WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield (17-25, 9-9 WAC)
Bakersfield went 2-3 last week ... the ‘Runners went 1-1 at Kansas State before going 1-2 against Sacramento State ... despite not getting the decision in Bakersfield’s 2-1 11-inning victory over Sacramento State, James Barragan turned in a stellar performance ... Barragan tied the Bakersfield school record for most innings pitched in a game as he went the first 10 innings against the Hornets ... Barragan retired 16-of-18 batters he faced entering the ninth inning ... he would throw 115 pitches, striking out seven while only walking two. He gave up five hits ... Soloman Williams broke an 0-25 slump with a home run against Kansas State Apr. 21 ... in five games this week, Williams hit .353 (6-for-17) and followed up with his second home run of the year against Sacramento State Apr. 27 ... Nick Rogowski made his first start of the year after 12 bullpen appearances and got the win at Kansas State Apr. 21.
Chicago State (14-27, 3-12 WAC)
Chicago State went 2-3 last week ... the team defeated Wabash 10-2 at home to open the week ... the team then dropped a one-run 7-6 decision at Northwestern ... the Cougars then went 1-2 at home to Texas-Pan American ... CSU dropped the opener to UTPA 9-3 before winning game two 4-2, and then dropping the finale 1-0 ...the Cougars enter thus week with 14 wins--he most wins in a season wince 2001 ... Ean McNeal has allowed three runs over his last 17.1 innings pitched ... Mattingly Romanin has 153 career hits, 10th all-time in CSU history ... when he reaches 160 he will take the 6th spot in CSU history ... starter Eric Hall has allowed three or fewer runs in five of his eight starts this year ... starter Andrew Wellwerts has yet to allow a home run in 61.1 innings. Dating back to last season he has only given up one home run in his last 151.2 innings.
Grand Canyon (23-18, 12-6 WAC)
The Antelopes won two of three games against visiting New Mexico State over the weekend to win their fifth Western Athletic Conference series in six tries ... Andrew Naderer opened the weekend by guiding the Lopes to a 6-3 victory in the series opener, while a trio of freshmen (Ethan Evanko, Zebastian Valenzuela, and Scott Serigstad) helped GCU get the 9-4 win in the rubber match on April 27 ... Valenzuela tossed 4.0 scoreless frames to pick up his first-career win for the Lopes ... Chad De La Guerra (6-for-12, .500), David Walker (4-for-11, .364), and Michael Pomeroy (5-for-13, .385) each hit safely in all three games as they extended their hitting streaks to 11, seven, and six games, respectively ... Garrett Jeffries also hit safely in both of his starts, going 4-for-5 with a run and 2 RBI ... GCU will now hit the road for seven straight away from home, beginning with a three-game series at Seattle U on Friday, May 2 at 6 p.m.
New Mexico State (17-22, 8-7 WAC)
New Mexico State went 1-2 in its three-game series at Grand Canyon last week ... the team dropped the first game of the series 6-5 and then won game two 2-1 before dropping the finale 9-4 ... junior outfielder Kyle Young hit .667 on the road against Grand Canyon going 4-of-6 at the dish with a double, two runs scored and and an RBI ... he struck out only once on the weekend ... right-hand pitcher Billy Conard got the start Saturday, April 26 versus Grand Canyon and worked 6.2 innings on the mound while striking out six batters and walking just one ... he gave up just one run on seven hits but was given a no-decision in a 2-1 win over the Lopes ... this week, New Mexico State continues play in Arizona as the Aggies take on Arizona State on Tuesday ... the team then returns home to host Utah Valley in a three-game WAC series that starts on Friday.
North Dakota (8-20, 8-7 WAC)
North Dakota won the opener with Seattle U—its first game at Kraft Memorial Field this season—before dropping the final two games of the series ... Andrew Thome picked up the win Friday with five innings out of the bullpen ... Taylor Petersen had three-extra base hits in that game, including a walkoff solo homer in the ninth ... Dalton Parrott hit his first extra-bsase hit in a UND uniform Sunday, a huge double in a six-run fourth that erased a five-run deficit against Seattle ... Brock Johnson worked a scoreless two innings Sunday, his 10th outing (of 12) in which he has not allowed a run ... UND travels to arch-rival North Dakota State Tuesday before heading to Texas-Pan American for three beginning Friday.
