WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield (11-19, 4-5 WAC)
Bakersfield went 0-4 last week ... the team dropped a 6-1 decision to sixth-ranked Cal Poly before dropping three games at No. 29 Oklahoma ... all though Bakersfield lost all four games last week, the Roadrunners scored the first run in three of those four games ... Mylz Jones hit his first career home run in the final game of the Oklahoma series ... freshman Max Jones is leading the ‘Runners in hitting and home runs entering the Chicago State series ... the Bakersfield-Oklahoma series was televised nationally on Fox College Sports through the network’s partnership with Oklahoma ... Bakersfield returns to action on Friday when the team hosts Chicago State for a three-game WAC series.
Chicago State (9-18, 0-6 WAC)
Chicago State went 0-4 last week ... the Cougars opened the week with a 12-8 loss at home to Milwaukee ... the team then dropped three-straight games to Utah Valley by scores of 5-4, 7-2 and 7-3 ... Chase Matheson led the team at the plate over the four games, batting .357 with five hits, four runs scored, on edouble, six walks and three RBI ... Julian Russell hit .333 with six hits and two runs scored ... Mattingly Romanin hit .308 with four hits, three runs scored, five walks and a pair of RBI ... this week, Chicago State opened play with a 6-1 setback at home to Notre Dame ... the team plays at UIC on Wednesday before it travels to play Bakersfield in a three-game WAC series that begins Friday.
Grand Canyon (16-14, 6-3 WAC)
The Antelopes went 2-3 last week, including a series split at Nevada before dropping two of three games at UTPA in WAC play ... Ethan Evanko combined to allow just two earned runs over 12.0 innings in two starts for GCU, including the 3-2 win in the series finale at UTPA ... Jorge Perez tossed 9.0 strong innings in the series opener at UTPA, allowing just one run over 9.0 innings, but did not factor in the decision as the Lopes lost in 10 innings ... it was the fourth time this season that Perez has tossed 8.0 innings or more in a start ... Paul Panaccione and David Walker led the squad offensively, as Panaccione was 7-for-18 (.389) while Walker hit .400 (8-for-20) ... both also snagged a stolen base to stand atop the WAC standing with 12 steals so far this season ... GCU will now return home to face conference leader Sacramento State for a three-game set at Brazell Stadium beginning on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
New Mexico State (13-19, 5-4 WAC)
New Mexico State went 3-1 last week ... the Aggies opened the week with a 17-7 loss on the road at New Mexico before winning three straight at Northern Colorado by scores of 16-4, 7-4 and 12-9 ... third baseman Derek Umphres hit .500 (8-of-16), striking out only once in four games last week ... Umphres picked up seven singles and a home run while finishing the week with nine RBI and a .688 slugging percentage ... Umphres earned WAC Hitter of the Week honors for his performance last week ... junior right-hander Riley Barr remained undefeated on the year after he worked a season-high 7.1 innings on the mound against Northern Colorado on Saturday ... in the 7-4 win, Barr allowed only two runs and walked just three of the 35 batters he faced and dropped his ERA to 2.60 on the year ... NM State opened this week with a 9-6 setback at Air Force ... its series at North Dakota has been cancelled.
North Dakota (6-15, 6-3 WAC)
North Dakota lost three games at Creighton this past week, holding leads in the middle to later innings in two of them ... Tyler Follis recorded his second four-hit game of the season in the second game Saturday ... Ryan Reese also matched the feat Sunday as UND pounded out 15 hits ... Reese extended his reached base streak to 18 straight ... Patrick Riewer hit his first home run in a UND uniform on Sunday ... Brock Johnson had another scoreless outing out of the bullpen Saturday, giving him seven of eight appearances this season without allowing a run ... Alex Twenge made his first appearance on the mound since March 7, pitching an inning in Sunday’s game ... UND was scheduled to play its first games at Kraft Memorial Field this week versus New Mexico State for four games, but those games have been cancelled due to weather.
Northern Colorado (5-26, 0-9 WAC)
Northern Colorado went 0-4 last week ... the team opened the week with an 8-6 setback at Air Force ... the Bears then went 0-3 in a three-game conference series at home against New Mexico State ... the Bears dropped the three games by scores of 16-4, 7-4 and 12-9 ... Landon Moseley hit .600 at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and three walks ... Ben Netzel hit .421 with eight hits, three runs scored, two doubles, one home run and seven RBI ... Nick Miller hit .417 at the plate over the four games with five hits, three runs, four walks and one hit-by-pitch ... Ryan Yamane scored six runs over the four games for the Bears ... this week, Northern Colorado looks to get back on track as the team hosts Air Force on Wednesday ... the team then travels to play Seattle U in a three-game WAC series.
