game WAC series at Utah Valley. Reese extended his on-base streak to eight games, tallying six hits and driving in five in the series at Utah Valley. He leads the team in hitting at .371 with 13 hits, eight RBi and a .463 on-base percentage.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Grand Canyon junior catcher Humberto Aranda … New Mexico State sophomore infielder Derek Umphres … Sacramento State junior infielder Scotty Burcham … Seattle U senior outfielder Chase Fields … Texas-Pan American senior third baseman Alberto Morales.
BAKERSFIELD’S AIKENHEAD NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Bakersfield left-hander Taylor Aikenhead has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for March 10-16.
Aikenhead, a senior from Lancaster, Calif. (Bakersfield College), tossed a complete game four-hitter against Grand Canyon in the series opener versus the Antelopes. Aikenhead did not give up an earned run while striking out six and walking only four.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Grand Canyon junior Coley Bruns … New Mexico State senior Christopher Bradley … North Dakota freshman Zach Muckerhirn … Sacramento State freshman Sam Long … Seattle U senior Mac Acker … Texas-Pan American senior Sam Street.
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.