Northern Colorado (6-37, 1-17 WAC)
Northern Colorado went 0-4 last week ... the Bears dropped a one-run decision at Air Force, falling 11-10 in the team’s first game of the week ... Northern Colorado then went 0-3 in a three-game series at Utah Valley ... the Bears dropped the three games by scores of 8-1, 9-4 and 12-1 (7) ... Nick Miller hit .438 over the four games with seven hits, three runs scored and three RBI ... Ryan Yamane hit .400 at the plate over the four games with six hits, two runs scored, three walks and an RBI ... Rob Cashel also hit .400 with two hits, one run, one triple, an RBI and a stolen base ... this week, Northern Colorado hosts Air Force on Tuesday night ... the Bears then host Bakersfield for a three-game WAC series that starts on Friday and goes through Sunday.
Sacramento State (27-17, 14-4 WAC)
Sacramento State went 3-2 last week and is now receiving votes in the NCBWA top-30 poll this week ... the Hornets split a pair of games against No. 4 Oregon State to open the week ... the team then won two of three games at Bakersfield in WAC play ... Sacramento State’s 7-6 win over No. 4 Oregon State was the highest ranked team the program has ever defeated ... the Hornet bullpen threw seven shutout innings against the Beavers in the win ... Sacramento State is now 5-0 this season at Raley Field with wins over two ranked teams ... Hornet pitchers had a 1.91 ERA with 19 strikeouts to just four walks in winning 2-of-3 at Bakersfield ... this week, Sacramento State hosts Menlo College on Tuesday, plays at Nevada on Wednesday, and hosts Chicago State over the weekend.
Seattle U (20-19, 9-6 WAC)
Seattle U enjoyed a successful 3-1 week, starting with a 1-0 victory over top-10 program Washington Tuesday ... it is the fourth consecutive year that the Redhawks have earned at least one victory over their crosstown rival, but the first time Seattle U has defeated Washington on its home field ... Skyler Genger and Mac Acker combined for a three-hit shutout, and SU scored its run in the fifth inning on a passed ball ... SU took two of three at North Dakota over the weekend and had a chance at the victory on Friday as well, coming from behind to tie the game at 5-5 in the ninth inning before losing on a walk-off home run ... Will Dennis threw a complete game shutout Saturday in Seattle U’s 7-0 win, and the Redhawks came back to defeat North Dakota in the rubber game Sunday, 12-9 ... Brian Olson hit .500 during the week ... Seattle U heads to Husky Ballpark for the rematch with Washington Tuesday evening before hosting Grand Canyon in a three-game WAC series over the weekend.
Texas-Pan American (19-26, 9-9 WAC)
Texas-Pan American went 2-2 last week ... the Broncs dropped a one-run decision at No. 10 Texas, falling 5-4 in the team’s first game of the week ... UTPA then went 2-1 in a three-game series at Chicago State ... the Broncs won the opener of the series 9-3, then dropped game two 4-2 before winning the finale 1-0 ... Alberto Morales hit .471 on the week ... he hit leadoff in the first three games of the week, going 8-for-14 (.571) ... Morales notched his first three-hit game of the season at Texas, notching a double, a steal and a run scored ... Blake English pitched a one-hit shutout victory, marking his second complete and shutout in his last three starts ... English carried a perfect game into the sixth inning, retiring the first 16 batters he faced before an error put a runner on base ... the lone hit English gave up was an infield single ... UTPA hosts Incarnate Word on Tuesday before hosting North Dakota in a three-game WAC series.
Utah Valley (19-22, 11-7 WAC)
Utah Valley notched its fifth straight win and completed a three-game sweep of Northern Colorado on Sunday in a 12-1 win in seven inning ... Andrew Freter pitched a complete game, his first as a Wolverine, and Riley White had three hits in the win ... the Wolverines started the week with a 12-8 win over in-state rival Utah to earn a split of the season series with the Utes ... with weather playing havoc on the weekend series with Northern Colorado, the two teams opened the WAC series with a doubleheader on Friday ... UVU won both, 8-1 and 9-4, and got home runs from Mark Krueger in both games ... Krueger hit .438 on the week with two home runs and eight runs scored and earned WAC Hitter of the Week honors for his performance on the week ... Utah Valley hosts BYU on Tuesday night before heading to Las Cruces to face NM State in a three-game WAC series.
WAC NOTES
UTAH VALLEY’S KRUEGER NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley designated hitter Mark Krueger has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for April 21-27.