Sacramento State (20-12, 9-0 WAC)
The Hornets remained undefeated (9-0) in conference play and ran their overall winning streak to 12 games, the longest active winning streak in all of NCAA Div. I last week ... the streak was just four wins short of the program-record winning streak of 16 games set in 1992 ... the 15-inning game on Saturday was the longest game in the Div.-I history of the program (since 1990) ... as a team Sacramento State is hitting .346 against WAC opposition while averaging 9.2 runs per game offensively, while its pitchers have a 1.78 ERA, allowing only 16 earned runs in the nine games ... Sacramento State’s 12-game winning streak came to a hault with a 9-8 loss in 14 innings on Monday night ... the Hornets will continue play this week in Phoenix as the team plays Grand Canyon in a three-game WAC series.
Seattle U (11-15, 3-3 WAC)
Seattle U saw its five-game winning streak snapped last Wednesday with a 6-2 loss to Portland ... the Redhawks committed two errors that led to four unearned runs in the third inning, and Seattle U was held to just two hits after the second inning ... SU then lost all three games of a weekend series at WAC leader Sacramento State, first suffering an 8-1 loss Friday afternoon ... Saturday, the Redhawks scored single runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to pull into a 3-3 tie, and the contest would remain that way until the 15th inning, when the Hornets finally broke through and won 4-3 ... SU left 19 runners on base, including 12 runners stranded during the extra innings ... Sunday, Seattle U jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but mistakes again haunted the Redhawks, as two unearned runs were key in the 4-3 loss ... Cullen Hendrickson led Seattle U offensively with seven hits during the week ...SU hosts Concordia Wednesday before welcoming Northern Colorado for a three-game WAC series that starts on Friday.
Texas-Pan American (13-22, 3-6 WAC)
Texas-Pan American went 2-2 last week ... the team opened the week with a 15-7 loss to Texas A&M Corpus Christi ... the Broncs then won its first two games of a three-game series against Grand Canyon by scores of 2-1 and 7-6 ... the Broncs then dropped the series finale against GCU 3-2 ... Bryan Ramirez hit .438 at the plate over the four games ... Ramirez collected seven hits, three runs, three doubles, an RBI and was hit by a pitch twice ... Alex Howe hit .333 with five hits, one triple and one home run ... he had the game-winning hits on both Friday and Saturday, including a walk-off single in the 10th on Friday ... Sam Street was impressive on the mound, working a career-high 10 innings in a complete-game 2-1 victory over Grand Canyon ... UTPA dropped a 14-3 decision to Incarnate Word on Tuesday night ... the team continues play at Utah Valley for a 3-game series that starts on Friday.
Utah Valley (13-18, 6-3 WAC)
Utah Valley was a perfect 4-0 last week, extending its win streak to six games following a midweek win at rival BYU, 8-3, before sweeping a weekend series at Chicago State in WAC play ... Devin Nelson picked up two of the team’s four wins on the mound, pitching into the ninth inning at BYU and then earning a victory in relief in the finale Chicago State ... Mark Krueger drove in seven runs during the week while Sean Moysh led the team with a .444 average ... Utah Valley will host Texas-Pan American in a three-game WAC series at Brent Brown Ballpark starting Friday night.
WAC NOTES
NEW MEXICO STATE’S UMPHRES NAMED WAC HITTER OF THE WEEK
New Mexico State third baseman Derek Umphres was named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for March 31-April 6.
Umphres, a sophomore from Safford, Ariz. (Safford HS), hit .500 (8-for-16), striking out only one time in four games last week. The Aggies went 3-1 on the week, while sweeping WAC opponent Northern Colorado and falling to in-state rival New Mexico. Umphres picked up seven singles and a home run while finishing the week with nine RBI and a .688 slugging percentage. Umphres also tallied two walks and two sacrifice flies while not allowing a single error on defense. He did what he could in a loss to the Lobos on April 2 as he was 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. In a series-opening win over Northern Colorado, Umphres went 4-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored. He is currently hitting a team-high .345 on the year with 39 hits and 24 RBI.
The other hitter of the week nominations: Grand Canyon sophomore shortstop Paul Panaccione … North Dakota senior outfielder Patrick Riewer … Sacramento State junior first baseman Rhys Hoskins … Texas-Pan American senior right fielder Alex Howe … Utah Valley senior outfielder Sean Moysh.
TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN’S STREET NAMED WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Texas-Pan American right-hander Sam Street was named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week for March 31-April 6.
Street, a senior from Melbourne, Australia (St. Leonard’s College), worked a career-high 10 innings in a complete game 2-1 win. Street tallied eight strikeouts without walking anyone while allowing just four singles. He retired 25 of the final 27 batters he faced. He threw 83 of his 110 pitches for strikes (75.5 percent). Street becomes the first Bronc to go 10 innings in a start since 2006. Street now holds a perfect 7-0 record and has pitched five complete games this season.
The other pitcher of the week nominations: Grand Canyon freshman Ethan Evanko … New Mexico State junior Riley Barr … Sacramento State freshman Jared Paderez … Seattle U sophomore Will Dennis … Utah Valley senior Devin Nelson.
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.