Krueger, a sophomore from Draper, Utah (Jordan HS), hit .438 (7-for-16), to lead Utah Valley to a perfect 4-0 record last week. Krueger helped the Wolverines to a 12-8 win over in-state rival Utah as he recorded two hits, two runs, a double and a walk. He had three multi-hit games during the week and slugged .938. He homered in both games of a Friday double-header sweep over Northern Colorado. He scored two times in each game during the week. He struck out only one time in 16 at bats. Over the four games, Krueger tallied seven hits, eight runs scored, four RBI, two doubles, two walks and two home runs.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Grand Canyon junior second baseman Chad De La Guerra … Chicago State junior infielder Mattingly Romanin … New Mexico State junior outfielder Kyle Young … North Dakota senior catcher Taylor Petersen … Sacramento State junior shortstop Scotty Burcham … Seattle U senior infielder Cullen Hendrickson … Texas-Pan American senior third baseman Alberto Morales.
TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN’S ENGLISH NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Texas-Pan American right-hander Blake English has been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for April 21-27.
English, a junior from Del Valle, Texas (De Valle HS), pitched a one-hit complete game shutout in a 1-0 win at Chicago State. The performance marked his second complete and shutout in his last three starts. English carried a perfect game into the sixth inning, retiring the first 16 batters he faced before an error put a runner on base. The lone hit English gave up was a single with one out in the seventh. English recorded 12 groundouts, 10 fly outs, and five strikeouts (one looking) while throwing 65 of his 99 pitches for strikes.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Bakersfield junior James Barragan … Grand Canyon junior Andrew Naderer … Chicago State junior Ean McNeal … New Mexico State junior Billy Conard … North Dakota junior Andrew Thome … Sacramento State sophomore Sutter McLoughlin … Seattle U sophomore Will Dennis … Utah Valley senior Andrew Freter.
TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN’S STREET NAMED TO COLLEGE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME PITCHER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Texas-Pan American senior Sam Street is one of 47 pitchers of the Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List. The award is presented by the National College Baseball Hall of Fame. Street is the only WAC pitcher and one of only four pitchers in the State of Texas on the list. Texas-Pan American senior pitcher Sam Street has pitched an NCAA-best eight complete games this season. He recently moved his record to an NCAA-best 10-0 with a win over Chicago State last week. He has made 11 appearances this season and holds a 1.69 ERA. Street has recorded 63 strikeouts and has given up only 73 hits in 95.2 innings pitched this year.
WAC TEAMS AMONG NATIONAL STAT LEADERS
Northern Colorado holds the highest team NCAA statistical ranking as the Bears rank ninth nationally with 18 triples this season. UNC also ranks 11 in triples per game at 0.42. Individually, Texas-Pan American’s Sam Street leads the nation with eight complete games and he also is tied for first nationally with 10 wins this season. Northern Colorado’s Josh Tinnon ranked third in the nation with 12 games started, while Sacramento State’s Alex Palsha ranks seventh nationally with 27 appearances.
SACRAMENTO STATE DEFEATS HIGHEST-RANKED OPPONENT IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Sacramento State stunned No. 4 Oregon State last Monday, rallying from a 6-1 deficit for a 7-6 win at Raley Field. At No. 4 in the country, Oregon State was the highest ranked opponent that the Hornets have defeated in program history. Sacramento State pounded out 16 hits in the game, all singles, while four relievers combined to throw seven shutout innings after the Beavers scored six runs in the first two innings. Five Hornets scored runs and five had RBIs in a complete team effort in front of 1,569 fans, including several MLB scouts. The win was the third of the year for the Hornets over a ranked team, having also defeated No. 21 Texas A&M and No. 24 Fresno State, and the team is 3-3 vs. top-25 squads this year.
SACRAMENTO STATE’S MCLOUGHLIN CLOSING IN ON WAC CAREER SAVES RECORD
Sophomore pitcher Sutter McLoughlin leads the WAC with eight saves this season. He now has 25 career saves in just his second season. He is just one save away from tying Sacramento State’s all-time saves record of 26-a mark that was set during the 1989 season by Mike Frame. McLoughlin is now just five saves away from breaking the WAC career saves record of 29, set by Louisiana Tech’s Caleb Dudley (2010-13). McLoughlin already holds the WAC single season saves record of 17, which he set last season during his freshman campaign.
STREAKIN’
Sacramento State’s Nathan Lukes’ WAC-best hitting streak came to a rest last week against Oregon State. Lukes hit safely in 20-straight games, the best streak in the WAC by four games this season. The 20-game hitting streak is a career high for Lukes. Teammate Scotty Burcham holds the best current hitting streak in the WAC at 12 games.
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.